State v. Wright

603 P.2d 1034, 4 Kan. App. 2d 196, 1979 Kan. App. LEXIS 275
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedDecember 14, 1979
Docket51,143
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 603 P.2d 1034 (State v. Wright) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Wright, 603 P.2d 1034, 4 Kan. App. 2d 196, 1979 Kan. App. LEXIS 275 (kanctapp 1979).

Opinion

Abbott, J.:

This is a direct appeal by the defendant, Keith Wright, from his convictions of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs in violation of K.S.A. 1978 Supp. 8-1567 and failure to stop at a stop sign in violation of K.S.A. 8-1528.

On December 15, 1978, two Chanute police officers while on routine patrol at approximately 12:45 a.m. observed the defendant’s automobile swerve out of its lane and into the parking area near the curb. The officers then proceeded to follow defendant’s automobile and, after observing it run a stop sign, stopped defendant for a traffic violation. Upon detecting a strong odor of *197 alcohol and noting defendant’s slurred speech, the officers requested that defendant perform two sobriety tests involving physical coordination. When he failed these tests, defendant was arrested for driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor and was given a blood alcohol test which registered an alcoholic content of 0.19, well above the 0.10 statutory presumption of intoxication. The trial judge found defendant guilty of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor and failure to stop at a stop sign. On appeal, defendant raises three challenges to his convictions:

1. Did the police officers have probable cause to stop defendant’s automobile and arrest him?

2. Did the trial court err in allowing the State to amend its complaint at trial?

3. Did the trial court err in permitting the police officer to refer to a copy of his police report while being cross-examined at trial?

Defendant’s first point on appeal may be quickly dismissed based on his failure to properly preserve for appeal the question concerning lack of probable cause. Defenses and objections based on defects in the institution of the prosecution, such as probable cause for a warrantless arrest, may be raised only by motion before trial. State v. Brocato, 222 Kan. 201, 202, 563 P.2d 470 (1977); K.S.A. 22-3208. Here, there is no evidence in the record that defendant raised such a motion prior to trial or that he ever requested the trial court to set aside his implied waiver of the issue. This alone is sufficient authority upon which to dispose of the probable cause contention but an alternative ground exists. Not only did defendant fail to raise this question before trial, he also failed to argue the issue at any point during trial. It is well-settled that a litigant may not for the first time on appeal change the theory of his case from that on which it was presented to the trial court, nor may he present matters or issues which he did not bring to the attention of that court. Goff v. American Savings Association, 1 Kan. App. 2d 75, 78, 561 P.2d 897 (1977).

Moreover, even if this contention were to be considered upon the merits, we are of the opinion probable cause existed to support the officer’s actions. The officers observed defendant’s car swerve and later run a stop sign. Based on this observation, the officers had probable cause to stop the car and, when confronted with the strong odor of alcohol in the car plus the inability of *198 defendant to pass basic sobriety tests, there then existed adequate grounds upon which to make the arrest.

Defendant’s second point on appeal alleges error in the trial court’s decision to allow the State to amend its stop sign complaint at trial. The traffic ticket complaint issued at the scene charged defendant with running a stop sign at Third and Evergreen Streets in Chanute, Kansas. At trial, both arresting officers admitted that the stop sign had actually been located at Fourth and Evergreen and the trial court granted the State’s motion to so amend the complaint. There is no stop sign at Third and Evergreen. The officers correctly described the physical characteristics of Fourth and Evergreen as being the place where the offense occurred. They further testified that Third Street becomes Fourth Street where the street makes a slight jog west of the intersection in question. Defendant contends this amendment was prejudicial to him because his defense was based on the fact that no stop sign existed at Third and Evergreen and that the amendment at trial allowed him inadequate time to prepare a defense.

The amendment of a criminal complaint is controlled by K.S.A. 1978 Supp. 22-3201(4): “The court may permit a complaint or information to be amended at any time before verdict or finding if no additional or different crime is charged and if substantial rights of the defendant are not prejudiced.” Defendant relies principally on the Kansas Supreme Court’s interpretation of this statute in State v. Johnson, 223 Kan. 185, 573 P.2d 595 (1977). In that case, defendant’s felony conviction for possession of a semiautomatic pistol was reversed because the trial court permitted the State to amend its original complaint charging defendant with possession of a revolver after all of the evidence was in. Two handguns, one pistol and one revolver, were found in different locations in the car driven by defendant at the time of his arrest. The court found that the defendant had structured his firearms defense around the revolver and its location in the car, and that amendment of the complaint to include the pistol after the case had already been argued to the jury destroyed his defense to the original charge without allowing him the opportunity to present his new defense, thereby prejudicing his substantial rights. In the case now before us, we find no such bar to defendant’s defense; after the amendment he still had his right of cross-examination and his entire side of the trial to prepare a different defense strategy. Defendant, however, offered no new theory to the trial *199 court; in fact, he elected not to put on any witnesses at all. We find defendant’s contention that the amendment occurred too late in the trial for him to react to be groundless given his failure to follow the normal procedure for surprise and request a continuance. See State v. Ferguson, 221 Kan. 103, 106, 558 P.2d 1092 (1976). In State v. Rives, 220 Kan. 141, 145, 551 P.2d 788 (1976), the Court indicates that it looks with suspicion on a defendant’s claim of prejudice based on an amendment at trial when the reasons evidencing such prejudice are not advanced at the time the objection is lodged. Here, defendant failed to state at trial why

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
603 P.2d 1034, 4 Kan. App. 2d 196, 1979 Kan. App. LEXIS 275, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wright-kanctapp-1979.