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Keywords

defendantappealtrialfelonyappellantadmissibilityjury instructions

appealtrialtestimonyappellant

Related Cases

Bartlett v. State, 270 S.W.3d 147

Facts

The appellant, Roy Bob Bartlett, was stopped for speeding in Aransas County on August 7, 2005, and was suspected of being intoxicated. After refusing to take a breath test without his counsel present, he was arrested for felony driving while intoxicated (DWI). At trial, the jury was instructed that they could consider his refusal to take the breath test as evidence, which he objected to, arguing it constituted an impermissible comment on the weight of the evidence. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, leading to the discretionary review by the Court of Criminal Appeals.

The appellant was stopped for speeding by a state trooper while driving on August 7, 2005, in Aransas County. Suspecting that the appellant was intoxicated, the trooper asked the appellant, inter alia, to submit to a breath test. The appellant refused to take a breath test without the presence of his counsel. He was arrested for the offense of driving while intoxicated.

Issue

Did the jury instruction regarding the defendant's refusal to take a breath test constitute an impermissible comment on the weight of the evidence?

The single issue on appeal was whether the following jury instruction constituted an impermissible comment on the weight of the evidence.

Rule

A trial court shall deliver a written charge distinctly setting forth the law applicable to the case and shall not express any opinion as to the weight of the evidence.

As a general rule, a trial court shall deliver to the jury a written charge distinctly setting forth the law applicable to the case; it should not express any opinion as to the weight of the evidence, sum up the testimony, discuss the facts, or use any argument in its charge calculated to arouse the sympathy or excite the passions of the jury.

Analysis

The court analyzed whether the jury instruction impermissibly commented on the weight of the evidence by singling out the defendant's refusal to take a breath test. It concluded that the instruction did not fall within any of the three permissible categories for such comments and emphasized that the mere admissibility of the evidence does not justify highlighting it in jury instructions. The court found that the instruction likely influenced the jury's perception of the evidence's importance.

To decide whether the trial court impermissibly commented on the weight of the evidence by singling out the evidence of the appellant's refusal to take a breath test, we must determine whether that evidence falls within one of the three permissible categories, described above, that would justify a jury instruction. We hold that evidence of the refusal to take a breath test falls into none of the above three categories.

Conclusion

The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remanded the case for a harm analysis regarding the jury instruction error.

Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the cause for a harm analysis.

Who won?

Roy Bob Bartlett prevailed in the case because the Court of Criminal Appeals found that the jury instruction constituted an impermissible comment on the weight of the evidence, warranting a remand for further analysis.

The court of appeals erred to hold that the trial court had discretion to give such an instruction.

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State v. Branchal, 101 N.M. 498, 684 P.2d 1163, 1984 -NMCA- 063

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Contreras v. State, 312 S.W.3d 566

People v. Dail, 22 Cal.2d 642, 140 P.2d 828

Hopt v. People, 110 U.S. 574, 4 S.Ct. 202, 28 L.Ed. 262