State v. Scaturro

509 S.W.2d 491, 1974 Mo. App. LEXIS 1593
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 30, 1974
Docket35179
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 509 S.W.2d 491 (State v. Scaturro) 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. Scaturro, 509 S.W.2d 491, 1974 Mo. App. LEXIS 1593 (Mo. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

*492 KELLY, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of Driving While Intoxicated in violation of Sec. 564.-440 RSMo 1969, V.A.M.S., after trial to the court without a jury and after his motion for new trial was overruled he was sentenced to pay a fine of $125.00 and court costs. This appeal followed.

In this Court the appellant contends that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding of guilt 1 and that a medical doctor should not have been permitted to read from a hospital record an entry wherein a resident physician noted “appears inebriated.” We find no error and therefore affirm.

Briefly stated there was substantial evidence to support a finding by the trial court that at approximately 12:45 a. m. on November 13, 1972, appellant was operating a motor vehicle in an eastwardly direction over and along Cook Avenue at or near its intersection with Sarah Street in the City of St. Louis, Missouri. That at the same time and place Craig Feldmeier, a St. Louis Police officer, was operating a police vehicle southwardly on Sarah Street. That appellant in the motor vehicle he was operating violated a stop sign at the intersection of Cook and Sarah and drove the motor vehicle into the side of the police vehicle being operated through the intersection in a southwardly direction on Sarah Street by Officer Feldmeier and then continued southwardly on Sarah Street until he collided with another motor vehicle which was parked along the curb-line of Sarah Street and then came to a stop. Officer Feldmeier alighted from the police vehicle, approached the motor vehicle with appellant therein, and from his observations of the appellant formed the opinion that the appellant was in an intoxicated condition. Two other police officers arrived on the scene, observed the appellant and they too concluded that he was in an intoxicated condition. Appellant was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated, advised of his rights and the Missouri Implied Consent Law and he consented to take the Breathalyzer test. He was thereafter conveyed to the St. Louis City Hospital where he was diagnosed as a hemophiliac and he was then conveyed to the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis where he was treated by a Dr. Robert Frye, an intern in the emergency room, for a laceration on the chin. Dr. Frye formed the opinion that appellant was intoxicated when he saw him in the emergency room of the hospital. 2

An appellate court does not weigh evidence or judge the credibility of the witnesses, but determines only if there is substantial evidence to support the verdict of the jury or of the trier of the facts and a verdict so supported will not be disturbed on appeal. State v. Campbell, 292 S.W.2d 297, 299 [5] (Mo.1956); State v. Hicks, 438 S.W.2d 215, 219 [5] (Mo.1969). Substantial evidence means evidence from which the trier of fact reasonably could find the issue in harmony therewith. State v. Taylor, 445 S.W.2d 282, 284 [4] (Mo.1969).

Appellant argues that evidence of his guilt is purely circumstantial. We hold otherwise. Circumstantial evidence has been defined by the courts of this State as proof of facts and circumstances from *493 which a jury may infer other connected facts according to common experience of mankind. State v. Blankenship, 330 Mo. 792, 50 S.W.2d 1024, 1026 [2] (1932). Direct evidence is evidence which, if believed, proves the existence of facts in issue without inference or presumption. State v. Cox, 352 S.W.2d 665, 670 [3] (Mo.1961). The Missouri courts hold that evidence obtained by any one of the five senses is direct evidence. State v. Dalton, 23 S.W.2d 1, 6 [15] (Mo.1929). It has long been settled that opinion evidence as to the fact of intoxication may be given even by a layman. State v. Edmonds, 468 S.W.2d 685, 688 [6] (Mo.App.1971); 7 Am.Jur.2d, “Automobiles and Highway Traffic,” § 331, p. 874; 3 Charles E. Tor-cia, Wharton’s Criminal Evidence, § 607 (13th ed. 1972). The cases are legion which hold that evidence to the extent adduced by the State in this case through the testimony of the police officers who had opportunity to observe and form an opinion as to appellant’s intoxicated condition, together with that of Dr. Frye, support a conviction of Driving While Intoxicated. State v. Persell, 468 S.W.2d 719, 721 [1] (Mo.App.1971); and cases in 4A Mo. Digest, Automobiles, [6]. We rule this point against appellant.

Appellant’s final point is that the trial court erred in permitting Dr. Frye, over objection, to read from the hospital record an entry made by another Doctor that the appellant “appears inebriated.” The thrust of his argument is that the word “appears” constitutes this entry a “conclusion” and not a statement of fact and further that the qualification of the doctor making this entry to form such an opinion was not established in the record prior to admission of this evidence.

During the trial, and when Dr. Frye was on the stand as a State’s witness, counsel for the appellant, during cross-examination, had the records of the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis marked as Defendant’s Exhibit 4 and inquired of the doctor whether he recognized any of the writing on the emergency room records and the records of the first day of hospitalization as being his. Dr. Frye responded that the only writing in that report by him was that describing the laceration of the chin; that the rest of the report was filled in by the emergency room and followed thereafter by a written report of the medical doctor. Attention was later directed to the “third page” — “What the history physical examination of progress note means, what is that report for and how is it made up?” Dr. Frye responded that it was “a residence (sic) report, the medical resident,” which would have been made up “on the floor” immediately after appellant’s arrival there. He identified the resident at that time as a Dr. Englebert, a first year medical resident, whose duty it was to take a history from the patient relative to the nature of his injuries, how they were caused and note his condition. Referring then to the doctor’s notes — i. e., those made by the resident, Dr. Englebert, and not Dr. Frye, appellant’s counsel inquired:

“Q. And, the doctor’s notes on that page there as to the patient’s ability to give a history is what ?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. What did he say?
A. Patient is unable to give history.” Attention was then directed to some past medical history and an entry that patient was unable to give a history which Dr. Frye stated was probably entered after appellant arrived “on the floor.”

Almost immediately thereafter, when counsel for appellant announced that he had no further questions, the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, on re-direct examination made the following inquiry:

“Q.

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Bluebook (online)
509 S.W.2d 491, 1974 Mo. App. LEXIS 1593, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-scaturro-moctapp-1974.