Case Title: State v. Knoll

Citation: 369 S.E.2d 558

Docket Number: 119PA87, 121PA87

State: north-carolina

Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

Date: 1988-06-30T00:00:00Z

Document:
369 S.E.2d 558 (1988) STATE of North Carolina v. Craig Raymond KNOLL. STATE of North Carolina v. Samson WARREN, Jr. STATE of North Carolina v. Bennie Garland HICKS. Nos. 119PA87-121PA87. Supreme Court of North Carolina. June 30, 1988. *559 Lacy H. Thornburg, Atty. Gen. by Isaac T. Avery, III, Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., and Linda Anne Morris, Associate Atty. Gen., Raleigh, for the State. Crumpler & Scherer by Sally H. Scherer and William B. Crumpler, Raleigh, for defendant-appellants. MEYER, Justice. Defendant in each of these consolidated cases was charged with driving while impaired (DWI) in violation of N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1. Each defendant thereafter made a pretrial motion in Wake County District Court to dismiss the charge against him for violation of certain statutory and constitutional rights. The presiding judge in each case made findings of fact and conclusions of law and granted the motion to dismiss. The State appealed in all three cases to the Superior Court, Wake County, and because of the common questions of law involved, the State's appeals were consolidated for hearing. At a hearing in Wake County Superior Court, Judge Robert L. Farmer adopted the findings and conclusions of the district court judges, made additional findings and conclusions, and affirmed the dismissals entered by the judges in the district court division. The State appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed the judgments of the superior court and remanded all three cases for trial. We granted discretionary review in all three cases on 5 May 1987, and upon motion of the State (with consent of defendants), the cases were consolidated for briefing and oral argument. Concluding, as we do, that the Court of Appeals erred in reversing the judgments entered by the trial judge in each of the three cases, we reverse. Before reviewing the three cases individually, we note, by way of background, the general obligations of the magistrate in such cases. Upon a defendant's arrest for DWI, the magistrate is obligated to inform him of the charges against him, of his right to communicate with counsel and friends, and of the general circumstances under which he may secure his release. N.C.G.S. § 15A-511(b) (1983). A defendant may be confined or otherwise secured if he is so unruly as to disrupt and impede the proceedings, becomes unconscious, is grossly intoxicated, or is otherwise unable to understand the procedural rights afforded by the initial appearance before the magistrate. N.C.G.S. § 15A-511(a)(3) (1983). The magistrate must also determine conditions for pretrial release of the defendant, N.C.G.S. § 15A-533(b) (1983), by adhering to one of the following courses: (1) release the defendant on his written promise to appear; (2) release the defendant upon his execution of an unsecured appearance bond; (3) place the defendant in the custody of a designated person or organization; or (4) require the execution of an appearance bond in a specified amount secured by a cash deposit of the full amount of the bond, by a mortgage, or by at least one solvent surety, N.C.G.S. § 15A-534(a) *560 (1983). In determining the particular pretrial condition to impose, the magistrate must take into account the nature and circumstances of the offense charged, the weight of the evidence against the defendant, whether the defendant is intoxicated to such a degree that he would be endangered by being released without supervision, and any other evidence relevant to the issue of pretrial release. N.C.G.S. § 15A-534(c) (1983). We now proceed to review the three cases seriatum. David Knoll was stopped by Officer T.C. Dunn of the Raleigh Police Department on South Saunders Street in Raleigh at 1:15 p.m. on 17 April 1984 and charged with driving while impaired. He was taken to the Wake County Courthouse, where he was administered an intoxilyzer test at 2:31 p.m. The results of the analysis showed defendant to have an alcohol concentration of 0.30. He was taken before a magistrate who set bond at $300.00. Between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., Knoll asked several times to be allowed to telephone his father. He was allowed to make the call at about 5:00 p.m. Defendant's father stated that the magistrate informed him over the phone that his son could not be released until 11:00 p.m. and that, as a result, he did not go to the police station immediately but, rather, posted his son's $300.00 bail later that night at 11:00 p.m. At a hearing on defendant's Motion to Dismiss, the trial judge made, inter alia, the following findings of fact: On Thursday, 29 March 1984, at 10:11 p.m., defendant Samson Warren, Jr., was operating his 1981 Ford truck on Dan Allen Drive near Yarboro Drive on or near the campus of North Carolina State University (NCSU). Officer Scaringelli of the NCSU Campus Police stopped the defendant and later charged him with DWI. The defendant was taken to the Wake County Courthouse and was administered an intoxilyzer test at 11:08 p.m. The results of this test showed that defendant had an alcohol concentration of 0.25. The defendant was brought before a magistrate, and a secured bond of $500.00 was set. A Dr. Martin, the head of the Computer Science Department at NCSU, and his son had arrived at the magistrate's office between 11:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. while the defendant was in the intoxilyzer room. They spoke with the defendant and observed his condition. Dr. Martin had on his person $300.00 and was willing to assume responsibility for the defendant. The magistrate informed Dr. Martin that the defendant would have to go to jail until 6:00 the following morning in order to sober up. John Green Lewis, III, also went to the Wake County Courthouse that night to attempt to secure the defendant's release. Mr. Lewis arrived at the courthouse between 1:00 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. on Friday, 30 March 1984, and was informed that a release was not possible until 6:00 a.m. that morning. Mr. Lewis had on his person some $200.00 to post bond for the defendant. He made no further attempt to secure the defendant's release upon learning that release was not imminent and did not request to see Warren. At approximately 2:00 a.m., the defendant was committed to the Wake County Jail. He was released at about 8:00 a.m. when Dr. Martin posted bond for him. At the hearing on defendant's Motion to Dismiss, the trial judge made, inter alia, the following findings of fact: Defendant Hicks was arrested for driving while impaired at 12:45 a.m. on 28 April 1984 in or near Knightdale by Officer Dail of the Knightdale Police Department. He was taken to the Wake County Courthouse; was given an intoxilyzer test, which indicated an alcohol concentration of 0.18; and was taken before a magistrate. Defendant was allowed to call his wife at their home in Wendell at 1:30 a.m., but she did not have a vehicle at the time and could not come to the courthouse to pick him up. When he was charged with DWI, he was not allowed to post his own $200.00 bond, though he had on his person over $2,000 in cash. Defendant remained in jail until 6:00 a.m. that morning. At a hearing on Hicks' Motion to Dismiss, the trial judge made, inter alia, the following findings of fact: In each of the three cases, the trial judge made specific findings to the effect that the defendant created no disturbance and was cooperative and polite; that there was no clear and convincing evidence that, if he were released, he would create a threat of physical injury to himself or others or of damage to property; and that therefore the defendant should have been released. While a magistrate may refuse to release one who is intoxicated to such a degree that he would be endangered by being released *563 "without supervision," here it is quite clear that such was not the situation in any of the three cases. In the case of Knoll, whose intoxilyzer reading was 0.30, and in the case of Warren, whose reading was 0.25, neither would have been released "without supervision" but into the custody of appropriate people who were seeking their release. In the case of Hicks, whose reading was 0.18 and whose wife was temporarily unavailable to pick him up, he could have, by the use of a taxi, been in the presence of his wife within a short period of time. With only insignificant variations in the three judgments, the specific finding in each case was substantially as follows: Also in each of the three cases, the trial judge found that the defendant's confinement was at a time crucial to his ability to gather evidence and have witnesses to his condition at the time. This finding in each case reads substantially as follows: It is to be noted further that in each of the three cases the trial judge found that the magistrate failed to carry out his responsibilities regarding pretrial release under N.C.G.S. §§ 15A-511(b), -533(b), and -534(c). The trial judge found in each of the cases substantially as follows: It is quite clear that the magistrates involved in these particular cases were on special notice of each defendant's right to be released upon meeting certain conditions. In the findings of fact in each of the three cases, this finding was made: With regard to this standing order, the trial judge in each of these three cases made a specific finding of fact that "[t]he magistrate did not carry out the spirit and intent of this requirement adequately." Finally, the trial judge in each of the three cases made the following conclusions of law: In reversing the dismissal of the DWI charges and remanding the cases for trial, the Court of Appeals agreed with the findings of the trial judge in each case that the magistrate failed to inform defendant of the circumstances under which he could secure his pretrial release as required by N.C.G.S. § 15A-511(b)(3); that the magistrate failed to determine conditions of pretrial release in accordance with N.C.G.S. §§ 15A-533(b) and -534(c); and that, but for these statutory deprivations, each defendant could have secured his release from jail and could have had access to friends and family. The Court of Appeals further concluded that the per se prejudice rule of State v. Hill, 277 N.C. 547, 178 S.E.2d 462 (1971), does not apply when a person is charged under N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1(a)(2) with driving "[a]fter having consumed sufficient alcohol that he has, at any relevant time after the driving, an alcohol concentration of 0.10 or more." See N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1(a)(2) (1983). The panel below further concluded in each case that the district court therefore erred in applying the per se prejudice rule of Hill and that, though each defendant had been substantially deprived of his statutory rights, the evidence in each case was insufficient to support the trial judge's finding of prejudice and was therefore inadequate to support the dismissal of the case. We agree with the Court of Appeals that application of a per se prejudice rule as set out in Hill is inappropriate in cases involving a violation of N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1(a)(2) (driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.10 or more). As the Court of Appeals correctly stated in its opinion below: State v. Knoll, 84 N.C.App. 228, 233, 352 S.E.2d 463, 466. We therefore agree with the Court of Appeals that, in those cases arising under N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1(a)(2), prejudice will not be assumed to accompany a violation of defendant's statutory rights, but rather, defendant must make a showing that he was prejudiced in order to gain relief. Having so stated, we hasten to add that, in the view of the Court, each of the defendants in these cases made a sufficient showing of a substantial statutory violation and of the prejudice arising therefrom to warrant relief. More precisely, we conclude that the findings of the district court in each case were in no way challenged, that the evidence presented in each case was adequate to support the finding of fact that the defendant was prejudiced, and that this finding in turn supports the trial judge's conclusion that defendant was irreparably prejudiced. Accordingly, we reverse the decision below. The Court of Appeals correctly concluded that there are three statutes that are applicable to the issue of whether there was a substantial violation of defendant's statutory right of access to counsel and friends. First, N.C.G.S. § 15A-511(b) states: *565 Second, N.C.G.S. § 15A-533(b) reads in applicable part as follows: Third, N.C.G.S. § 15A-534(c) provides in pertinent part the following: The Court of Appeals also correctly concluded (1) that the trial judge properly found in each case that the magistrate failed to inform the defendant of the circumstances under which he could secure his pretrial release and failed to determine conditions of pretrial release and (2) that, but for these failures and the resulting deprivation of his statutory rights, each defendant could have secured his release from jail and could have had access to friends and family. These findings, supported by the evidence of record, and indeed unchallenged by any evidence to the contrary, are conclusive on appeal. Fast v. Gulley, 271 N.C. 208, 155 S.E.2d 507 (1967). Thus, as the Court of Appeals recognized, it is established in this case that each defendant was substantially deprived of his rights. The panel below erroneously concluded, however, that the substantial deprivation of defendants' statutory rights did not result in prejudice to them. In effect, the Court of Appeals concluded that each trial judge's findings did not support his conclusion that the substantial deprivation of each defendant's rights "prejudiced him in the preparation of his defense and has resulted in an unwarranted loss of liberty for a significant period of time" and that "[t]he only effective remedy for the violations of the defendant's rights is dismissal of the driving while impaired charge that led to his confinement." It is in this latter conclusion that the panel below erred. We find that the trial judges' conclusions of prejudice are amply supported by the unchallenged findings, which are themselves amply supported by the evidence. The Court of Appeals itself, in its opinion below, stated that a defendant in a case such as this State v. Knoll, 84 N.C.App. 228, 234, 352 S.E.2d 463, 466 (1987) (quoting State v. Dietz, 289 N.C. 488, 493, 223 S.E.2d 357, 360 (1976)). Such was exactly the situation in the three cases now before us, and the several trial judges correctly so found. Each defendant's confinement in jail indeed came during the crucial period in which he could have gathered evidence in his behalf by having friends and family observe him and form opinions as to his condition following arrest. This opportunity to gather evidence and to prepare a case in his own defense was lost to each defendant as a direct result of a lack of information during processing as to numerous important rights and because of the commitment to jail. The lost opportunities, in all three cases, to secure independent proof of sobriety, and the lost chance, in one of the cases, to secure a second test for blood alcohol content constitute prejudice to the defendants in these cases. That the deprivations occurred through the inadvertence rather than the wrongful purpose of the magistrate renders them no less prejudicial. State v. Graves, 251 N.C. 550, 112 S.E.2d 85 (1960). Accordingly, the decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the cases are remanded to the Court of Appeals for further remand to the Superior Court, Wake County, *566 for reinstatement of the judgment of dismissal in each of the cases. REVERSED.