Opinion
No. 8312SC1319
Filed 4 December 1984
1. Automobiles and Other Vehicles 127.1 — driving under the influence — sufficiency of evidence The State's evidence was sufficient to support conviction of defendant for driving under the influence where it tended to show that defendant emerged from a wreck smelling of alcohol, later admitted that he had had two beers during the night, appeared to be "high," and drove in an erratic and dangerous manner greatly in excess of the speed limit though the road and weather conditions were unfavorable.
2. Criminal Law 90 — no impeachment of State's own witnesses The State did not impeach its own witnesses when the prosecutor asked the witnesses about prior written statements they had made, since their credibility was not attacked.
APPEAL by defendant from Bowen, Judge. Judgment entered 4 August 1983 in Superior Court, CUMBERLAND County. Heard in the Court of Appeals 20 September 1984.
Attorney General Edmisten, by Assistant Attorney General Grayson G. Kelley, for the State.
Assistant Public Defender Stephen C. Freedman for defendant appellant.
Judge HEDRICK concurs in the result.
Judge BECTON dissenting.
Because of one traffic accident, defendant was charged with involuntary manslaughter in violation of G.S. 14-18; driving under the influence in violation of G.S. 20-138; driving too fast for the weather conditions in violation of G.S. 20-141; unlawfully displaying a fictitious registration plate in violation of G.S. 20-111; driving while license revoked in violation of G.S. 20-28; and driving without insurance in violation of G.S. 20-313. He pled guilty to the license, registration and insurance charges and was tried and found guilty of the three other charges. His appeal is from the trial convictions.
The State's evidence tended to show that: At 4:30 o'clock in the morning on 6 February 1983, defendant was driving a 1972 Cadillac on U.S. 401 about five miles south of Fayetteville when the car collided with a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction occupied by Edwin Newton, Jr., who died from the collision. The wreck occurred on defendant's wrong side of the road. The highway was wet and driving conditions were bad. Earlier that night it had snowed, but without any accumulation on the highway, and was raining when the accident occurred. The speed limit for that area was 45 miles an hour. Defendant's car passed a stranded motorist, Staiert Porter, about a mile from the accident scene traveling between 65 and 70 miles an hour, and when the car entered a curve it straddled the center line of the highway, but straightened up as it continued down the highway. About an hour and a half before the collision, Johnathan Ray saw defendant at a disco club in Raeford and the defendant had a beer in his hand, but Ray did not see him drink any of it. In Ray's opinion defendant "didn't seem drunk, but seemed like he was high." About an hour later, while driving home at a speed of about 55 miles an hour, Ray saw defendant's Cadillac pass him and another car traveling at a speed of about 100 miles an hour. When defendant's car approached his from the rear, it was straddling the center line and Ray pulled his car as far to the right as he could. After traveling on down the road a short distance, Ray saw the headlights of a car going in the opposite direction go out and then arrived at the scene of the wreck. After the wreck when Officer Baxley questioned defendant at the hospital, defendant admitted drinking two beers that evening. While being treated for his injuries and after having an I.V. placed in his arm, defendant refused to submit to a blood alcohol test, saying he did not want to be stuck with any needles. The test was requested because Officer Baxley saw some beer cans in defendant's car and smelled the odor of alcohol on defendant's breath.
One of the two main contentions asserted by defendant is that the evidence presented was not sufficient to warrant defendant's conviction of driving under the influence. Two of the three elements of the offense — that at the time charged defendant was driving a motor vehicle upon a public highway — were clearly established and are not in dispute. The dispute is only whether the evidence was sufficient to show that defendant was under the influence of intoxicating liquor at the time. G.S. 20-138, repealed by Session Laws 1983, c. 435, s. 23, effective October 1, 1983. Testimony that defendant emerged from this wreck smelling of alcohol, later admitted that he had had two beers during the night, appeared to be "high," and drove in an erratic and dangerous manner, greatly in excess of the speed limit though the road and weather conditions were unfavorable, was sufficient, in our opinion, under the rule laid down in State v. Hewitt, 263 N.C. 759, 140 S.E.2d 241 (1965), to warrant the jury in concluding that he was under the influence of an intoxicating liquor. See Atkins v. Moye, 277 N.C. 179, 176 S.E.2d 789 (1970); State v. Cartwright, 12 N.C. App. 4, 182 S.E.2d 203 (1971).
The defendant's other main contention is that the court, to defendant's prejudice, improperly permitted the State to impeach its own witnesses. In two instances the State, disappointed with the halting testimony of its witnesses, asked them to read portions of their written statements to the jury. The first instance involved State's witness Staiert Porter, who first expressed the opinion that defendant's speed at the curve a mile before the collision was 65 to 75 miles an hour; but upon "refreshing his recollection" by reading from his statement, he opined that the speed was 80 miles per hour. The second instance involved State's witness Johnathan Ray, who, when first asked about defendant's physical appearance two hours before the accident, responded that he "didn't appear to be drinking"; but when referred to his statement, he responded, "I never said I saw him drinking . . . I seen him with a beer, yeah." And then the following took place:
Q. All right, sir. Do you recall what your answer was back on February 11th, 1983?
A. February 11th?
Q. Yes, sir.
A. He had a beer in his hand.
Q. All right, sir. And did you go on to say something else after that?
. . .
A. I said, "Yes, he had a beer in his hand. He didn't seem drunk but he seemed like he was high."
Our law is that though the State may not impeach its own witness, the trial judge, in his discretion, upon it appearing that the State has been genuinely misled or surprised, can permit the witness to be questioned about prior inconsistent statements. 1 Brandis N.C. Evidence 40 (1982). Actually what the prosecutor did was not impeach the witnesses, since their credibility was not attacked, but ask them leading questions, which does not justify a new trial unless prejudice is shown. State v. Young, 291 N.C. 562, 231 S.E.2d 577 (1977). And here the leading questions were not prejudicial to defendant. Porter's revised statement only added five miles to defendant's speed, which was grossly excessive under any view of the evidence, and evidence as to defendant's intoxication and irresponsible driving was overwhelming without Ray's addendum.
The defendant's several other assignments of error, which require no discussion, are likewise without merit.
No error.
Judge HEDRICK concurs in the result.
Judge BECTON dissents.