Stephen Nolan v. State of Mississippi

CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 12, 2016
Docket2014-KM-01647-COA
StatusPublished

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

Bluebook
Stephen Nolan v. State of Mississippi, (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 2014-KM-01647-COA

STEPHEN NOLAN A/K/A STEPHAN NOLAN APPELLANT A/K/A STEPHEN R. NOLAN A/K/A STEPHEN RAYMOND NOLAN

v.

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 10/20/2014 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. WILLIAM E. CHAPMAN III COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: MADISON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: KEVIN DALE CAMP JARED KEITH TOMLINSON ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: BOTY MCDONALD CITY PROSECUTOR: BOTY MCDONALD NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - MISDEMEANOR TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: CONVICTED OF DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, FIRST OFFENSE, FINED $900, AND SENTENCED TO FORTY-EIGHT HOURS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MADISON COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, WITH THE SENTENCE SUSPENDED UPON THE CONDITION THAT APPELLANT COMPLETE THE MISSISSIPPI ALCOHOL SAFETY EDUCATION PROGRAM, OR THE EQUIVALENT IN APPELLANT’S PLACE OF RESIDENCE IN ONTARIO, CANADA, AND TWO YEARS OF UNSUPERVISED PROBATION; CONVICTED OF FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY AND FINED $50 DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 01/12/2016 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: MANDATE ISSUED:

BEFORE IRVING, P.J., BARNES AND JAMES, JJ. 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 Intoxilyzer 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 indicated the presence of alcohol. Officer Ainsworth then

conducted the horizontal-gaze-nystagmus test, from which he observed six of six clues. He

2 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 and taken to the Ridgeland Police Department. He refused

the Intoxilyer 8000. The traffic stop was videoed by Officer Ainsworth’s dash camera.

¶4. On July 30, 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

Sheriff’s 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

3 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 (¶17) (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

63-11-30(1)(a) (Supp. 2015). This statute provides that “[i]t is unlawful for a person to drive

1 See Robinette v. State, 2014-KM-01649-COA, 2015 WL 7253246, at *5 (¶17) (Miss. Ct. App. Nov. 17, 2015); Cameron v. State, 175 So. 3d 574, 577 n.2 (Miss. Ct. App. 2015); Woods v. State, 175 So. 3d 579, 580 (¶9) (Miss. Ct. App. 2015); Clack v. City of Ridgeland, 139 So. 3d 778, 778 (¶1) (Miss. Ct. App. 2014); Carlson v. City of Ridgeland, 131 So. 3d 1220, 1222 (¶8) (Miss. Ct. App. 2013); Lobo v. City of Ridgeland, 135 So. 3d 148, 152 (¶12) (Miss. Ct. App. 2013); Drabicki v. City of Ridgeland, 130 So. 3d 113, 118 (¶19) (Miss. Ct. App. 2013).

4 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 are 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

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