McDonald v. City of Aberdeen

906 So. 2d 774, 2004 Miss. App. LEXIS 1143, 2004 WL 2857577
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 14, 2004
DocketNo. 2003-KM-01602-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 906 So. 2d 774 (McDonald v. City of Aberdeen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McDonald v. City of Aberdeen, 906 So. 2d 774, 2004 Miss. App. LEXIS 1143, 2004 WL 2857577 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

IRVING, J.,

for the Court.

¶ 1. The Municipal Court of the City of Aberdeen found Michael McDonald guilty of driving under the influence, first offense, improper stopping, and possession of an open container of beer. McDonald appealed his conviction to the Monroe County Circuit Court. In a bench trial, the trial court found McDonald guilty of driving under the influence, first offense, but dismissed the charges of improper stopping and possession of an open container of beer. McDonald was sentenced to two days’ incarceration in the Monroe County jail, with said sentence suspended, upon the condition that he not violate any laws or statutes of the State of Mississippi. McDonald was also placed on unsupervised probation for 180 days, fined $1,000 and court costs, and ordered to attend and complete an alcohol safety education program.

¶2. Aggrieved, McDonald appeals his conviction and argues that the trial court committed reversible error in failing to grant his motion to dismiss the DUI charge due to the City’s failure to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of his arrest.

¶ 3. Similarly, the City of Aberdeen cross-appeals and alleges that (1) the City offered sufficient evidence that McDonald was in possession of an open container of beer, and (2) the police officer’s ticket sufficiently charged McDonald with “improper stopping” in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-3-903 (Rev. 2004).

¶ 4. Finding no reversible error, we affirm McDonald’s DUI conviction and the trial court’s dismissal of the charges of improper stopping and possession of an open container.

FACTS

¶ 5. On April 29, 2001, Officer Randy Perkins, a lieutenant with the Aberdeen Police Department, testified that he was dispatched to the intersection of Commerce Street and Highway 45 where he found a vehicle sitting in the road blocking traffic.1 He stated that the car’s engine was running and that McDonald was lying over the steering wheel asleep. The officer also testified that McDonald’s car was approximately twenty feet beyond the stop [776]*776sign and that the front end of McDonald’s car was sitting in the roadway jutting into Highway 45, so that other cars had to go around it. The officer stated that he had to beat on McDonald’s window several times before awaking him. Officer Perkins testified that when McDonald woke up, he looked around as if he was lost, and when he asked McDonald to step out of the vehicle, Officer Perkins saw an open container of beer on the console and could smell a strong odor of alcohol emanating from McDonald. As McDonald exited the car, he staggered and almost fell. Officer Perkins had to support him to the rear of the vehicle. Officer Perkins testified that he asked McDonald several questions to determine if McDonald had diabetes or was ill. Officer Perkins administered to McDonald the Horizontal Gage Nystagmus test (HGN) and a portable Intoxilyzer test. McDonald was then arrested and transported to the Aberdeen Police department. While at the station, McDonald informed Officer Perkins that McDonald had drunk three beers but refused to give a breath sample for an analysis by an Intoxilyzer machine.

¶6. McDonald, however, testified that his car was not jutting out into the highway as alleged by Officer Perkins. Rather, he was sitting beside a stop sign with his vehicle in drive. McDonald also testified that at the time of the incident, he was taking medications for depression and anxiety. Additional facts will be related during our discussion of the issues.

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUES

DUI Charge

¶ 7. McDonald argues that the trial court committed reversible error in failing to grant his motion to dismiss the DUI charge because the City of Aberdeen (City) failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was under the influence of an intoxicating substance at the time of his arrest. McDonald claims that he was not intoxicated but instead, had a reaction to medication which caused him to pass out.

¶ 8. A motion for a JNOV challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence. McClain v. State, 625 So.2d 774, 778 (Miss.1993). “In appeals from an overruled motion for JNOV[,] the sufficiency of the evidence as a matter of law is viewed and tested in a light most favorable to the [City].” Id. (citing Esparaza v. State, 595 So.2d 418, 426 (Miss.1992)). “We are authorized to reverse only where, with respect to one or more of the elements of the offense charged, the evidence so considered is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty.” McClain, 625 So.2d at 778 (citing Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 808 (Miss.1987)).

¶ 9. Here, ample evidence was offered by the City in support of McDonald’s DUI conviction. The police officer who responded to the scene testified that he found McDonald slumped over the steering wheel with the motor running and had to beat on McDonald’s window several times before waking him. The officer further testified that when McDonald finally woke up, he was disoriented and looked around as if he was lost. Similarly, the officer testified that he could smell a strong odor of alcohol emanating from McDonald and that when McDonald attempted to exit his car, he had to support him because McDonald staggered and almost fell. The officer additionally testified that McDonald was swaying badly, was very incoherent, and did not know his whereabouts. McDonald also admitted, according to Officer Perkins, that he had consumed three beers.

[777]*777¶ 10. Although McDonald argues that he was not intoxicated but had a reaction to medication that he was taking, we emphasize that in a non-jury trial, “[a] [judge] sits as a fact-fínder and in resolving factual disputes, is the sole judge of the credibility of witnesses.” Murphy v. Murphy, 631 So.2d 812, 815 (Miss.1994) (citing West v. Brewer, 579 So.2d 1261, 1263-64 (Miss.1991)). Here, the judge, as the trier of fact, was presented with conflicting testimony. He was in the best position to assess the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given their testimony.

¶ 11. We find that substantial evidence exists in the record to support McDonald’s conviction. Accepting the evidence in the light most favorable to the City, the trial judge was justified in finding McDonald guilty. We will now address the City’s assignment of errors on cross-appeal.

Possession of Open Container/Improper Stop Charges

¶ 12. On cross-appeal, the City argues that it offered sufficient evidence that McDonald was in possession of an open container of beer and that the law does not require that the beer container be offered into evidence or that there be laboratory confirmation of its alcoholic content. The City also argues that the ticket written by the arresting officer sufficiently charged McDonald with improper stopping on a highway in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-3-903 (Rev.2004).

¶ 13. At the conclusion of the City’s case and again at the conclusion of the defense’s case, McDonald moved for a dismissal of the open container charge on the basis that the City had failed to prove its case against him because it failed to prove that he was in possession of a can of beer at the time of his arrest.

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Related

McClain v. State
625 So. 2d 774 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1993)
Esparaza v. State
595 So. 2d 418 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1992)
State v. Fleming
726 So. 2d 113 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1998)
West v. Brewer
579 So. 2d 1261 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1991)
Wetz v. State
503 So. 2d 803 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1987)
Murphy v. Murphy
631 So. 2d 812 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
906 So. 2d 774, 2004 Miss. App. LEXIS 1143, 2004 WL 2857577, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdonald-v-city-of-aberdeen-missctapp-2004.