State v. Kimberly M. Larson

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJune 10, 1998
DocketM1999-00507-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished

This text of State v. Kimberly M. Larson (State v. Kimberly M. Larson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Kimberly M. Larson, (Tenn. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE March 2000 Session

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. KIMBERLY M. LARSON

Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court for Davidson County No. 97-T-937 Seth Norman, Judge

No. M1999-00507-CCA-R3-CD - Filed August 4, 2000

This appeal arises from a guilty verdict returned against the defendant for DUI per se for which she received a sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days, with all but ten days suspended, a $350 fine, court-ordered rehabilitation, and suspension of driving privileges for one year. On appeal, the defendant challenges the admittance of her breathalyzer test results at trial and alleges that her sentence was excessive. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court Affirmed

ALAN E. GLENN, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JOE G. RILEY, J., and WILLIAM B. ACREE, JR., SP.J., joined.

V. Michael Fox, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kimberly M. Larson.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Jennifer L. Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Edward S. Ryan, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

On June 10, 1998, the defendant, Kimberly Larson, was found guilty by a Davidson County jury of driving under the influence per se. She was subsequently sentenced to eleven months and twenty-nine days incarceration, all except ten days suspended, ordered to participate in a rehabilitation program, and prohibited from driving for one year. The defendant then filed a motion for a new trial or acquittal, which was denied by the trial court on April 30, 1999. She has appealed to this court on two issues: (1) whether the trial court erred in denying the motion for acquittal or new trial based upon the improper admittance of scientific evidence; and (2) whether the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. Upon our de novo review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS The only witness to testify in this case was Officer Harold R. Taylor, a ten-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department. At the time of the defendant's arrest, Officer Taylor was assigned to the Breath Alcohol Testing ("BAT") Division of the Traffic Enforcement Unit. He testified that, on the night of April 10, 1997, he was performing a routine patrol of West End Avenue. Just past midnight, Officer Taylor observed the defendant's vehicle traveling toward him at what appeared to be a speed greater than the posted speed limit. Using a radar unit, he was able to determine that the defendant's car was going fifty miles per hour in a thirty miles per hour zone. The officer activated his lights and sirens and pulled in behind the defendant's car, but the defendant traveled another six blocks before a second patrolman forced the vehicle to stop by using a public address system to order the defendant to pull over. Officer Taylor approached the defendant's car, got her driver's license, and asked her to exit the vehicle, because she had refused to stop for him. The officer testified that the defendant appeared intoxicated as she got out of her car. He stated that her eyes were red, her face was flushed, and he detected the odor of alcohol. Although her speech was not slurred, Officer Taylor noticed that her mouth was dry, and she kept licking her lips to keep her mouth wet. When asked, the defendant initially denied having consumed any alcohol, but the officer noticed unsteadiness when she walked.

After obtaining the defendant's consent to perform a field sobriety test, the officer instructed and demonstrated for the defendant the various maneuvers he asked her to perform.1 He stated that she did "okay" on the "one-leg stand"2 until she reached somewhere between eleven and twenty seconds. At that point, the defendant raised her arms to maintain her balance. Somewhere between twenty-one to thirty seconds, the defendant swayed somewhat and kept her arms away from her body to keep her balance. She counted incorrectly in the process of reaching thirty seconds and did not follow the officer's instructions, which indicated to the officer that she was somewhat confused. When Officer Taylor had her perform the "walk and turn” task,3 the defendant was unable to maintain her balance. Instead of walking the first nine steps and then doing a two-step pivot, the defendant went twelve steps. She raised her arms and missed a couple of heel-to-toe steps. After the “two-step pivot,” the defendant then went ten steps instead of nine and raised her arms again to maintain her balance. Based on cues he observed during the defendant's performance on the field

1 According to the Intoxilyzer Alcohol Analyzer results attached to the Form #132 filled out by Officer Taylor, the breath alcohol test was administered at 1:02 a.m. 2 Officer Taylor e xplained that this test requ ires subjects to stand on whichever leg they choose, hold the other leg approximately six inches off the ground while keeping the hands down to the sides, and count "one thousand one, one thousan d two . . . etc." up to "one thousand thirty." This test is administered accordin g to Natio nal High way T raffic Safety Administration (NHT SA). stan dards. See infra note 7.

3 This test requires the subject to stand on a line with one foot in front of the other one, heel-to-toe , and wa lk nine steps with the heel touching the toe of the other foot. At the end of the ninth step, the subject is instructed to do a "two-step pivot," by which the subject brings the back foot around one time and completes the turn on the second step. The subject then begins the "heel-toe" walk again for the nine steps. This test is administered according to NHTSA standard s.

-2- sobriety tests,4 her slow response to his emergency equipment, the odor of alcohol, and her red, glassy eyes, Officer Taylor felt that the defendant was impaired and should not be operating a motor vehicle.

At that point, Officer Taylor read the Tennessee Implied Consent Law to the defendant and asked her if she would submit to a breath test. The defendant agreed to do so. She was placed in the back of Officer Taylor's police car, and he sat in the driver's seat so he could turn around. At this point, Officer Taylor asked the defendant the questions on the back of the Form #1325 used by police. She responded that she did not have any illness or injuries, did not take any medications or drugs, had her last meal at 8:00 p.m., and had one mixed drink at approximately 9:00 p.m. The defendant told the officer that she had the mixed drink at Club Platinum on Hayes Street. Because the defendant's eyes were red, Officer Taylor asked how much sleep she had gotten in the past twenty-four hours, to which she replied seven hours. Officer Taylor testified that he did not do any paperwork during his observation of the defendant, which lasted approximately twenty-eight minutes. At the end of the observation period, Officer Taylor administered the breath test to the defendant, and she registered a 0.16%. After advising the defendant of the results, Officer Taylor asked if she wanted to submit to a blood test. He testified that he did not remember if the defendant stated that she wanted a blood test at that time, but she would have been given one if she had indicated that she wanted one. He remembered the defendant asking about the cost, and Taylor told her the cost. Taylor stated that if the defendant had said, “That’s all right,” he would have interpreted her response to mean "no," which he marked on the Form #132. He took the defendant straight to the jail.

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Bluebook (online)
State v. Kimberly M. Larson, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kimberly-m-larson-tenncrimapp-1998.