Sluss v. Commonwealth

381 S.W.3d 215, 2012 WL 4243650, 2012 Ky. LEXIS 144
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 20, 2012
DocketNo. 2011-SC-000318-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 381 S.W.3d 215 (Sluss v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sluss v. Commonwealth, 381 S.W.3d 215, 2012 WL 4243650, 2012 Ky. LEXIS 144 (Ky. 2012).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court by

Justice NOBLE.

After a jury trial, Appellant Ross Brandon Sluss was convicted of murder, assault in the first degree, two counts of assault in the fourth degree, driving under the influence of intoxicants, and tampering with physical evidence. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment. He raises sixteen issues on appeal. This Court concludes that the trial court erred in not giving full consideration to Appellant’s claim of juror misconduct, which is founded on a question of first impression alleging that jurors may have lied during voir dire and juror bias through the use of social media websites, namely Facebook. This case is therefore remanded to the Martin Circuit Court to hold a hearing on whether the jurors answered voir dire questions truthfully, and, if not, the extent of exposure the jurors had to the Face-book account of the victim’s mother, and whether that exposure, if any, tainted the jurors to such extent that it was a miscarriage of justice to allow them to participate as jurors in Appellant’s trial. Consideration of the remaining issues on appeal, except for the directed verdict question, is abated pending resolution of the juror issue.

I. Background

On June 24, 2010, in Martin County, Kentucky, Appellant Ross Brandon Sluss crashed his Ford F-150 pickup truck into an SUV carrying several passengers, one of whom was Destiny Brewer, who died as a result of her injuries. Three other passengers were injured.

At the scene of the crash, Appellant was administered two types of field sobriety tests, which he failed. He was not immediately arrested but was given a second test by a deputy familiar with Appellant’s normal mannerisms. Upon failing this test, Appellant was arrested for driving under the influence. Appellant admitted that he had smoked marijuana earlier that day, and at that point, was given his Miranda warnings.

Appellant subsequently refused to consent to blood or urine tests, and a search warrant to withdraw blood and for a urinalysis was obtained. Appellant later consented to the blood test. But he was resistant to the urinalysis, and provided a small amount of urine. The blood screen indicated the presence of cannabinoid metabolites (marijuana) and a number of other medications, including oxycodone,1 alprazolam,2 hydroeodone,3 and meproba-[218]*218mate.4 The urinalysis was not completed because there was insufficient urine in the sample. .The toxicity report indicated that each of the substances indicated in the blood screen was at or under “therapeutic” levels.

On September 2, 2010, Appellant was indicted by the grand jury of Martin Circuit Court, charging him with murder, assault in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, driving under the influence of intoxicants, tampering with physical evidence, and being a persistent felony offender in the second degree.

This case received much publicity in Martin County due to the age of Destiny Brewer, who was eleven years old, and the tragic circumstances surrounding her death. There were numerous articles in the local newspapers and reports on the television news programs. Members of the community also took to the internet to discuss the incident and the upcoming trial on websites such as Facebook and Topix. The trial court acknowledged the publicity surrounding the case and engaged in extensive voir dire procedures in order to ensure that Appellant received a fair trial, striking more than fifty potential jurors for cause.

Appellant was convicted of murder, assault in the first degree, two counts of assault in the fourth degree, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and tampering with physical evidence. The jury recommended a life sentence on the count of murder. The jury also recommended a twenty-year sentence on the count of assault in the first degree, a 12-month sentence on the two counts of assault in the fourth degree, a six-month sentence on the driving under the influence charge, and a five-year sentence on the tampering with physical evidence charge. Limited by Bedell v. Commonwealth, 870 S.W.2d 779, 783 (Ky.1994) (“[N]o sentence can be ordered to run consecutively with such a life sentence in any case .... ”), the trial court sentenced Appellant to life in prison. He now appeals to this Court as a matter of right. Ky. Const. § 110(2)(b).

II. Analysis

Appellant raises sixteen issues in his appeal. At this time, the Court need only address two of the Appellant’s issues. The Court must resolve the directed verdict claim because it could effectively result in an acquittal and thus render moot many if not all of the other issues. Concluding that a directed verdict was not appropriate, this Court must then turn to the other issues. Given this Court’s resolution of the claim regarding juror misconduct, however, only that additional issue needs to be addressed at this time.

A. Appellant was not entitled to a directed verdict.

Appellant claims that the trial court’s denial of his motion for a directed verdict was reversible error. This Court chooses to address this issue first because it is potentially dispositive; if the trial court did commit reversible error, Appellant’s convictions would be vacated and he would stand acquitted, at least of the highest level of offense. See, e.g., Paulley v. Commonwealth, 323 S.W.3d 715, 722 (Ky.2010) (addressing directed verdict claims even after- reversing for other reasons because the claims were “potentially disposi-tive”).

Appellant contends that the Commonwealth did not prove the necessary elements of wanton murder under KRS 507.020(b), which states:

[219]*219A person is guilty of murder when ... [including, but not limited to, the operation of a motor vehicle under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person and thereby causes the death of another person.

Appellant’s argument is that the Commonwealth could not prove that he operated his vehicle “under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life,” and therefore the highest crime for which he could be charged was manslaughter in the second degree under KRS 507.040.5 In Brown v. Commonwealth, 975 S.W.2d 922 (Ky.1998), the Court held that the “culpable mental state defined in KRS 507.020 as ‘wantonness,’ ... without more, will suffice for a conviction of manslaughter in the second degree but not for murder because, to qualify as murder, ... it must be accompanied by further circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life.” Id. at 923 (quoting McGinnis v. Commonwealth, 875 S.W.2d 518

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
381 S.W.3d 215, 2012 WL 4243650, 2012 Ky. LEXIS 144, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sluss-v-commonwealth-ky-2012.