Rogers v. King

684 S.W.2d 390, 1984 Mo. App. LEXIS 4308
Missouri Court of Appeals·Decided November 6, 1984·No. No. WD 35261·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

PRITCHARD, Judge.

Between May 10 and June 22, 1983, appellant’s driver’s license was revoked by respondent Director pursuant to § 577.041.-1, RSMo 1978, because of his refusal to take a breathalizer test. Appellant filed a petition for review of the Director’s action in the Johnson County Associate Circuit Court on June 22, 1983. On July 13, 1983, the Honorable George Mitchell, judge of that Associate Circuit Court, on his own motion, directed the clerk to transfer the case to the presiding judge of the circuit court “for the purpose of assignment of the case to be heard on the record as provided by law.” On July 18, 1983, the presiding judge assigned the case to Judge Mitchell “to be heard on the record under procedures applicable before circuit judges.” On August 12,1983, after a hearing, Judge Mitchell denied appellant’s petition for review.

In Point I, appellant contends that the certification to the presiding judge and the reassignment back to Judge Mitchell was without authority, notice or agreement of the parties, and denied him his right to a trial de novo before the circuit court.

Although the associate circuit court is empowered to hear and determine initial[392] ly and without assignment petitions for review of driver’s license revocations under § 478.225.2(8), RSMo 1978, and appellant did not request a hearing before a court of record in the county in which the arrest occurred under § 577.041.2, there is nothing in the statutes which prevents the procedure of certification and reassignment such as here was done. Regardless of how the case comes to the presiding judge’s attention (here on Judge Mitchell’s certification on his own motion), § 517.010.2., without qualification, gives this power: “The presiding judge of the circuit may nevertheless in an order of special assignment specifically direct that the practice and procedure applicable before circuit judges shall apply. Such a special assignment order shall only be made if the facilities are available to the associate circuit judge to hear a case on a record so that there would be no right of trial de novo and any appeal could be taken on the record.” These statutes are obviously intended to provide for efficient judicial administration of the circuits, and to ensure judicial economy of time in any case. Appellant therefore, under these facts, has no vested right in any available procedure. His appeal is provided to be direct to this court, after the assignment, by § 512.180, and he has not demonstrated any prejudice occasioned by the statutory procedures here employed. He has his statutory appeal, herein considered. Point I is overruled.

In Point II, appellant claims error in Judge Mitchell’s denial of his requests for discovery. What happened is this: Appellant filed his petition for review on June 22, 1983. On July 13, 1983, the court overruled the request for discovery, apparently, as may be gleaned from colloquies between the court and counsel, upon the ground that the requests were based upon the criminal rules in this civil matter. Nevertheless, the court on its own motion continued the case to August 12, 1983, to afford appellant “the opportunity to complete discovery as provided by law.” The court thereafter transferred the case for assignment by the presiding circuit judge, and the parties were notified, on July 26, 1983, that the case was set for hearing on the record as a circuit court case on August 12, 1983, at 2:00 p.m.

On August 5, 1983, at 4:25 p.m., and at 4:26 p.m., appellant filed interrogatories and a motion to produce documents and items. It seems from colloquy that the secretary of appellant’s counsel slipped them under the door of the office of state’s counsel, who did not discover them until August 8, 1983. He objected to that attempt at discovery just prior to trial on the ground that the requests were not timely filed, and the court sustained the objection. No error appears. Appellant had from July 13, 1983, to file his requests for discovery. Under both Rules 57.01 and 58.01, the party upon whom requests are served shall have 20 days to respond. Obviously, there would not be available that time for the state to respond. The motion to produce requested that documents and items be produced at least 5 days prior to trial. Considering that state’s counsel did not receive it until August 8, 1983, the trial court was entitled to find that discovery could not have been reasonably made by the trial date, August 12, 1983. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in sustaining the objections to discovery in these circumstances. Point II is overruled.

In his third point, appellant contends that the trial court erred in admitting a copy of a videotape into evidence which showed him in the booking room at the time the officer attempted to administer the breathalizer test. He says that no proper foundation was laid for the admission of the copy. Officer Shultz testified that the videotape (copy) was an accurate and complete depiction of the events occurring in the booking room of the Warrens-burg Police Department. The trial court could reasonably have concluded that the videotape reliably reproduced the events so depicted, that the proper foundation for its admission was laid, and therefore it was within its discretion to admit it. See State v. Molasky, 655 S.W.2d 663, 668[7] (Mo.App.1983), and cases cited. Point III is overruled.

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Rogers v. King, 684 S.W.2d 390, 1984 Mo. App. LEXIS 4308 (Mo. Ct. App. 1984).

684 S.W.2d 390 (Rogers v. King) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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