State v. Bourgeois

785 So. 2d 848, 2001 WL 370235
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 14, 2001
Docket00-KA-1585
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 785 So. 2d 848 (State v. Bourgeois) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bourgeois, 785 So. 2d 848, 2001 WL 370235 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

785 So.2d 848 (2001)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Anthony G. BOURGEOIS.

No. 00-KA-1585.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

March 14, 2001.

*850 Kenneth J. Beck, John E. Sudderth, Harvey, for Defendant/Appellant, Anthony G. Bourgeois.

Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Alison Wallis, Bradley Burget, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, for Plaintiff/Appellee, The State of Louisiana.

Panel composed of EDWARD A. DUFRESNE, Jr., JAMES L. CANNELLA and SUSAN M. CHEHARDY.

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On November 18, 1999, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office filed a bill of information charging defendant, Anthony G. Bourgeois, with third-offense driving while intoxicated ("DWI"), a violation of La. R.S. 14:98(D). On March 2, 2000, defendant was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty.

On March 27, 2000, defendant filed a motion to suppress confession, motion to suppress evidence, and motion for bill of particulars, discovery and inspection and production of documents. The minute entry dated April 7, 2000 indicates that the state provided open file discovery to the defense.

On June 13, 2000, the state and defendant agreed to present evidence with respect to the motion to suppress confession and hold defendant's trial at the same time, as defendant had waived his right to a jury trial. At the conclusion of the bench trial, the trial court denied defendant's motion to suppress confession, and further found defendant guilty as charged.

On June 23, 2000, the trial court sentenced defendant to two years imprisonment at hard labor, with 18 months suspended and six months of home incarceration. The trial court also placed defendant on two years active probation following his release from home incarceration.

The trial court further imposed the following special conditions of probation on defendant: payment of a $2,000.00 fine as required by La. R.S. 14:98(D); payment of courts costs; payment of a $50.00 monthly *851 probation supervision fee; and payment of a $100.00 Jefferson Parish Commissioner's fee. The trial court also ordered defendant to complete a driver improvement program as directed by the probation department and to submit to a substance abuse evaluation and treatment to be overseen by the probation department. Finally, the trial court ordered the impoundment and sale of the vehicle that defendant was driving at the time of incident, if it was his vehicle, as also required by La. R.S. 14:98(D). This appeal ensued.

FACTS

On September 15, 1999, Brandy Mouton was on her way to work when the vehicle that she was driving was struck from behind. She was rear-ended while she was waiting to turn from Louisiana Highway 23 onto Meadowcrest Boulevard. Although Ms. Mouton was not injured in the wreck, the damage to her vehicle totaled $1,700.00. When Ms. Mouton approached the driver of the other vehicle, she smelled alcohol on his breath from three or four feet away. She also noticed that he slurred his words when he spoke and that he stumbled when he walked. At trial, she identified defendant as the driver of the other vehicle.

Trooper Huey Galmiche of the Louisiana State Police testified that on the morning of September 15, 1999, he investigated a minor traffic accident in front of Meadowcrest Hospital. When he arrived at the accident scene, he observed that the drivers had moved their vehicles out of the lanes of travel and that Ms. Mouton's car was on Meadowcrest Boulevard and that defendant's truck was on the shoulder of Louisiana Highway 23.

While he was investigating the accident, the trooper learned that defendant did not have a driver's license with him because it was suspended. The trooper also noticed that defendant's balance was poor and that he was swaying. The trooper further "detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on [defendant's] breath." The trooper asked defendant where he had been and where he was heading. Defendant responded that he had been at work and that he had one beer to drink.

When Trooper Galmiche asked defendant to submit to field sobriety tests, defendant refused. Trooper Galmiche arrested defendant, advised him of his constitutional rights and transported him to the lockup at the Jefferson Parish Prison. Once there, Trooper Galmiche interviewed defendant and advised him of his constitutional rights relative to the chemical test for intoxication. During this interview, defendant stated that he had not been drinking alcohol earlier. Defendant also refused to submit to a breath-alcohol test.

Trooper Galmiche testified that he believed that defendant had been drinking alcohol and that he was alcohol-impaired prior to the accident. He based his belief on several factors, including the fact that defendant hit another vehicle from behind, defendant's lack of balance, the strong odor of alcohol on defendant's breath, defendant's slurred speech, defendant's driving while his license was suspended for a prior DWI, defendant's refusal to take the field sobriety tests, and defendant's refusal to take the breath-alcohol test.

Defendant testified on his own behalf at trial. He admitted that he was involved in a minor traffic accident on September 15, 1999. Defendant testified that another driver pulled in front of him in traffic and he ran into that vehicle. He testified that while they were waiting for the police to arrive, he stayed at least ten or fifteen feet away from the driver of the other car. Defendant also testified that he was nervous when the police arrived because he had a suspended license and he knew he *852 "shouldn't have been driving." He testified that the state trooper did not get closer than "a truck length across, maybe four feet" from him until the trooper handcuffed him.

Defendant testified that he told the trooper that he had not been drinking that day. He explained that he refused to submit to the field sobriety test because he was "embarrassed taking something like that." Also, since he had taken the test before, he knew that he could not perform "that second one" because his balance was "way off." He testified that as the result of an equilibrium problem which was diagnosed in 1984, "I can't hold my leg up." He testified that he also informed the state trooper about his hearing loss which causes him to "talk low sometimes" and to have to ask people to repeat themselves. Finally, he refused the breath-alcohol test because he "didn't feel guilty enough to take the test."

At trial, the state also introduced evidence, including the bill of information, minute entry, fingerprints, and Boykin forms, of defendant's two previous DWI convictions.

DISCUSSION

In his first assignment of error, defendant argues that his inculpatory statement at the scene of the accident was elicited in violation of the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Louisiana, and that the trial court erred in failing to suppress his statement. This argument concerns defendant's statement to Trooper Galmiche that he had one beer on the morning of the accident. He contends that his inculpatory statement was made while he was being detained, but before he was informed of his right to remain silent, as required by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).

This Court has previously addressed this issue in State v. Pomeroy, 97-1258 (La.App. 5 Cir.5/13/98), 713 So.2d 642. In Pomeroy, the defendant hit a parked van.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
785 So. 2d 848, 2001 WL 370235, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bourgeois-lactapp-2001.