Schaum v. State

833 S.W.2d 644, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 2116, 1992 WL 192301
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 23, 1992
Docket05-91-00495-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 833 S.W.2d 644 (Schaum v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schaum v. State, 833 S.W.2d 644, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 2116, 1992 WL 192301 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

OPINION

OVARD, Justice.

Cy Schaum was convicted by a jury of the offense of driving while intoxicated (DWI). The trial court assessed his punishment at 730 days in jail and a $2500 fine. Schaum appeals the conviction, contending the trial court erred in allowing evidence of his chemical test refusal. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Schaum was involved in a traffic accident which he caused by running a red light. Officers at the accident scene determined that, in their opinion, Schaum had been driving while intoxicated and placed him under arrest. Because he was injured in the accident and refused treatment by the paramedics, the officers took Schaum to Parkland Hospital for treatment. While at the hospital both Officer Blankenbaker and Officer Hay requested Schaum to take a blood test. He refused. They orally informed him that a refusal could result in his license being suspended. They gave no written warning of the consequences of such a refusal.

In his single point of error, Schaum contends the trial court erred in allowing evidence of his refusal before the jury because the statutorily required written notice was never given to him. We agree that this was error. See Hogue v. State, 752 S.W.2d 585, 589 (Tex.App.—Tyler 1987, pet. ref d). We must first determine if this error requires automatic reversal or whether it is subject to a harmless error analysis.

APPLICABLE LAW

The applicable statute is article 61011-5 of the Texas Revised Civil Statutes. The pertinent portions of that statute are as follows:

Sec. 2.(b) Before requesting a person to give a [blood or breath] specimen, the officer shall inform the person orally and in writing that if the person refuses to give the specimen, that refusal may be admissible in a subsequent prosecution, and that the person’s license, permit, or privilege to operate a motor vehicle will be automatically suspended for 90 days after the date of adjournment of the hearing provided for in Subsection (f) of this section, whether or not the person is subsequently prosecuted as a result of the arrest.
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(c) The officer shall provide the person with a written statement containing the information required by Subsection (b) of this section. If the person refuses the request of the officer to give a specimen, the officer shall request the person to sign a statement that the officer requested that he give a specimen, that he was informed of the consequences of not giving a specimen, and that he refused to give a specimen.
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Sec. 3.(g) If the person refuses a request by an officer to give a specimen of breath or blood, whether the refusal was express or the result of an intentional failure of the person to give the specimen, that fact may be introduced into evidence at the person’s trial.

Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 67011-5, §§ 2(b), (c), 3(g) (Vernon Supp.1992). Under the statute, both oral and written notice of the consequences of a refusal to give police officers either a breath or blood specimen is mandatory. The Court of Criminal Appeals has provided guidance for determining which mandatory statutes are immune to a harmless error analysis. See Sodipo v. State, 815 S.W.2d 551, 554-55 (Tex.Crim.App.1990). A harm analysis is appropriate where the mandatory provision is such that the record may contain concrete data from which an appellate court can meaningfully gauge the likelihood that the error did or did not contribute to the conviction. Id. Because thé record supplies sufficient data to enable us to make this determination, we *647 conclude that the statute at issue here should be subjected to a harm analysis.

In determining whether the officers’ non-compliance with the statute requires reversal, we look at the entire record in a neutral, impartial and evenhanded manner. Harris v. State, 790 S.W.2d 568, 586 (Tex.Crim.App.1989). We do not determine the harmfulness of an error simply by examining whether there exists overwhelming evidence to support the defendant’s guilt. Id. at 587. We are to calculate, to the extent possible, the probable impact of the error on the jury in light of the existence of the other evidence. Id. In applying the harmless error rule we shall examine the source of the error, the nature of the error, whether or to what extent it was emphasized by the State and its probable collateral implications. Id. We also consider how much weight a juror would probably place on the error and whether declaring the error harmless would encourage the State to repeat it. Id. We are not concerned with whether the jury reached the correct result, but rather whether the jury was able to properly apply law to facts in order to reach a verdict. Id. at 588. We are to determine whether, beyond a reasonable doubt, the error made no contribution to the conviction. Tex. R.App.P. 81(b)(2).

Schaum does not explain how the error harmed him. Instead, he argues that the determination of whether he was harmed cannot be made in this case. He relies on the facts that he sustained a head injury requiring hospitalization and that the police officers never made a video as is the usual practice in DWI arrests. He claims “there is insufficient evidence available in the record for this Court to make a determination that the jury did not rely to the large extent on [his] refusal” in making its decision. In essence, he asks us to presume harm although it is his burden to bring forward a record showing harm. Tex. R.App.P. 50(d).

TESTIMONY

Wallace Hall drove the truck Schaum ran into. He testified that just after the accident, he first attended to his wife who was injured and then walked over to Schaum’s vehicle to determine whether Schaum had been injured. Schaum was still seated in the driver’s seat of his pick up. Hall saw beer cans in the back of Schaum’s pick up and on the pavement by the pick up.

Edward Solis witnessed the accident and stopped to render aid. He testified that, based on his observances at the scene and past experiences, in his opinion Schaum was intoxicated. Solis stated that he has come in contact with intoxicated persons many times in the past.

Officer Albert Hay, a nineteen-year veteran police officer who investigated the accident, testified that he saw beer cans in the back of Schaum’s truck and on the pavement. He stated that Wallace Hall had wanted Schaum arrested because Hall felt Schaum was intoxicated. Hay testified that Schaum refused to be treated by the paramedics at the scene, and while in the squad car en route to Parkland, Schaum told the police officers that they did not like him because he was intoxicated. Hay stated that Schaum smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. He had come into contact with many intoxicated persons during his years on the police force. Hay opined Schaum was intoxicated.

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Bluebook (online)
833 S.W.2d 644, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 2116, 1992 WL 192301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schaum-v-state-texapp-1992.