Stephen Nolan v. State of Mississippi

182 So. 3d 484, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 21, 2016 WL 121723
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided January 12, 2016·No. 2014-KM-01647-COA·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

BARNES, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Stephen Nolan appeals his convictions of driving under the influence (DUI), first offense, and following too closely (tailgating). Nolan argues: the verdicts were against the weight and sufficiency of the evidence; the trial court improperly considered his refusal to submit to the Intoxi-lyzer 8000 test- as evidence of guilt; - and the tailgating statute, Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-3-619 (Rev.2013), is unconstitutionally vague. We find no error and affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. On-January-20, 2013, at approximately 1:56 a.m., Officer Ryan Ainsworth observed Nolan’s vehicle traveling at an unsafe distance- behind another vehicle on Rice Road' in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Nolan’s vehicle then swerved, and his passenger-side tires struck the fog line on the right side of the road. Officer Ainsworth followed Nolan as he drove west down Rice Road and as he turned left onto Old Canton Road. Observing that Nolan was still tailgating the vehicle in front of him, Officer Ainsworth conducted a traffic stop.

¶ 3. Officer Ainsworth asked Nolan if he knew the driver of the car in front of him, and Nolan said he did. During their conversation, Officer ■ Ainsworth smelled an “overwhelming” odor -of alcohol coming from Nolan’s vehicle, and he noticed Nolan appeared lethargic- and had bloodshot, glassy eyes. . Nolan admitted he had drunk two -twelve-ounce beers between approximately 10 and 10:30 p.m. Officer Ainsworth smelled alcohol on Nolan’s breath, and a preliminary breath test indi-catecl the presence of alcohol. Officer Ainsworth then conducted the horizontal-gaze-nystagmus test, from which he observed six of six clues. He then conducted a series of field sobriety tests. Officer Ainsworth observed five (of eight clues on the walk-and-turn test. On the one-leg-stand ■ test, Officer -Ainsworth . observed three of four clues. Nolan was arrested *488 and taken to the Ridgeland Police Department. He refused the Intoxilyzer 8000. The traffic stop was videoed by Officer Ainsworth’s dash camera.

¶ 4. On July 80, 2013, Nolan entered a no-contest plea in Ridgeland Municipal Court to DUI, first offense, and tailgating. He was found guilty. He appealed to county court. A bench trial was held, and he was again found guilty. On the DUI conviction, Nolan was fined $900 and sentenced to serve forty-eight hours in the custody of the Madison County Sheriffs Department. The sentence was suspended pending Nolan’s completion of the next available Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program or an equivalent program in his place of residence in Ontario, Canada, and two years of unsupervised probation. On the tailgating conviction, he was fined $50. He appealed to Madison County Circuit Court, where his convictions and sentences were affirmed.

¶ 5. Nolan raises five issues on appeal to this Court: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the DUI conviction; (2) the trial court judge improperly considered his refusal to submit to .the Intoxilyzer 8000 as evidence of guilt; (3) there was no reasonable suspicion or probable cause for the traffic stop; (4) the verdicts were against the. overwhelming weight of the evidence; and (5) the tailgating statute, section 63-3-619, is unconstitutionally vague.

DISCUSSION

¶6. As is common with appeals from the City of Ridgeland, City Prosecutor Boty McDonald has! failed to file an appellee’s brief. 1 “An appellee’s failure to file a brief on appeal is tantamount to confession of the errors alleged by the appellant. However, automatic reversal is not required if this Court can say with confidence that the case should be affirmed.” Clack v. City of Ridgeland, 139 So.3d 778, 781 (1117) (Miss.Ct.App.2014) (quoting Chatman v. State, 761 So.2d 851, 854 (¶ 9) (Miss.2000)). We find this case can be confidently affirmed.

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence Supporting the DUI Conviction

¶ 7. A challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence requires this Court to determine whether the evidence shows'“beyond a reasonable doubt that [the]- accused committed the act charged, and that he did so under such circumstances that every element of the offense existed[.]” Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 843 (¶ 16) (Miss.2005). The evidence will be deemed insufficient to support the verdict where “the facts and inferences ... point in favor of the defendant on any element of the offense with sufficient force that reasonable [jurors] could not have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty[.]” Id. The evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the State. Id.

¶8. Nolan was convicted of common-law DUI under Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-ll-30(l)(a) (Supp.2015). This statute provides that “[i]t is unlawful for a person to drive or otherwise operate a vehicle within this state if the person ... [i]s under the influence of intoxicating liquor.” Id. “Common[-]law DUI is proven when a defendant’s blood[-]alcohol results *489 axe unavailable but there is sufficient evidence to [show] that the defendant operated a motor vehicle under circumstances indicating his ability to operate the vehicle was impaired by the consumption of alcohol.” Young v. State, 119 So.3d 309, 315 (¶ 19) (Miss.2013) (quoting Gilpatrick v. State, 991 So.2d 130, 133 (¶ 18) (Miss.2008)).

¶ 9. Officer Ainsworth testified that Nolan’s vehicle caught his attention because it was traveling too closely to the vehicle in front of it. Officer Ainsworth then observed Nolan’s vehicle swerve into the right fog line. After Nolan’s vehicle continued to travel unsafely close to the vehicle in front of it, Officer Ainsworth conducted a traffic stop.' Officer Ainsworth smelled the “overwhelming” presence of alcohol coming from Nolan’s vehicle and on Nolan’s breath. Nolan appeared lethargic and had glassy, bloodshot eyes. He admitted to drinking earlier that night. During the walk-and-turn test, Officer Ainsworth observed five of eight clues. Nolan was unable to walk heel-to-toe consistently, was unable to turn properly, had to use his arms for balance, was unable to maintain balance during instructions, and began the test too soon. During the one-leg-stahd test, Officer Ainsworth observed three of four clues. Nolan put his foot down for balance, swayed while bn one leg, and used his arms for balance. Finally, Nolan refused the Intoxilyzer 8000.

¶ 10. In addition to Officer Ainsworth’s testimony, the dash-camera footage was introduced into evidence. The judge stated that he watched the video multiple times before making his decision. The judge found Officer Ainsworth’s testimony credible and consistent with the video.

¶ 11. Nolan argues that this Court should not focus oh the foregoing evidence, but rather the lack of evidence that .his ability to operate his vehicle was diminished. Specifically, Nolan argues that the State failed to prove intoxication because there was no evidence, his “normal ability for clarity and control” was lessened. See Leuer v. City of Floivood, 744 So.2d 266, 269 (¶11) (Miss.1999) (citing Gov’t of Virgin Islands v. Steven,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Stephen Nolan v. State of Mississippi, 182 So. 3d 484, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 21, 2016 WL 121723 (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

182 So. 3d 484 (Stephen Nolan v. State of Mississippi) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Ransom Levi Matheny v. State of Mississippi
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2020
State v. Chavez
427 P.3d 126 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. David John Harper
415 P.3d 948 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2018)
Maged Muthanna Saleh Qasoon v. State of Mississippi
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2017
Kendall Martin v. State of Mississippi
240 So. 3d 1047 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2017)
Brett Prince v. State of Mississippi
225 So. 3d 545 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2017)
John Paul Longest v. State of Mississippi
223 So. 3d 799 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2017)
Charles Webber v. State of Mississippi
197 So. 3d 926 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2016)