Sisson v. State

528 So. 2d 1151
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedJune 9, 1987
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 528 So. 2d 1151 (Sisson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sisson v. State, 528 So. 2d 1151 (Ala. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

Roy Gayle Sisson was charged in the Jefferson County District Court, via Uniform Traffic Ticket and Complaint ["U.T.T.C."] H-0792207, with the following:

"Driving while under the influence of alcohol-Intoxilizer 5000 — BAC.18 in violation of § 32-5A-191(a)(1) State Code." (R. 219)

He was found "guilty as charged" (R. 219), ordered to pay a fine of $300.00 plus court costs and ordered to perform 20 hours of community service. (R. 219)

Sisson appealed his conviction to the Jefferson County Circuit Court where, in a trial de novo, a jury found him "guilty of driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol as charged in the complaint." (R. 216, 226, 227) He was sentenced to pay a fine of $250.00 plus court costs and ordered to attend DUI school in Birmingham. (R. 216-217, 227)

Since the appellant, Sisson, does not raise the sufficiency of the evidence as an issue on appeal, recitation of the facts of the case is unnecessary.

I
The appellant contends that the trial court erred in refusing to grant his motions to dismiss the State's original and amended complaints filed in conjunction with his trial denovo in the circuit court.

On the day of trial, June 30, 1986, the State filed its first "District Attorney's *Page 1153 Complaint" [the "original complaint"] which charged the following:

"Roy Gayle Sisson did drive or was in actual physical control of a vehicle while he was under the influence of alcohol, in violation of § 32-5A-191(a)(1)." (R. 220)

The appellant filed a motion to dismiss this original complaint. (R. 230-231)

A hearing was held on the motion. (R. 1-40) During the hearing, over the appellant's objection, the trial judge allowed the State to amend the original complaint. (R. 12) The amended complaint charged the following:

"Roy Gayle Sisson did drive or was in actual physical control of a vehicle while he was under the influence of alcohol, and there was 0.18 percent by weight of alcohol in his blood, in violation of § 32-5A-191(a)(1)." (R. 221) [hereinafter the "amended complaint"]

The appellant then filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. (R. 13, 232). This motion was overruled. (R. 18, 40)

A
The appellant claims that the district attorney'soriginal complaint changed the nature of the offense by adding the words "or was in actual physical control of a vehicle . . ." (Brief of appellant p. 15) We disagree.

In Abbot v. State, this court held that a similar variation did not change "the nature of the prosecution against the appellant on appeal to the circuit court." 494 So.2d 789,791 (Ala.Crim.App. 1986). In Abbot, theU.T.T.C. charged the appellant with " 'driving while under the influence of alcohol.' " Id. "On appeal to circuit court the district attorney's complaint charged that the appellant 'did on or about November 13, 1983 . . . drive or was in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, in violation of § 32-5A-191, Code of Alabama 1975. . . .' " Id. See also Jones v. State,513 So.2d 50 (Ala.Crim.App. 1986), writ granted, No. 86-268 (Jan. 28, 1987) (Dismissal of circuit court complaint not required where U.T.T.C. charged that appellant "did unlawfully operate a motor vehicle . . ." and circuit court complaint charged that he "did . . . operate or was in actual physical control of a motor vehicle . . ."); Davis v. State,505 So.2d 1303 (Ala.Crim.App. 1987) (noting, "[i]t appears that, in this State the term 'driving' is used interchangeably with 'operating' ".)

We hold, therefore, that the use of the "actual physical control language" in the district attorney's complaint did not constitute a "change in the nature of the prosecution against the appellant on appeal to the circuit court." Abbot, supra. The trial judge properly refused to dismiss the complaint on that basis.

The appellant also contends, however, that the trial judge committed reversible error in failing to grant his motion to dismiss the original complaint on the grounds that it charged the appellant with a different offense than that charged in the U.T.T.C. He argues that the U.T.T.C. charged him with a violation of § 32-5A-191(a)(1), and the original complaint charged him with a violation of §32-5A-191(a)(2).

We agree with the appellant that the original complaint charged him with a violation of § 32-5A-191(a)(2), however, it did not charge him with a different offense than that charged in the U.T.T.C. The original complaint was supported by the U.T.T.C., therefore, the trial judge did not commit reversible error in failing to grant the appellant's motion to dismiss the original complaint.

It is clear that a district attorney's complaint filed pursuant to § 12-22-113, Code of Alabama 1975 ("De novo trial in circuit court") "must have for its basis a valid foundation and must rest upon a charge supported by affidavit."Horn v. State, 22 Ala. App. 459, 460, 461, 117 So. 283 (1928).

Where a complaint filed by a district attorney is acomplete departure from the charge included in the affidavit, the defendant's motion to strike the complaint should be granted. Ray v. State, 28 Ala. App. 373,184 So. 480 (1938). And where a new and separate offense is included in the complaint on appeal, such new charges should *Page 1154 be stricken on motion of defendant. Echols v. State,16 Ala. App. 138, 75 So. 814 (1917).

The original complaint charged the appellant with driving (or being in actual physical control) of a vehicle while underthe influence of alcohol. The "under the influence of alcohol" language was taken from the U.T.T.C. We hold, therefore, that the original complaint did not charge the appellant with a different offense than that charged in the U.T.T.C.

In construing the original complaint as charging a violation of § 32-5A-191(a)(2), we note that the merecitation of § 32-5A-191(a)(1) in the original complaint is insufficient to charge that particular offense in the absence of language specifying the "conduct sought to be condemned" by it. See Ex Parte Hightower,443 So.2d 1272 (Ala. 1983) ("indictment must specify conduct sought to be condemned. . . ."); Griffin v. State, 428 So.2d 213 (Ala.Crim.App. 1983) ("[a] reference to a statutory source in an indictment is a 'matter of convenience and not of substance.' "); Bice v. State, 472 So.2d 440 (Ala.Crim.App. 1985) ("reference to [an] erroneous code section will be treated as mere surplusage"). Cf. Rule 15.2(b), A.Temp.R.Crim.P.; Corum v. City of Huntsville,491 So.2d 1091 (Ala.Crim.App. 1986) (citing Ex Parte

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