Elser v. State

114 S.W.3d 168, 353 Ark. 143, 2003 Ark. LEXIS 251
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 8, 2003
DocketCR 02-1297
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 114 S.W.3d 168 (Elser v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Elser v. State, 114 S.W.3d 168, 353 Ark. 143, 2003 Ark. LEXIS 251 (Ark. 2003).

Opinion

Jim Hannah, Justice.

Appellant Mark Elser was convicted of driving while intoxicated, first offense, after a jury trial in Crawford County Circuit Court. Elser appealed to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, arguing that the circuit court erred in denying his motion for mistrial where, during her opening statement, the prosecutor stated that Elser would testify. He also argued that the circuit court erred in refusing to allow Elser to present evidence of the results of a portable breath test (PBT). The court of appeals reversed the decision of the circuit court in Elser v. State, 79 Ark. App. 440, 89 S.W.3d 353 (2002). The State filed a petition for review of that decision, and we granted it, pursuant to Ark. Sup. Ct. R. l-2(e). We affirm the circuit court and reverse the court of appeals.

Facts

On October 3, 2000, at approximately 3:21 a.m., Officer Cletus Hudson of the Van Burén Police Department noticed a red pickup truck parked on the side of the on-ramp to Interstate 540 in Van Burén. Hudson approached the vehicle and found the driver of the vehicle asleep in the front seat behind the steering wheel; the truck’s motor was running. After Hudson knocked on the window of the vehicle several times, Elser awoke and opened the door of the vehicle. Hudson testified that he smelled a strong odor of alcohol when Elser opened the door.

Elser stepped out of the vehicle, and Hudson administered a PBT. Hudson testified that Elser “failed the test.” Hudson also testified that Elser was unsteady on his feet, that Elser’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, that Elser’s speech was slurred, and that Elser had an odor of intoxicants about his person. Subsequently, Hudson administered field sobriety tests, including a horizontal gaze nystagmus test and “the finger to the nose test.” Hudson testified, without objection, that Elser failed “all six points” of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test and that Elser “missed the tip of his nose with both hands.” Hudson also stated that he attempted to administer the “one-legged stand” test; however, he did not administer that test because Elser told him that he was too tired to do it.

After administering the field sobriety tests, Hudson placed Elser under arrest and transported him to the Crawford County Jail to perform a breathalyzer test. The BAC Datamaster measured Elser’s blood-alcohol content at ,10%. 1

On November 6, 2000, Elser pleaded no contest in Van Burén Municipal Court to driving while intoxicated. Elser appealed to the Crawford County Circuit Court and, on May 15, 2001, a jury convicted Elser of driving while intoxicated, first offense. Elser was sentenced to a term of twenty-four hours in the county jail, a fine of $150.00, costs, and a ninety-day suspension of his driver’s license. ■

The court of appeals reversed the circuit court in Elser v. State, 79 Ark. App. 440, 89 S.W.3d 353 (2002), holding that the circuit court erred in refusing to allow Elser to present evidence of the results of the PBT. 2 In so holding, the court of appeals cited this court’s holding in Patrick v. State, 295 Ark. 473, 750 S.W.2d 391 (1988). The State filed a petition for review, which we granted.

When we grant a petition for review, we treat the appeal as if it were originally filed in this court. Cook v. State, 350 Ark. 398, 86 S.W.3d 916 (2002); Nelson v. State, 350 Ark. 311, 86 S.W.3d 909 (2002). Thus, we review the circuit court’s judgment, not that of the court of appeals. Cook, supra.

Prosecutor’s Opening Statement

Elser’s first point on appeal is that the circuit court erred in denying his motion for mistrial where, during her opening statement, the prosecutor stated that Elser would testify during the trial. Elser argues that the prosecutor’s statement violated his right to remain silent and was tantamount to coercion. Near the end of the opening statement, the prosecutor stated:

Prosecutor: Now Mr. Witt will present witnesses today, the defendant himself and I believe another witness . . .

After the prosecutor’s statement, defense counsel moved for a mistrial. The motion was denied.

A mistrial is a drastic remedy and should be declared only when there has been an error so prejudicial that justice cannot be served by continuing the trial, or when the fundamental fairness of the trial itself has been manifestly affected. Jenkins v. State, 348 Ark. 686, 75 S.W.3d 180 (2002). The circuit court has wide discretion in granting or denying a motion for mistrial, and, absent an abuse of that discretion, the circuit court’s decision will not be disturbed on appeal. Id. In Boyd v. State, 318 Ark. 799, 804, 889 S.W.2d 20 (1994), we stated that “[t]he bottom line on mistrials is that the incident must be so prejudicial that the trial cannot, in fairness, continue.”

The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that . .no person . . . shall be compelled, in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, . . .” Likewise, article 2, section 8, of the Arkansas Constitution provides that a criminal defendant shall not be compelled to testify against himself or herself.

In Clark v. State, 256 Ark. 658, 661, 509 S.W.2d 812 (1974), the court held that a remark made by the prosecutor during opening statement violated the defendant’s Fifth Amendment right not to testify. During the opening statement, the prosecutor stated:

... If you notice, I’m here by myself, and this vacant chair. He might be here to tell his side but he’s not here. The story then that you will have about what happened out there will come from her ....

Id. at 659.

The trial court denied the appellant’s motion for mistrial; on appeal, the appellant argued -that the prosecutor’s remark compelled her to testify when she would not otherwise have done so. Id. The court wrote:

A comment on the defendant’s failure to testify may not require reversal, but before such a comment can be harmless error, the court must determine that it is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (1967). . . .
Therefore, in applying the rationale of the Fifth Amendment and our own state constitution and statutory provision in the instant case, we certainly cannot say with confidence that the remark of the prosecutor did not to some extent compel the defendant to testify in her own behalf.

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Bluebook (online)
114 S.W.3d 168, 353 Ark. 143, 2003 Ark. LEXIS 251, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/elser-v-state-ark-2003.