No. 92-463
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
1993
STATE OF MONTANA,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
OWEN W. ARRINGTON, JR.,
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Eighteenth Judicial District,
In and for the County sf Gallstin,
The Honorable Thomas A. Olson, Judge presiding.
COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For Appellant:
J. Robert Planalp, Landoe, Brown, Planalp &
Braaksma, Bozeman, Montana; Larry Jent, Williams,
Jent & Cockins, Bozeman, Montana
For Respondent:
Hon. Joseph P. Mazurek, Attorney General, Cregg W.
Coughlin, Assistant Attorney General, Helena,
Montana; Mike Salvagni, Gallatin County Attorney,
Bozeman, Montana
Submitted on Briefs: June 10, 1993
Decided: 10,
A U ~ U S ~ 1993
File
Justice James C. Nelson delivered the Opinion of the Court.
This is an appeal from an Eighteenth Judicial District Court,
Gallatin County, jury verdict in a negligent homicide action. We
affirm.
We restate the issues on appeal:
I. Did the trial court err in denying the defendant's motion
to dismiss?
A. May the trial court consider the defendant's
statements in determining probable cause to file an
information?
B. Was the state's affidavit sufficient to support
probable cause to file an information?
11. Was there sufficient evidence to support the jury's
verdict of guilty?
111. Did the trial court properly instruct the jury or? the
issues of causation and negligence?
IV. Should the testimony of the highway patrol officer have
been excluded?
The defendant met a friend, Frank Ahrendes, at Frank's place
of business on the afternoon of August 8, 1991. The men visited
for a while and then proceeded to Little John's, a Bozeman tavern
for a couple drinks. They stayed there for approximately one hour,
each having two tall '*mistw
drinks. Then the defendant drove Frank
home where the two visited briefly.
At about 6 : 3 0 , the defendant arrived alone at Willie's Saloon,
also in Bozeman. The bar owner served the defendant ice water and
2
informed him that his wife had called. He called his wife from the
bar owners's private office and when he had finished the call,
asked for another ice water. The bar owner stated that the
defendant stayed at the bar until about 9:00, playing keno and
drinking two drinks. The defendant left the bar and proceeded to
the interstate going east to his home outside of Livingston.
Carol Dearinger and her husband, Laurence Dearinger were on a
motorcycle trip through Montana. They stopped in Bozeman at about
8:30 p.m. on the evening of August 8, 1991, to find a place to
spend the night, but they could not find a vacancy. They drove
through the city and eventually departed on the eastbound
interstate. As they headed out of town, Mrs. Dearinger thought she
might get cold so she asked her husband to pull over so she could
retrieve her coat from the trailer the motorcycle was pulling.
She stated that her husband pulled over onto the shoulder of
the road, as far as he could, without going into the ditch, and he
got off the motorcycle. He proceeded to the trailer, and removed
her jacket, returned to the left side of the motorcycle and handed
her the jacket. He then turned and started back to the trailer.
He had walked about 3 to 4 feet when Mrs. Dearinger heard "a loud
crash and a swish, and the motorcycle was laying over on its side."
Mrs. Dearinger stated that she looked around, did not see
anyone, so ran to the front of the motorcycle and saw her husband
lying on the ground between the motorcycle and the fogline. She
tried to flag down some passers by for assistance. Soon, people
arrived and lent what assistance they could in terms of comforting
Mrs. Dearinger and conducting first aid upon Mr. Dearinger.
Tim Del Camp, the first witness on the scene, stated that Mr.
Dearinger's leg was almost completely severed and his chest was
deformed and disfigured. He was able to get a rapid pulse when he
first came to Mr. Dearingerts aid but later was unable to find a
pulse, A woman who arrived later knew first aid and was able to
get a pulse in his neck. The bystanders continued to render what
aid they could until officials arrived.
Meanwhile, another woman who had arrived on the accident scene
shortly after Del Camp, became ill upon seeing Mr. Dearinger and
walked away from the accident scene. She saw a man standing away
from the accident and asked him if he knew what happened. He
stated, "I hit him. I didn't see him. I hit him." She described
his clothes as a white shirt and blue pants. She said he smelled
of alcoholic beverages and had glassy eyes. Shortly after she
spoke with him, he walked away toward a vehicle parked eastbound of
the accident.
The deputy coroner, the ambulance and the police arrived at
the scene not long after bystanders had gathered. They surveyed
the scene and examined the body. The deputy coroner and a deputy
sheriff tried CPR for a short time but could not get any pressure
back after putting breath into his body. A minute or two after
starting CPR they covered the body, and the deputy coroner
pronounced him dead.
Meanwhile, other police officers began questioning the
bystanders to determine if there were any eyewitnesses to the
accident and they determined there were none. They also started to
investigate the scene and gather evidence. Officer Carol
schumacher, a highway patrol officer, made a number of
measurements, took photographs and used her evidence later to
determine how the accident occurred.
Officer Schumacher took a photograph of a 1989 white Toyota
Camry which was parked eastbound not far from the scene of the
accident with its headlights on and keys in the ignition, though
the car was not running. The car was parked l1on the very outside
edge of the traffic lane." The car was damaged on the right front
side and was blood splattered.
Police officers started to look for the owner of the white
car, searching for anyone on foot near the area of the accident.
The police determined that the vehicle was registered and owned by
Owen Arrington, Jr. After checking the vehicle registration,
police Officer Bill Dove called Mrs. Arrington, the defendant's
wife, to report that their car had been involved in an accident.
She reported that her husband was in possession of the vehicle at
that time although their daughter usually drove the Camry.
Mrs. Arrington telephoned her father-in-law and related the
information from the police officer. Owen Arrington, Sr., then
traveled to a number of places trying to find the defendant.
Finally, sometime after 6:00 a.m., Mr. and Mrs. Arrington, Sr.,
found him near the Frontage Road heading toward Bozeman in an area
south of the interstate.
The defendant told his father he had been in an accident but
he really did not know what had happened. Mr. Arrington, Sr. took
his son to the police station where the defendant made a number of
statements about the accident to Officer Dove, a City of Bozeman
police officer.
The defendant was ultimately charged with negligent homicide
and leaving the scene of an accident. At a jury trial in the
Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Gallatin County, the defendant
was found guilty. This appeal followed.
The standard of review for discretionary trial court rulings
is whether there has been an abuse of discretion. Steer, Inc. v.
Department of Revenue (199O), 245 Mont. 470, 475, 803 P.2d 601,
603-604.
I. MOTION TO DISMISS
The defendant argues that the State's affidavit for leave to
file an information fails to establish probable cause and his
motion to dismiss should have been properly granted. Further, he
contends that extrajudicial statements he made cannot be used to
support a finding of probable cause. The State asserts that the
trial court could properly consider the defendant's statements but
even without his statements, the affidavit was supported by
sufficient evidence.
A. DEFENDANT'S STATEMENTS
The defendant cites § 45-5-111, MCA, for the proposition that
"the State must prove each element, including in this case, the
identity of the perpetrator, by evidence independent of any
extrajudicial statement by the defendant." Section 45-5-111, MCA,
provides as follows:
In a homicide trial, before an extrajudicial confession
may be admitted into evidence, the state must introduce
independent evidence tending to establish the death and
the fact that the death was caused by a criminal agency.
Although this Court agrees that the State must prove each element
of the offense, g 45-5-111, MCA, pertains to a homicide trial, not
pre-trial processes. "In construing a statute, it is our function
as an appellate court to ascertain and declare what in terms or in
substance is contained in a statute and not insert what has been
omitted." State v. Crane (1989), 240 Mont. 235, 238, 784 P.2d 901,
903. The statute merely prohibits admission of a defendant's
confession at trial prior to the introduction of certain specified
independent evidence; it does not relate in any way to use of the
defendant's statements in establishing probable cause for leave to
file an information.
Moreover, Montana case law confirms that the defeniar?t's
statements may be used in an affidavit to support the filing of an
information. In state v. Hallam (1978), 175 Mont. 492, 499, 575
P.2d 55, 60, this Court concluded that an admission by the
defendant that he set the fire, along with evidence that the fire
was intentionally set, Itwas clearly sufficient to establish
probable causeN to authorize leave to file an information. In the
present case, there is far more independent evidence to support any
admissions made by the defendant, including evidence that the car
the defendant, who had been drinking, was known to have been
driving was found at the scene and was damaged. We conclude that
the defendant's statements may be included as evidence to support
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probable cause for filing an information.
B. SUFFICIENCY OF STATE AFFIDAVIT
Section 46-11-201, MCA, governs the filing of an information
and provides in pertinent part:
(1) The prosecutor may apply directly to the district
court for permission to file an information against a
named defendant...
(2) An application must be by affidavit supported by
evidence that the judge or chief justice may require. If
it appears that there is probable cause to believe that
an offense has been committed by the defendant, the judge
or chief justice shall grant leave to file the
information, otherwise the application is denied.
Montana case law defines the evidence sufficient to establish
probable cause.
An affidavit in support of a motion to file an
information need not make out a prima facie case that a
defendant committed an offense. A mere probability that
he committed the offense is sufficient. Similarly,
evidence to establish probable cause need not be as
complete as the evidence necessary to establish
guilt....the determination whether a motion to file an
information is supported by probable cause is left to the
sound discretion of the trial court. Thus, the scope of
review is one of detecting abuse in the exercise of that
discretion.
State v. Bradford (l984), 210 Mont, 130, 139, 683 P.2d 924, 928-
929. (Citation omitted.) See also State v. Buckingham (1989), 240
Mont. 252, 256, 783 P.2d 1331, 1334.
In the present case, even absent use of the defendant's
statements as evidence to support probable cause, there is
sufficient evidence to empower a judge to grant leave to file an
information. There was evidence that the defendant was driving his
family's white Toyota Camry and this vehicle was found near the
scene of the accident. The affidavit stated that he had been
drinking before the accident. The defendant was found walking
several miles east of the accident scene in an unsteady and
disheveled condition. When he arrived at the police station, he
was dressed in blue jeans, a white t-shirt and cowboy boots, which
was similar to the description given by one of the witnesses who
arrived shortly after the accident and observed a man loitering
near the accident scene.
This evidence is more than enough to warrant the granting of
leave to file an information and this evidence is only bolstered by
the defendant's statements to various people concerning the
accident. A man matching his description was seen at the accident
and he stated that "I didn't see him, I didn't see him, I just hit
him." A bystander saelled alcohol on his person and asked him,
"you hit him sir?" and he said, "yes, but I didn't see him."
When the defendant's father found him, he told his father
"that there had been an accident and that he could not remember
about it.*' He further commented that he had a couple drinks with
a friend early in the afternoon prior to the accident. He further
explained that "'he knew that he had hit something and that he had
seen a man by the motorcycle' and that 'from that point on he just
lost it.'" He related to his father that he did not know why he
did not remain at the scene but when he saw the victim, he became
sick and disoriented.
When the defendant's father took him to the Bozeman police
station, he made the following statements to a police officer:
[T]o the best of my knowledge I was coming up out on
approach, I pulled out, I was signalling to come out on
the interstate and there was you know, a lot of traffis,
not really heavy, and I started down the interstate I
wasn't going you know excessively fast, I think it was
around 55, maybe 58 and cars were coming behind me and I
was driving my daughter's car, which I'm not familiar
with, and so I reached over to shut the air-conditioning
off, and he was there, I mean, I just never seen [sic]
the guy, I didn't, I was looking at the lights coming up
behind me and looked at the air-conditioner or something,
I just never seen [sic] him.. .
The defendant continued:
I didn't even know what I'd hit, I knew I'd hit
something, so I pulled over, and parked but I couldn't
even seen [sic] anything back there that I'd hit so I got
out and ran back and a lady yelled, they were yelling for
911 up on the hill, and a lady got out and she said she
was bringing a first aid kit and I got to the guy and
there was [sic] other people there and I just, I just
went berserk I started throwing up and the next thing I
knew I was out in the middle of a field I was, I didn't
know what the hell was going on anymore. I just, I lost
everything, I just, I have no recollection why I left, I
was there, and I just don't know, I have no explanation
for it.
The sum total of all the evidence in the affidavit provides at
least the "mere prohahility" that the defendant committed the
offense. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its
discretion in finding the State's affidavit sufficient and denying
the motion to dismiss
11. SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE FOR JURY VERDICT
The defendant claims that the evidence presented was not
sufficient to find him guilty. He also contends that the State did
not properly identify the man at the scene of the accident, who
stated that he hit the victim, as the defendant. The State
counters that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury
verdict. We agree with the State.
The standard of review regarding the sufficiency of the
evidence is "[whether,] after reviewing the evidence in the light
most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could
have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable
doubt." State v, Medina (1990), 245 Mont. 25, 33, 798 P.2d 1032,
1037.
The State provided the following evidence to support the
defendant's guilt. A bartender from Little John's and the bar
owner of Willie's Saloon stated that the defendant was served
alcoholic beverages on the evening of the accident. A friend of
the defendant's also testified to drinking with the defendant late
in the afternoon on the day of the accident and being driven to his
home by the defendant in a 1989 white Toyota Camry.
Testimony showed that this vehicle was found near the scene of
the accident in which the decedent, Laurence Dearinger, was killed.
The vehicle was owned and driven by the defendant on that evening.
The car had sustained damage to the right front end and was blood
splattered. One of the vehicle's side mirrors had broken off and
a similar side mirror had been found at the accident scene. When
the vehicle was found, the lights were on and the key was in the
ignition but the car was not running. Arrington could not be found
until he was located wandering a hillside in the general area of
the accident the next morning.
Testimony elicited the following statements made by the
defendant. When the defendant was found by his father he told his
father that he had been in an accident. He further stated that "I
hit something, and I went back. I stopped and I went back and
there was a man lying beside the motorcycle." Also, he informed
his father that when he saw the man lying on the ground, he became
physically ill and had no recollection of what happened thereafter
except that he found himself wandering near the area of a KOA
campground.
When the defendant arrived at the police station, he reported
to Officer Dove that he had been driving his daughter's vehicle
about fifty-five to fifty-eight miles per hour onto the interstate
"from the on-ramp at the east end of Bozeman, and that he was
driving his daughter's vehicle which he was not very familiar with.
And he had leaned over to shut off the air conditioning, and as he
looked up he hit something and didn't realize what he had struck,
continued up the road a short distance and pulled over." He
further stated that he walked back to the accident scene, saw Mr.
Dearinger and became ill. He said "I felt that I'd probably killed
him, and I didn't know how many people I'd killed.... 11
When the defendant's statements and the evidence deduced from
the several witnesses are viewed in their totality, there is
sufficient evidence for any rational trier of fact to have found
the essential elements of negligent homicide beyond a reasonable
doubt.
The defendant, however, argues that the State "failed to prove
the corpus delicti of the offense because it was unable to identify
the defendant as the driver without [defendant's] statement." He
contends that the trial court improperly admitted the defendant's
statements before the corpus delicti of the negligent homicide was
established, citing ti 45-5-111, MCA. Section 45-5-111, MCA, states
that:
Extrajudicial confession - evidence o f death.
In a homicide trial, before an extrajudicial confession
may be admitted into evidence, the state must introduce
independent evidence tending to establish the death and
the fact that the death was caused by a criminal agency.
According to the statute, before an extrajudicial confession
is admitted into evidence, the State is only required to introduce
two elements--that there was a death and that the death was caused
by a criminal agency. It does not require independent evidence of
the identity of the perpetrator. As stated earlier, we will not
insert into a statute, what has been omitted. Crane, 784 P.2d at
Montana case law also supports the conclusion that the
identity of the perpetrator is not an element of the corpus
delicti. In State v. Kindle (1924), 71 Mont. 58, 64, 227 P. 65,
67, we stated that "[i]n a prosecution for murder, proof of the
corpus delicti does not necessarily carry with it the identity of
the slain nor of the slayer." Although this is a negligent
homicide action rather than a deliberate homicide, the reasoning in
Kindle still applies. The essential elements of the corpus delicti
are, as stated in 5 45-5-111, MCA, establishing the death and the
fact that the death was caused by a criminal agency, nothing more.
Further, regarding ti 45-5-111, MCA, in State v. Gould (1985),
216 Mont. 455, 470-471, 704 P.2d 20, 30, we concluded that:
[tlhere must be independent evidence establishing
the corpus delicti, but it need not of itself be
sufficient beyond a reasonable doubt, as, once the
independent evidence is given, the confession may be
considered with the facts and circumstances in evidence
in determining whether the corpus delicti is
established... [Emphasis provided.]
The evidence presented by various State witnesses, independent
of the defendant's statements, is sufficient to establish the
corpus delicti--that is to establish the death of the victim, and
"the fact that the death was caused by a criminal agency." Section
45-5-111, MCA. Independent evidence establishes that the defendant
was in possession of the vehicle which struck and killed the
decedent and that he had several drinks before he drove onto the
interstate on the evening of August 8. Further evidence showed he
was straddling the fogline although there was sufficient light to
see approximately 3/4 of a mile ahead. This evidence qualifies as
"some independent evidence establishing the corpus delicti." w,
704 P.2d at 30. At that point, the defendant's statements may be
considered with "the facts and circumstances in evidencew to
determine whether the corpus delicti has been established. w,
704 P.2d at 30. We conclude that the evidence does sufficiently
establish the corpus delicti of negligent homicide at issue here.
In conclusion, the defendant's statements, together with the
evidence from other witnesses, were sufficient to support the jury
verdict. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in
determining the jury verdict was supported by substantial evidence.
111. JURY INSTRUCTIONS
The defendant argues that the trial court failed to properly
instruct the jury on the issues of causation and negligence. He
contends that there should have been an instruction requiring the
jury to find that [tlhe defendant was driving under the influence
of alcohol as defined in these instructions . . ." because an
essential element (criminal negligence) was dependent upon
intoxication.
However, intoxication is not an essential element of negligent
homicide. Section 45-5-104(1), MCA, states that "[a] person
commits the offense of negligent homicide if he negligently causes
the death of another human being." The two elements of the crime
include whether the defendant caused the death of the decedent and
whether the defendant acted negligently.
Intoxication is merely one of the factors to be considered in
determining whether the homicide was caused by the negligent
actions of the actor. Also, a review of the information makes it
clear that the State did not charge the defendant with driving
under the influence, therefore an instruction regarding
intoxication was not warranted.
We have previously stated what is necessary for proper jury
instructions:
At a minimum, the District Court must explain or define
the crime for the jury. In determining whether the
instructions did this, we are guided by certain settled
principles. First, we must view the instructions as a
whole, and we will find no error if the instructions as
a whole fully and fairly instruct on the law applicable
to the case.
State v. Lundblade (1981), 191 Wont. 526, 529, 625 P.2d 545, 548.
(Citations omitted.) In the instant case, a review of the
instructions indicates that the elements necessary to find
negligent homicide were fully explained to the jury. In addition,
the jury was given a detailed definition of the degree of
negligence required to find the defendant guilty of negligent
homicide. No further instructions were required. The trial court
properly instructed the jury in this action and did not abuse its
discretion.
IV. EXPERT TESTIMONY
The defendant contends that it was reversible error to exclude
a report made by Officer Schumacher reconstructing the accident but
then let her testify as to mathematical calculations contained in
the report. He states that he was not informed at the time his
counsel interviewed the officer that she would testify regarding
accident reconstruction. He further argues that her testimony was
speculative and without foundation and should have been excluded.
The State asserts that the trial court did not abuse its discretion
when it allowed Officer Schumacher to testify. Moreover, it
maintains that error cannot be founded upon subjects not in the
record.
A. TESTIMONY FROM THE EXCLUDED REPORT
Officer Schumacher's report was properly excluded because it
was not presented to the defendant within the proper discovery
deadline. Her report included mathematical calculations regarding
the point of impact and the speed of the defendant's vehicle. The
trial court also determined that she could not testify concerning
information contained in the calculations from the report. Upon
review of the record, we determine that Officer Schumacherls
testimony did not concern any information from the report's
mathematical calculations. She properly stayed within the limits
set by the trial court.
The officer testified to the conditions at the time of the
accident, such as amount of light. She used a diagram to assist
the jury in visualizing the accident. She testified about the
conclusions she had drawn from the measurements and data collected
at the time of the accident, including her opinion of the relative
positions of the car, the motorcycle and Mr. Dearinger at the point
of impact. Finally, she opined that the defendant had ample
opportunity to stop or in some way, avoid the accident. None of
this testimony included the mathematical calculations she prepared
for the excluded report. The officer could properly testify as to
her conclusions if she had the proper qualifications as an expert.
B. TESTIMONY CONCERNING ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION
The defendant contends that Officer Schumacher did not hold
herself out as an expert in accident reconstruction when she was
interviewed on April 3, 1992, and that her testimony at trial was
a surprise. However, Officer Schumacher testified that she had
always been in a position to testify concerning reconstruction of
the accident but when she tried to provide her opinions at her
interview with the defense on April 3, 1992, she was not given the
opportunity to do so by the defendant's counsel. She also stated
that she never said she was not going to reconstruct the accident
but that she had not reconstructed the accident at the time of the
interview with defense counsel.
We note that the defendant did not provide this Court with a
transcript of the April 3, 1332 interview of Officer Schumacher for
our own examination. This Court is left to speculate as to why the
defendant would argue that the officer's testimony went beyond the
parameters of the interview and then fail to provide the necessary
transcript of that interview for our review.
Under the Montana Rules of Evidence, the trial court is
siven wide latitude in determinins whether to admit
opinion testimonv of investisative officers. Leeway is
allowed in such instances, and provided that the cross
-
examiner is siven adequate o~portunitv to elicit any
assunmtions or facts underlyinsthe ex~ert's opinion, the
weight to be siven the testimonv is for the trier of fact
to ietermine.- [Emphasis supplied.]
Campbell v. Johnson (1991), 251 Mont. 12, 15-16, 823 P.2d 237, 239,
citing Cline v. Durden (1990), 246 Mont. 154, 803 P.2d 1077.
C. OFFICER SCJXUMACHER'S QUALIFICATIONS
The defendant also asserts that the officer" testimony is
speculative and without foundation. We disagree. There is no
question that Officer Schumacher was well qualified to testify as
an expert regarding traffic accidents. She spends approximately
1/4 to 1/3 of her job investigating accidents. She graduated from
the highway patrol recruit academy in 1978 and has been an officer
since 1979. She had additional training in 1985, 1986 and 1987 in
on-scene accident investigation and technical accident
investigation. In addition, she received 80 hours of training in
accident reconstruction in 1989. She has personally investigated
several hundred traffic accidents and testified in hundreds of
traffic accident cases. She is well qualified to testify to
accident investigations and to accident reconstruction. She has
the training and experience to testify regarding her investigative
18
work and conclusions based upon her investigations.
Not only was the officer well qualified to testify regarding
her reconstruction of the accident, the defendant was able to fully
crass-examine her on her conclusions and she was listed as an
expert on the State's witness list.
We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion
when it allowed Officer Schumacher to testify. She did not provide
information fromthe excluded report nor did she testify concerning
any area in which she did not have sufficient expertise.
AFFIRMED.
We Concur:
> ,
'
August 10, 1993
CERTIFICAW OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that the following order was sent by United States mail, prepaid, to the following
named:
J. Robert Planalp
LANDOE, BROWN, PLANALP & BRAAKSMA, P.C.
P.O. Box One
Bozeman, MT 59771-0001
Larry Jent
WILLIAMS, JENT & DOCKINS
506 East Bahcock
Bozeman, MT 59715
HON. Joseph P. Mazurek, Attorney General
Cregg W. Coughlin, Assistant
Justice Bldg.
Helena, MT 59715
Mike Salvagni
Gallatin County Attorney
615 South 16th Ave.
Bozeman, MT 59715
ED SMITH
CLERK OF THE SUPREME COURT
STATE OF MONTANA