State v. Hoyt

922 S.W.2d 443, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 920, 1996 WL 276823
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 28, 1996
DocketWD 51306
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 922 S.W.2d 443 (State v. Hoyt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hoyt, 922 S.W.2d 443, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 920, 1996 WL 276823 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

ULRICH, Judge.

John Hoyt appeals from his class B misdemeanor conviction of driving while intoxicated, Section 577.010 RSMo 1994. He asserts that the trial court erred in: 1) overruling his motion to dismiss in that res judicata and collateral estoppel prohibited the state from filing charges again after the first charge was dismissed; 2) denying his motion for dismissal because the criminal prosecution and the license revocation proceeding emanated from the same occurrence, were penalties for the same occurrence, and constituted double jeopardy; 8) overruling his motion for dismissal because the doctrine of collateral es-toppel precluded the prosecution from relit-igating the matter after the Department of Revenue found insufficient evidence that he was driving the vehicle; and 4) in overruling his motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of the evidence, claiming insufficient evidence was presented to prove he was driving.

The judgment is affirmed.

I. Pre-trial procedure

John Hoyt was charged by information with the class B misdemeanor, driving while intoxicated, on April 29, 1994, in Macon County. The case was transferred to Linn County on a change of venue. The case was dismissed for failure to prosecute when the continuance the State requested was found not to be in proper form. On September 19, 1994, six days after the dismissal, the charge was refiled in Macon County.

' Mr. Hoyt filed a Motion to Dismiss due to the prior dismissal. The motion was overruled. He then filed his Motion to Dismiss, claiming double jeopardy because the administrative procedure to revoke his license had been initiated and criminal prosecution was initiated also. The trial court found all the factual allegations of the motion to be true but concluded that they did not constitute double jeopardy.

II. Facts

The following evidence was produced at trial. Mike Applegate, a Macon police officer, responded to a call that a vehicle near Macon was in a ditch. Upon arrival, he found the front end of the vehicle down in the ditch with the rear of the vehicle elevated toward the road. The engine of the vehicle was running and the lights were on. Mr. Hoyt was inside the car slumped over the steering wheel. Officer Applegate pounded on the driver’s side window but observed no response from Mr. Hoyt. He then returned to his patrol car to call for an ambulance.

While at his patrol car, he noticed the taillight of the Hoyt vehicle go out and movement inside the vehicle. The occupant appeared to slide across to the passenger side of the vehicle. The officer went back to the vehicle and tried to get Mr. Hoyt’s attention but he still received no response.

An ambulance arrived within two to three minutes. Trooper Vicki Fohey, Missouri Highway Patrol, arrived shortly after the ambulance. 1 The trooper walked to the Hoyt vehicle. The door was open. She immediately noticed a strong odor of alcoholic beverage. Trooper Fohey requested Mr. Hoyt’s driver’s license, and he acted confused. He denied driving the vehicle and asked if the trooper had “gotten the two black guys” who were driving his car.

Trooper Fohey did not administer any field sobriety tests because Mr. Hoyt was unable to stand by himself. She placed him under arrest for driving while intoxicated *446 and took him to the Macon County Sheriffs department for processing. While preparing the BAC Verifier (breathalizer machine) to test Mr. Hoyt, he passed out, falling to the floor unconscious. Upon being revived by an ammonia capsule, Mr. Hoyt accused Trooper Fohey of striking him in the head. Trooper Fohey testified that in her opinion, Mr. Hoyt was intoxicated

An ambulance was called to the Sheriffs department, and Mr. Hoyt was taken to the hospital. At the hospital, a blood sample was taken. Mr. Hoyt’s blood alcohol content was .25 percent.

Mr. Ronald Grafton, a long time friend of Mr. Hoyt, testified that he had seen Mr. Hoyt outside the Beaumont Room talking to a couple of “black guys” and that he appeared to be quite drunk. Mr. Grafton testified that Mr. Hoyt told him these two men were going to take him to a motel in exchange for money he had paid them. Mr. Grafton testified that he was concerned for Mr. Hoyt and followed his vehicle. A short distance later he saw the vehicle in the ditch and the two black men running from the scene. Mr. Grafton asked his friend if he needed help, and Mr. Hoyt told him that he would just sleep it off. Mr. Grafton left Mr. Hoyt in the ditch and drove home.

Mr. Hoyt testified at trial in his own behalf. He claimed that he had too much to drink and was shoved by a black man as he was leaving the Beaumont Room. He then offered the man and his friend, neither of whom he knew, $50.00 to take him to a motel. He did not remember being at the police station until hearing the evidence at trial.

The jury returned its verdict of guilty and recommended a fine to be determined by the court as punishment. The Court sentenced Mr. Hoyt to pay a fine of $250.00 and costs. This appeal followed.

III. Res Judicata, Collateral Estoppel and Double Jeopardy by Earlier Dismissal and Refiling

Mr. Hoyt asserts as his first point on appeal that the trial court erred in overruling his motion to dismiss because the initial charge had been dismissed for failure to prosecute, and res judicata and collateral es-toppel prohibit the state from filing the charges again.

Res judicata operates as a bar to the assertion of a cause of action which has previously been adjudicated in a proceeding between the parties or those in privity with the parties. State ex rel. Shea v. Bossola, 827 S.W.2d 722, 723 (Mo.App.1992). Res judicata and collateral estoppel require that prior claims be decided on the merits. Korte Trucking Co. v. Broadway Ford Truck Sales, 877 S.W.2d 218 (Mo.App.1994). A dismissal based on procedural grounds is not an adjudication on the merits that effects a bar to a later trial. Id.; O’Reilly v. City of Hazelwood, 850 S.W.2d 96, 98 (Mo. banc 1993). Since, no trial occurred on the merits, the state was not precluded by res judicata from refiling the charges against Mr. Hoyt.

Appellant’s argument asserts a claim of double jeopardy rather than res judicata. However, a defendant is not placed in jeopardy in a jury trial until the jury has been properly impaneled and sworn. In re L.L.W., 626 S.W.2d 261 (Mo.App.1981). Since no jury had been sworn, jeopardy had not attached, and the prosecution was free to refile the charge.

Point one is denied.

IV. Revocation of Driver’s License and Criminal Prosecution Double Jeopardy Claim

Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
922 S.W.2d 443, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 920, 1996 WL 276823, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hoyt-moctapp-1996.