State v. Byers
State v. Byers
Opinion of the Court
*664David K. Byers ("Defendant") appeals from the judgment of the trial court following a jury trial in which he was convicted of driving while intoxicated. Defendant asserts three points on appeal, arguing: (1) the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a mistrial; (2) the trial court erred or abused its discretion in denying his request to instruct the jury to disregard the State's reference to his prior criminal case; and (3) the trial court erred in admitting evidence obtained in violation of his constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. We affirm the judgment.
Factual and Procedural Background
Defendant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the judgment. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, the following evidence was presented at the hearing on the motion to suppress evidence and during the jury trial.
On November 1, 2013, Defendant spent the evening with his girlfriend. First, they went to a friend's birthday party at a restaurant. Around 10:00 p.m., they left the birthday party and went to a different restaurant, where they ate chicken wings and drank some beer. Defendant then left the second restaurant and drove himself and his girlfriend home.
Just before 1:00 a.m., Defendant drove past a police officer who was working on an impaired driving enforcement detail. The officer was aware that there were "at least two beer taverns in the vicinity" that closed around 1:30 a.m. Defendant's vehicle caught the officer's attention because it was "traveling pretty slow" at about thirty miles per hour, which was more than ten miles per hour below the posted speed limit. The officer followed Defendant's vehicle down the two-lane road for about a half mile, during which time the officer observed that Defendant's vehicle "was weaving from left to right, [and] touched the lines on both sides of his travel lane several times." After observing Defendant's vehicle "drift[ing] back and forth several times," the officer decided to stop Defendant and "conduct an investigation to see if he was possibly driving while impaired."
After the officer pulled Defendant over, Defendant immediately got out of his vehicle. When the officer approached Defendant, he observed Defendant's eyes were bloodshot. The officer requested Defendant's driver's license, which he was unable to produce. The officer also detected the odor of an intoxicating beverage on Defendant's breath while speaking to him. When asked if he had been drinking, Defendant told the officer that he had "nothing" to drink. The Defendant agreed to perform the standard field sobriety tests. The officer first conducted the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test.
Prior to trial, Defendant filed a motion to suppress all of the evidence obtained by the officer following the traffic stop, on the ground that the evidence was obtained in violation of Defendant's constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures because the traffic stop was not supported by reasonable suspicion. The trial court held a hearing on the motion to suppress, during which the officer testified to the aforementioned facts. The officer also testified that he had more than eight years of experience as a police officer, and received special training in DWI enforcement and visual detection of impaired driving. During the officer's training, he learned that driving more than ten miles per hour under the posted speed limit, weaving within a lane, and driving late at night in the vicinity of taverns are all indicators of possible impaired driving.
The trial court denied the motion to suppress, finding the officer's testimony was credible and concluding Defendant's rights were not violated because the traffic stop was justified by reasonable suspicion. Defendant filed a motion to reconsider, which was taken with the case. Defendant renewed his objection when the State introduced the evidence at trial. The trial court denied the motion to reconsider and allowed the State to proceed with the evidence.
Also prior to trial, Defendant filed a motion in limine to exclude any reference to his prior criminal convictions, to which the State consented. At trial, Defendant called his girlfriend as a witness. During cross-examination, the State asked the girlfriend whether she recalled testifying as an alibi witness for Defendant in a different case in another division, to which the witness answered "I don't remember."
After the jury returned guilty verdicts, Defendant filed a motion for a new trial, arguing the trial court erred and abused its discretion in denying his motion to suppress evidence, in denying his motion for a mistrial, and in denying his request to instruct the jury to disregard the State's reference to his girlfriend's testimony as an alibi witness in a different criminal case. The trial court denied the motion. The court stated it denied the motion for a mistrial and the request for a curative instruction because the court believed Defendant had not suffered any prejudice at that point, and the court "did not want to *666call attention to the fact that [the court] already sustained [Defendant's] objection by striking the question." The trial court sentenced Defendant to five years in prison. This appeal follows.
Discussion
Defendant asserts three points on appeal. In Point I, Defendant argues the trial court abused its discretion in denying his request for a mistrial after the prosecutor insinuated that the defense witness was an alibi witness for Defendant in another criminal case. In Point II, Defendant argues the trial court erred or abused its discretion in failing to instruct the jury to disregard the State's question to Defendant's girlfriend regarding a different court case. In Point III, Defendant argues the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress, and subsequently admitting, evidence obtained by the arresting officer after the traffic stop, in violation of his constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures because the traffic stop was not supported by reasonable suspicion, in that "touching the fog line of a driving lane several times does not alone give an officer reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot."
I. Point One-Refusal to Grant a Mistrial
In Point I, Defendant argues the trial court abused its discretion in denying his request for a mistrial after the State insinuated that the defense witness was an alibi witness for Defendant in another criminal case. We disagree.
The decision to grant or deny a mistrial is within the sound discretion of the trial court. State v. Jones ,
When analyzing the prejudicial effect of an uninvited reference to evidence of a defendant's other crimes, this Court considers five factors:
(1) whether the statement was, in fact, voluntary and unresponsive [to the prosecutor's questioning if the prosecutor asked the question] ... or whether the prosecution "deliberately attempted to elicit" the comments ...; (2) whether the statement was singular and isolated, and whether it was emphasized or magnified by the prosecution, ...; (3) whether the remarks were vague and indefinite, or whether they made specific reference to crimes committed by the accused, ...; (4) whether the court promptly sustained defense counsel's objection to the statement, ... and instructed the jury to disregard the volunteered statement, ...; and (5) whether in view of the other evidence presented and the strength of the state's case, it appeared that the comment "played a decisive role in the determination of guilt."
*667State v. Costa ,
The evidence at issue in this case was a question by the State during cross-examination of Defendant's girlfriend, inquiring whether she recalled testifying as an alibi witness for Defendant in a different court case in another division. Defendant objected, arguing this was evidence of his prior conviction and was, therefore, inadmissible. The State argued the fact that the girlfriend had previously testified as an alibi witness for Defendant was relevant to impeach her based on bias. The trial court sustained the objection but denied Defendant's requests for a mistrial and for a curative instruction. The trial court expressly found Defendant had not suffered any prejudice as a result of the State's improper question.
Applying the relevant factors, the record supports that the State deliberately attempted to elicit the testimony at issue and, although the trial court said it would sustain the objection, the trial court neither sustained the objection in front of the jury nor instructed the jury to disregard the testimony. Costa ,
Under the totality of the circumstances, we find it was within the trial court's discretion to determine this singular, isolated, and vague reference to Defendant's prior court proceeding did not result in prejudice sufficient to warrant a mistrial. "Vague and indefinite references to misconduct do not warrant a mistrial unless the reference is clear evidence of the defendant's involvement in another crime." State v. Turner ,
II. Point Two-Request for a Curative Instruction
In Point II, Defendant argues the trial court erred or abused its discretion in failing to instruct the jury to disregard testimony regarding Defendant's prior court case. We disagree.
We review the trial court's refusal to give a curative instruction for an abuse of discretion. See State v. Russell ,
We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to instruct the jury to disregard the testimony from Defendant's girlfriend regarding his prior court case. In denying Defendant's motion for a new trial, the court explained its decision not to issue a curative instruction was based on its conclusion that Defendant had not been prejudiced at that point, and the court "did not want to draw attention to the fact that it already sustained [the] objection by striking the question." We cannot say this was an abuse of discretion. See
In Russell , this Court found no abuse of discretion where the trial court decided not to issue a curative instruction after sustaining an objection to an improper statement by the State during closing arguments.
Accordingly, we find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to instruct the jury to disregard the testimony concerning Defendant's prior court case. Point II is denied.
III. Point Three-Motion to Suppress Evidence
In Point III, Defendant argues the admission of evidence obtained as a result of the traffic stop violated his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 15 of the Missouri Constitution because the traffic stop constituted a seizure that was not based on reasonable suspicion, arguing "touching the fog line of a driving lane several times does not alone give an officer reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot." We disagree.
When reviewing the trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress evidence, we defer to the trial court's findings of fact and credibility determinations, but we review de novo the legal determination of whether reasonable suspicion existed to make a stop.
*669State v. Roark ,
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Roark ,
When conducting an investigatory stop of a driver suspected of driving while impaired, courts have held that evidence indicating the vehicle "touched the fog line," without more, is insufficient to constitute a reasonable suspicion justifying an investigatory stop for driving under the influence. See State v. Beck ,
Here, the arresting officer observed Defendant's vehicle traveling more than ten miles per hour below the posted speed limit, weaving within the lane, and touching the lines on both sides of the lane "several times." The officer observed Defendant's vehicle making these unusual and erratic movements over the course of a half mile. The officer testified that, based on his eight years of experience and specialized training, each of these observations were factors indicating the driver may be intoxicated. This is not a case where the only specific fact the arresting officer was able to articulate was that the defendant's vehicle touched the fog line. Based on the facts and circumstances of this case, we find the officer had reasonable suspicion to justify stopping Defendant and investigating whether he was driving while intoxicated. See
Accordingly, we find the trial court did not err in overruling the motion to suppress evidence and admitting the evidence *670obtained as a result of the traffic stop. Point III is denied.
Conclusion
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Gary M. Gaertner, Jr., P.J., and Robert M. Clayton III, J., concur.
A Gaze Nystagmus Test is designed to detect involuntary twitching of the eyes, which may be caused by a depressant drug, such as alcohol.
"Clues" are specific behaviors that officers look for when conducting field sobriety tests. When an individual exhibits the requisite number of "clues" during a field sobriety test, this is an indication that the individual may be intoxicated.
The witness had previously stated she recalled being present during Defendant's prior case.
The parties disagree as to whether the applicable standard of review is abuse of discretion or de novo , and our review of the case law indicates there is not a clearly-established standard of review for a trial court's refusal to give a curative instruction. See , e.g. , Russell ,
See , e.g. , Brown ,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.