State v. Henricks

653 P.2d 479, 201 Mont. 157
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 2, 1982
Docket82-166
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 653 P.2d 479 (State v. Henricks) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana 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. Henricks, 653 P.2d 479, 201 Mont. 157 (Mo. 1982).

Opinion

MR. JUSTICE HARRISON

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This appeal is from the Second Judicial District in and for the County of Silver Bow. The defendant, Garry Henricks, was convicted on the charge of negligent homicide. From that conviction he appeals.

On September 12, 1981, at approximately 11:30 p.m., the Henricks vehicle, occupied by Garry and Lorraine Henricks, struck and killed a pedestrian. The impact shattered the windshield and sprayed glass particles through the interior. Prior to the accident, Garry and Lorraine had been drinking heavily. At about 11:00 p.m., the parties left the Scandia Bar with another couple, Paul and Raelene Collins. The *159 two couples took their own cars and were to meet at a restaurant. However, the Henricks never showed up. Raelene Collins testified that as they were walking into the restaurant, the Henricks drove by. She testified that Garry was driving at that time.

Garry Henricks admitted that he was driving when they left the bar. He testified that he was driving home but stopped two or three blocks short. Lorraine had wanted to go back to Jerry’s Corner Bar to find her shoes and purse. Garry testified that Lorraine then started driving and he began to doze. He does not remember very many details of the accident but does remember hearing a thump or thud as the car hit the pedestrian.

Lorraine’s version differs. She testified that she does not remember much of the evening because she has blackout spells when she drinks excessively. However, she does remember leaving the Scandia Bar and Garry was driving. The next thing she remembers is the car striking something, and at that time, Garry was driving. There were several witnesses to the accident, yet none could positively identify the driver.

After the accident Garry and Lorraine agreed to “get rid of the car” since they both had been drinking and they didn’t have insurance. They drove back to the Scandia Bar. The bartender at the Scandia testified that Lorraine came in and appeared panicky and desperate. She was asking for Paul Collins. When she could not find Paul she asked Kenny Moore to go outside and talk with her. Outside, Lorraine and Kenny Moore met Paul and Raelene Collins as they were driving up. The Collinses followed them into an alley where the hit-and-run car was parked. Garry then drove their car in search of a place to abandon it. The Collinses followed. The car was abandoned and the Collinses gave them a ride to another couple’s house. The next morning, Lorraine reported the car as stolen. Later that day the police found the hit-and-run vehicle.

Blood stains were found on the driver’s side floor mat and *160 on the dashboard to the left of the steering wheel. The sample on the dashboard matched Garry’s blood type and the sample on the floor matched Lorraine’s. Lorraine was barefoot the evening of the accident, however, it was not until the next morning she noticed that she had cut her foot; apparently from the shattered windshield glass of the hit-and-run vehicle.

On October 9, Lorraine contacted police and admitted being the driver of the vehicle. The next morning she made a formal statement in which she again admitted being the driver. She was then charged and jailed. However, on October 15 and 16 she made statements which repudiated earlier statements. She said she was not the driver. Lorraine was eventually released and on November 5, Garry Hen-ricks was arrested and charged with negligent homicide.

The appellant raises the following issues for our consideration: (1) whether or not the testimony and the physical evidence was sufficient to. support the jury verdict; (2) whether witness identification of “a passenger with long hair” was tainted by police interviewing procedures; and (3) whether the District Court erred in refusing to allow lay witness opinion testimony?

Our standard in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is clear. The test is “whether there is substantial evidence to support the conviction, viewed in the light most favorable to the State.” State v. Lamb (1982), 198 Mont. 323, 646 P.2d 516, 518, 39 St.Rep. 1021, 1024; see also, State v. Cook (1982), 198 Mont. 329, 645 P.2d 1367, 39 St.Rep. 1026; State v. Wilson (1981), Mont., 631 P.2d 1273, 38 St.Rep. 1040.

We stress that portion of the test which mandates review “in the light most favorable to the State.” At the trial court the prosecution is obliged to prove every element of the crime. Such a requirement is obvious, issuing from the presumption of innocence. However, “on appeal after conviction the rule changes. Then, if the record shows any substantial evidence to support the judgment, the presump *161 tion is in favor of such judgment.” State v. Stoddard (1966), 147 Mont. 402, 408, 412 P.2d 827, 831. As we said in State v. Caryl (1975), 168 Mont. 414, 422-423, 543 P.2d 389, 394, this Court “will assume the existence of every fact which the jury could have deduced from all the evidence to reach its verdict.”

In this case there is more than substantial evidence to support the conviction. Lorraine Henricks stated unequivocally that Garry was driving when the accident occurred. Raelene Collins testified that she saw the defendant driving shortly before the accident. Another witness, one who was at the accident scene, testified that he got a glimpse of a passenger with long hair. On the night in question Garry had short hair and Lorraine had long hair; thus, allowing the jury to infer that Lorraine was the passenger. Still another witness, upon seeing the car speed by shortly after the accident, testified that he had the impression that the driver was a man. Finally, a medical doctor who examined the glass cut injuries of both Garry and Lorraine came to the conclusion that Garry’s upper body along the left side was furthest away from the point of impact; thus, supporting an inference that Garry was the driver.

Next, appellant contends a due process violation arising through the testimony of Mr. Stevens who testified at trial that he saw a passenger with long hair. Immediately after the accident this witness made a written statement. That statement made no mention of a “passenger with long hair.” Eight days later, the witness made a six-page statement after being shown the hit-and-run vehicle and, it seems, after he had been shown a picture of Lorraine Hen-ricks. According to appellant, the witness did not:

“even know there was a passenger until the picture was shown to him. Thereafter, the state’s technique is clear. Get somebody to say there is a passenger with long hair; show that Garry Henricks didn’t have long hair on the night in question, and VIOLA! Garry Henricks was the driver.”

The record does not contain the six-page statement made *162 by the witness to the police eight days after the incident.

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Related

State v. Smith
1998 MT 257 (Montana Supreme Court, 1998)
State v. Henricks
672 P.2d 20 (Montana Supreme Court, 1983)
State v. Koch
673 P.2d 297 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1983)

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Bluebook (online)
653 P.2d 479, 201 Mont. 157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-henricks-mont-1982.