State v. Parry

985 So. 2d 771, 2008 WL 793699
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 26, 2008
Docket2007/KA/1972
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 985 So. 2d 771 (State v. Parry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Parry, 985 So. 2d 771, 2008 WL 793699 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

985 So.2d 771 (2008)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Gena F. PARRY.

No. 2007/KA/1972.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

March 26, 2008.

*772 Walter P. Reed, District Attorney, Covington, LA, Kathryn W. Landry, Special Appeals Counsel, Baton Rouge, LA, for Appellee State of Louisiana.

Katherine M. Franks, Abita Springs, LA, for Defendant/Appellant/Gena A. Parry.

Before GAIDRY, McDONALD and McCLENDON, JJ.

McDONALD, J.

Defendant, Gena Parry, was charged by bill of information with third-offense driving while intoxicated (DWI), a violation of La. R.S. 14:98(D). Defendant pled not guilty and waived her right to be tried by a jury. Following a bench trial, defendant was found guilty as charged. The trial court sentenced defendant to three years imprisonment at hard labor, and suspended all but thirty days of the sentence. Defendant was placed on three years probation with special conditions, including four to six weeks of substance abuse treatment and evaluation; home incarceration with electronic monitoring for the remainder of her term; a fine of $2,000.00; her vehicle seized and sold; and driver-improvement classes. Defendant would be allowed to drive with an interlock device.

Defendant appeals, citing the following assignments of error:

1. Insufficient credible evidence was offered at trial to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that [defendant] was driving under the influence of alcohol.
2. The sentence imposed was inadequately reasoned, imposed with no attempt to tailor the sentence to the offender and excessive under the circumstances of the case. The judge, lacking any information about [defendant], imposed conditions that make the probation doomed to failure from its outset while leaving others to the discretion of the Probation and Parole Department with no judicial input.
3. The judge committed error in sentencing [defendant] immediately following the adjudication of guilt without a waiver of the twenty-four hour mandatory delay set by La.Code Crim. P. art. 873.

We affirm defendant's conviction, vacate her sentence, and remand for resentencing.

*773 FACTS

Shortly after midnight on August 10, 2005, Louisiana State Police Trooper Coy Canulette was on patrol in Slidell. As Trooper Canulette was traveling northbound on Louisiana Highway 11 (also known as Pontchartrain Drive), he observed a vehicle ahead of him (driven by defendant) cross the dashed-white-line separating the left and right northbound lanes of the roadway three times. Trooper Canulette activated the lights of his unit and initiated a traffic stop of defendant's vehicle.

Defendant brought her vehicle to a stop along the shoulder of La. Hwy. 11, in front of an Ace Hardware Store. After defendant exited her vehicle, Trooper Canulette detected a strong odor of alcohol on defendant's breath. In response to Trooper Canulette's inquiries, defendant denied that she had consumed any alcoholic beverages prior to being stopped. Trooper Canulette then administered the field sobriety tests. On the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test, Trooper Canulette noted that all six clues of impairment were present.[1] These clues include lack of smooth pursuit, distinct nystagmus at maximum deviation, and nystagmus onset prior to forty-five degrees, which were present in both of defendant's eyes.

Trooper Canulette then administered the walk-and-turn test to defendant. During this test, Trooper Canulette noted that defendant failed to keep her balance during the instructions, did not touch heel to toe while walking, stepped off the line while walking, veered to the right while walking, and turned incorrectly. Trooper Canulette also testified that when defendant performed the one-legged-stand test, she swayed and then stated she suffered from vertigo and was unable to complete the test. Trooper Canulette's unit was equipped with a dashboard camera. The videocassette tape of the trooper's encounter with defendant was played for the trial court.

Defendant again denied that she had consumed any alcohol. Based on his observations of defendant and her performance on the field sobriety tests, Trooper Canulette placed defendant under arrest for DWI. A male occupant in defendant's vehicle was transported by another law enforcement officer to a nearby gasoline station.

Trooper Canulette transported defendant to the Slidell Police Department where he offered her a breath test. Trooper Canulette also testified that defendant stated she had consumed a few beers before going to sleep. According to Trooper Canulette, defendant refused to take a breath test at the Slidell Police Station. On cross-examination, Trooper Canulette admitted he was unaware of how vertigo would affect the HGN test; however, he stated that vertigo would have no relation to the smell of alcohol on defendant's breath.

Defendant testified at trial and admitted that she had pled guilty in two prior DWI convictions.[2] Defendant denied she had been drinking prior to this incident, and further denied she indicated to Trooper Canulette that she had consumed a few beers earlier that evening.

*774 Defendant testified earlier that day, she had been moving from an apartment, and she had been using various cleaning products. According to defendant, she briefly fell asleep, awoke, and decided to purchase something to eat from a nearby fast-food restaurant. Defendant denied that she weaved multiple times between lanes, but explained that she had to change over four lanes in a short distance to return to her apartment. Defendant maintained that she used her blinker in doing so.

Defendant testified that two months prior to this incident, she had sustained a concussion that caused vertigo. Defendant explained that her doctor had indicated the vertigo could last from six to twelve months. Defendant stated that during these episodes when she would lean down, or look sideways without turning her head, she would experience a spinning feeling. Defendant testified that she felt these symptoms while attempting to do the one-legged-stand test. Defendant further explained that during the walk-and-turn test, she was trying to avoid chunks of asphalt on the side of the road and did not walk straight.

Defendant testified that she requested to take a breath test, but that Trooper Canulette would not administer such a test on the scene. Defendant claimed she blew in the breath machine at the police station three times, but that Trooper Canulette would not mark her results. On cross-examination, defendant claimed she never drinks beer; that she only consumed French fries prior to being stopped; and that Trooper Canulette was lying about her refusal to provide a breath sample.

The defense also called Robert Reese, who was qualified as an expert in administering the standardized field sobriety tests, with the caveat that he had not participated in any administering or training in the past ten years. According to Reese, the HGN test should take a bare minimum of sixty-two to sixty-four seconds to administer, exclusive of the instructional phase. Reese viewed the videotape from Trooper Canulette's dashboard camera showing defendant performing the field sobriety tests, and concluded that Trooper Canulette explained and administered the HGN test in less than sixty seconds, which was too quickly. Reese explained that by administering this test too quickly, it can negate the equal tracking and onset of nystagmus components, which are four of the six clues of impairment tested.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
985 So. 2d 771, 2008 WL 793699, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-parry-lactapp-2008.