State v. Daniel

702 S.E.2d 306, 208 N.C. App. 364, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 2359
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedDecember 7, 2010
DocketCOA09-1264
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 702 S.E.2d 306 (State v. Daniel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Daniel, 702 S.E.2d 306, 208 N.C. App. 364, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 2359 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

JACKSON, Judge.

Linda Daniel (“defendant”) appeals her 23 April 2009 conviction for driving while impaired based upon the 18 December 2008 denial of her motion to dismiss the charge. For the reasons discussed herein, we affirm.

At approximately 8:26 p.m. on 29 December 2007, CharlotteMecklenburg Police Officer A.L. Holt (“Officer Holt”) observed a red GMC Jimmy (“the car”) swerve outside of the appropriate travel lane multiple times. It was later determined that defendant was the driver of the car. Officer Holt activated his blue lights to stop defendant’s car; she came to a stop in a left turn lane but began to drive away when the traffic light turned green. Officer Holt “bang[ed] on the side of the car” and defendant stopped ten to fifteen feet from her original stopping [365]*365point. Officer Holt observed that defendant was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car, that there was “a strong odor of alcohol about her breath[,]” and that defendant had bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils. When asked, defendant denied that she had been drinking.

Officer Holt asked defendant to step out of the car in order to take three field sobriety tests. Defendant held onto the door of the car when she exited it and “stumbled” as she stepped out. Defendant subsequently failed the “one legged stand” test, the “walk and turn” test, and the “finger to nose” test, leading Officer Holt to form the opinion that defendant was appreciably impaired by alcohol. Officer Holt placed defendant under arrest for driving while impaired (DWI), driving while license revoked, and transporting an open container. He then transported her to the Mecklenburg County Intake Center.

Meanwhile, two other Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers arrived at the scene to conduct a search of the car. That search produced nine empty or open containers of beer, several bottle caps, and a half-full cup of beer in a cup holder. Officer D. Pogue (“Officer Pogue”) remained with the car until defendant’s roommate, Jack Bruce (“Bruce”), arrived at the scene on foot in order to take possession of the car. Officer Pogue testified that Bruce “had the smell of alcoholic beverage coming from his mouth, his person.” Nonetheless, he gave Bruce the car keys. According to Officer Pogue, the “main concern is to relinquish control [of the car] out of our custody” in case “something happens to the vehicle[.]”

Upon arrival at the Intake Center, defendant was asked to submit to a chemical analysis of her breath via the Intoxilyzer. Defendant consented and waived her statutory right to have either an attorney or witness present. The analysis was conducted at 10:32 p.m., and defendant’s Intoxilyzer results indicated a blood alcohol concentration of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Bruce arrived at the jail sometime between 11:00 p.m. and 12:25 a.m. He talked with a sheriff’s deputy and then with “a lady behind a window.” The woman asked Bruce if he had had anything to drink that day, and he responded that he “had dr[u]nk a beer at... supper.” She informed him of “the amount of the bond” and “the charges[.]” According to Bruce, she then “insisted that [he] needed to get a female to get [defendant] out.” According to police records, defendant’s processing was not completed until approximately midnight. At approximately 12:40 a.m., Bruce personally met with defendant. He met with her for approximately eight minutes, spoke with and [366]*366observed her, and testified that “she definitely appeared upset[,]” “she had been crying,” and “her speech was good.” Defendant was not released into Bruce’s custody until 6:34 p.m. on 30 December 2007, nearly twenty-four hours after her initial traffic stop.

Defendant’s motion to dismiss the DWI charge was heard and denied on 18 December 2008. On 23 April 2009, following a trial by jury, defendant was found guilty of DWI. Defendant appeals.

Defendant’s sole argument on appeal is that the trial court erred by denying her motion to dismiss, because the lengthy detention violated her statutory rights to the point of irreparably prejudicing any preparation of a defense to the charge. We disagree.

Our review of the denial of a motion to dismiss based upon alleged violations of statutes is limited to “ ‘whether there is competent evidence to support the findings and the conclusions. If there is a conflict between the [S]tate’s evidence and defendant’s evidence on material facts, it is the duty of the trial court to resolve the conflict and such resolution will not be disturbed on appeal.’ ” State v. Labinski, 188 N.C. App. 120, 124, 654 S.E.2d 740, 743 (quoting State v. Lewis, 147 N.C. App. 274, 277, 555 S.E.2d 348, 351 (2001)), disc. rev. denied, 362 N.C. 367, 661 S.E.2d 889 (2008). “Findings of fact which are not challenged ‘are presumed to be correct and are binding on appeal.’ ” Id. (quoting State v. Eliason, 100 N.C. App. 313, 315, 395 S.E.2d 702, 703 (1990)).

“Dismissal of charges for violations of statutory rights ‘is a drastic remedy which should be granted sparingly. Before a motion to dismiss should be granted ... it must appear that the statutory violation caused irreparable prejudice to the preparation of defendant’s case.’ ” Id. at 124, 654 S.E.2d at 742-43 (quoting State v. Rasmussen, 158 N.C. App. 544, 549-50, 582 S.E.2d 44, 50, disc. rev. denied, 357 N.C. 581, 589 S.E.2d 362 (2003)) (emphasis removed).

In State v. Knoll, our Supreme Court set forth the analysis governing dismissal of charges based upon alleged statutory violations. 322 N.C. 535, 369 S.E.2d 558 (1988) ("Knoll II"). In that case, three separate cases were consolidated. Id. at 536, 369 S.E.2d at 559. In each of the three cases, the trial courts had dismissed the DWI charges based upon the State’s violations of numerous statutes. Id. On appeal, this Court had reversed the trial courts, noting that

[b]ecause of the change in North Carolina’s driving while intoxicated laws, denial of access is no longer inherently prejudicial to [367]*367a defendant’s ability to gather evidence in support of his innocence in every driving while impaired case. While denial of access was clearly prejudicial in Hill, under the current 0.10 statute, a defendant’s only opportunity to obtain evidence is not lost automatically, when he is detained, and improperly denied access to friends and family. Prejudice may or may not occur since a chemical analysis result of 0.10 or more is sufficient, on its face, to convict.

State v. Knoll, 84 N.C. App. 228, 233, 352 S.E.2d 463, 466 (1987) (“Knoll 7”), rev’d by Knoll II, supra. Even though our Supreme Court agreed with this Court’s holding that “prejudice will not be assumed to accompany a violation of defendant’s statutory rights, but rather, defendant must make a showing that he was prejudiced in order to gain relief[,]” Knoll II, 322 N.C. at 545, 369 S.E.2d at 564, it reversed this Court and affirmed the trial courts, id. at 548, 369 S.E.2d at 565-66. According to the Knoll II

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Related

State v. Cloer
Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2014
State v. Lindley
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State v. Daniel
702 S.E.2d 306 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2010)

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Bluebook (online)
702 S.E.2d 306, 208 N.C. App. 364, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 2359, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-daniel-ncctapp-2010.