King v. State

733 S.E.2d 21, 317 Ga. App. 834, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 3221, 2012 WL 4785572, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 824
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedOctober 9, 2012
DocketA12A1151
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 733 S.E.2d 21 (King v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
King v. State, 733 S.E.2d 21, 317 Ga. App. 834, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 3221, 2012 WL 4785572, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 824 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Dillard, Judge.

Following a trial by jury, Shala King was convicted of failure to maintain lane, fleeing and attempting to elude, tampering with evidence, and misdemeanor obstruction. On appeal of these convictions, King argues that (1) the jury instructions failed to give the proper guidelines for determining guilt as to misdemeanor obstruc[835]*835tion and (2) the evidence was insufficient as to failure to maintain lane, fleeing and attempting to elude, and tampering with evidence. For the reasons set forth infra, we affirm King’s convictions in part, reverse in part, and remand for resentencing.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s guilty verdict,1 the record reflects that on the night in question, two Holly Springs police officers were on patrol in a marked vehicle when they saw King’s car make a wide right turn, failing to maintain its lane. They continued to follow King and saw her vehicle drift into the other lane, at which point the officers activated the blue flashing lights on top of the patrol car in an effort to stop King. Nevertheless, King continued driving, passing what were, in the officers’ estimation, many safe places to stop her vehicle. As the patrol car followed behind with blue lights flashing, King made several turns down residential streets, and the officers activated the vehicle’s siren when it became clear that King was not stopping.

King eventually pulled into a residential driveway after traveling approximately 0.7 miles, and the officers approached her vehicle from both sides.2 As they did so, King opened her door and engaged in a verbal confrontation with one of the officers regarding her failure to pull over sooner, and King became agitated, throwing a box of cigarettes into the closest officer’s chest. The officer could smell burned marijuana inside King’s vehicle and directed her toward the back of the car to determine whether she also smelled of the substance, at which point the officers attempted to detain her. But King physically resisted and ignored the officers’ commands that she comply. The struggle that ensued brought King and the officers to the ground, and the officers then noticed that she was chewing something and again noticed a strong odor of burned marijuana on her person. Backup then arrived and assisted in restraining King while she remained on the ground.

Once King was restrained, the officers asked her to open her mouth because they suspected that she had consumed marijuana in an effort to conceal it. They detected a small patch of green leafy substance on her tongue, in her bottom teeth, and inside of her cheeks. A search of her person and vehicle revealed no illegal substances. Thereafter, King was convicted by a jury of the charges enumerated above. This appeal follows.

[836]*836At the outset, we note that on appeal of King’s criminal convictions, “we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, and [King] no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence.”3 And we neither weigh the evidence nor assess witness credibility, “which are tasks that fall within the exclusive province of the jury.”4 With these guiding principles in mind, we turn now to King’s enumerations of error.

1. First, King argues that the trial court erroneously charged the jury as to the proper guidelines for determining guilt on misdemeanor obstruction. We disagree.

A person commits the offense of misdemeanor obstruction when he or she “knowingly and willfully obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of his official duties.”5 At the charge conference, the trial court indicated that it would incorporate into its misdemeanor-obstruction charge language from Russell v. State,6 in which we recited the statutory language and held that “to consummate an offense of misdemeanor obstruction, some form of knowing and wilful opposition to the officer sufficient to constitute obstruction or hindrance is required, but actual violence or threat thereof is not.”7 King entered no objection to this suggestion. Thereafter, the trial court charged the jury as to the statutory language and that “some form of knowing and willful opposition to the officer is sufficient to constitute obstruction or hindrance of a law enforcement officer,” and that “actual violence or threat is not required.” After the charge to the jury, King stated that she “had no exceptions.”

Under OCGA § 17-8-58, “[a]ny party who objects to any portion of the charge to the jury or the failure to charge the jury shall inform the court of the specific objection and the grounds for such objection before the jury retires to deliberate.”8 But the failure to so object precludes “appellate review of such portion of the jury charge, unless such portion of the jury charge constitutes plain error which affects substantial rights of the parties.”9 In such cases, as our Supreme Court has explained, “the proper inquiry is whether the instruction was erroneous, whether it was obviously so, and whether it likely affected the outcome of the proceedings.”10 And because King failed to [837]*837object to the jury instructions at trial, our review is limited to consideration in this regard.11

Having so reviewed the trial court’s instruction as to misdemeanor obstruction, we determine that King has failed to overcome the high hurdle of establishing plain error.12 Although the trial court’s instruction differed slightly from the language set forth in Russell, the instruction was not obviously erroneous nor likely to have affected the outcome of the proceedings because the trial court correctly instructed the jury as to the statutory elements of obstruction— namely, that a person is guilty of misdemeanor obstruction when he or she “knowingly and willfully obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of his official duties . . . .” And when a charge as a whole substantially presents issues in such a way as is not likely to confuse the jury even though a portion of the charge may not be as clear and precise as could be desired, “a reviewing court will not disturb a verdict amply authorized by the evidence.”13

2. Next, King challenges the sufficiency of the evidence as to her convictions for failure to maintain lane, fleeing and attempting to elude, and tampering with evidence. We will address each of these contentions in turn.

(a) Failure to Maintain Lane. OCGA § 40-6-48 (1) provides that “[a] vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from such lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety...At trial, the officers testified that King failed to maintain her vehicle within a single lane when making a wide right turn and then again after completing the turn. The jurors were also shown a video from the officers’ patrol car showing the maneuvers made by King’s vehicle. This evidence was sufficient to sustain the jury’s verdict.14

(b)

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Bluebook (online)
733 S.E.2d 21, 317 Ga. App. 834, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 3221, 2012 WL 4785572, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 824, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/king-v-state-gactapp-2012.