State v. Harvey

356 P.2d 726, 57 Wash. 2d 295, 1960 Wash. LEXIS 477
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 9, 1960
Docket35160
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 356 P.2d 726 (State v. Harvey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Harvey, 356 P.2d 726, 57 Wash. 2d 295, 1960 Wash. LEXIS 477 (Wash. 1960).

Opinions

[296]*296Donworth, J.

This is an appeal from judgments and sentences entered upon verdicts of a jury finding appellant guilty of negligent homicide by means of a motor vehicle and guilty of operating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner.

Count I of the amended information, which charges appellant with the crime of negligent homicide by means of a motor vehicle (RCW 46.56.040), reads as follows:

“That the said Luther W. Harvey in the County of Grant, State of Washington, on or about the 24th of December, 1958, then and there without lawful excuse or justification, wilfully unlawfully and feloniously did kill a human being, to-wit: Arthur T. Johansson, in the following manner, to-wit: That the said Luther W. Harvey, in the County of Grant, State of Washington, on or about the 24th day of December 1958, did then and there operate and drive a motor vehicle, to-wit: a 1950 Chevrolet, in a southerly direction over and along a public county road, known as the Stratford Road, in Grant County, State of Washington; and while being engaged in the discharge of his duties as such driver and operator of said motor vehicle wilfully and unlawfully did operate said motor vehicle while under the influence of and affected by intoxicating liquor, and wilfully and unlawfully did operate said motor vehicle in a reckless manner and with a wilful and wanton disregard for the safety of persons and property by then and there operating said vehicle over and along the pavement of the aforementioned Stratford Road with one or more of the wheels off the roadway thereof during the hours of darkness; and as a result of the aforementioned acts, the said Luther W. Harvey did drive said automobile into and against the body of Arthur T. Johansson, thereby mortally wounding Arthur T. Johansson; from which mortal wounds, Arthur T. Johansson languished and died on the 26th day of December, 1958; contrary to the form of the Statute in such cases made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Washington.”

. Appellant was charged in count II with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of, and affected by, intoxicating liquor (RCW 46.56.010), and in count III with operating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner (RCW 46-.56.020).

At the close of the state’s case, appellant moved for dismissal of all three counts on the ground that the state had [297]*297failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the essential elements of the crimes charged. The motion was denied.

At the close of all of the evidence, the case was submitted to the jury which returned verdicts of guilty as to counts I and III. Appellant’s motion for arrest of judgment or, in the alternative, for a new trial was denied. Thereafter, the trial court entered judgments and sentences upon the verdicts. This appeal followed.

Five assignments of error are presented.

Appellant’s first assignment of error is based upon the trial court’s failure to give his requested instruction “B” which, among other things, would have instructed the jury that a finding that appellant was guilty of only ordinary negligence would not support a conviction of negligent homicide. It is argued that, without instruction “B,” the jury could have found appellant guilty of the crime of negligent homicide if it found he was guilty of ordinary negligence. Appellant cites State v. Partridge, 47 Wn. (2d) 640, 289 P. (2d) 702 (1955), in support of his position.

In the Partridge case, supra, the trial court affirmatively instructed the jury that a finding of ordinary negligence would support a conviction of negligent homicide. We held that such an instruction was error, since ordinary negligence was insufficient to support a conviction of negligent homicide.

In the case at bar, no instruction was given which referred to ordinary negligence. The trial court instructed the jury in instruction No. 6 that they could not find appellant guilty of negligent homicide unless they found that he was driving while under the influence of, or affected by, intoxicating liquor, or driving in a reckless manner or with disregard for the safety of others. By instruction No. 5, the trial court defined “reckless manner” as “a heedless, or rash manner or in a manner indifferent to consequences.”

Appellant has not assigned error to any of the instructions given by the trial court. A trial court is not required to give negative instructions as to those matters which will not support a conviction in a criminal case.

[298]*298By way of assignments of error Nos. 2, 3, and 4, appellant contends the state produced no evidence that would support a conviction of negligent homicide. We think otherwise.

The facts surrounding the accident are as follows: The accident took place at a point approximately one mile north of the city limits of Moses Lake, Washington, at approximately 5:30 p. m. Charles Graham was riding his motorcycle south on Stratford Road with Arthur Johansson (the deceased) riding on the “buddy seat.” Stratford Road has a blacktop surface and the shoulders are of gravel.

When the windbreak shield on Graham’s helmet began to “fog up,” he pulled his motorcycle off the road onto the shoulder in front of a service station and stopped from six to nine feet west of the westerly edge of the blacktop.

Appellant was driving south on Stratford Road in his 1950 Chevrolet, with his headlights on, proceeding at approximately twenty-five miles per hour in a thirty-five mile per hour speed zone. Appellant, who was a carpenter by trade, had been drinking that afternoon at a pre-Christmas gathering of his fellow workmen at their job site. The right front side of his car struck Johansson, who was standing somewhere to the rear and left of the motorcycle. Graham did not actually see the collision, as he was astraddle the motorcycle and facing southward at the time. Johansson died on December 26, 1958.

Appellant’s position that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction of the crime of negligent homicide is based largely upon the contention that it is a reasonable hypothesis that decedent unexpectedly jumped out in front of the car, and that the state failed to establish whether the collision took place on the traveled portion of the road or on the shoulder thereof.

The record does not support appellant’s contention. Mr. Weese, who was driving north at the time of the accident and claimed to have witnessed it, testified that Johansson appeared to attempt to jump to avoid the collision. He did not testify that Johansson jumped out in front of the car.

Officer Schusster of the state patrol traced appellant’s [299]*299car tracks along the shoulder of the road. He testified that appellant’s car left the blacktop at a point two hundred and twenty-two feet before striking Johansson. William Boyes, who was in a car traveling approximately one eighth to one quarter of a mile behind appellant, testified that appellant appeared to swerve off the road at the point of collision.

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State v. Harvey
356 P.2d 726 (Washington Supreme Court, 1960)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
356 P.2d 726, 57 Wash. 2d 295, 1960 Wash. LEXIS 477, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-harvey-wash-1960.