Opinion ID: 1172257
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Challenge to the Sufficiency of the Evidence

Text: Randhawa contends that the State failed to produce sufficient evidence that he drove recklessly or that he was intoxicated. Although he couches his assignment of error in terms that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that it could convict Randhawa of vehicular homicide [2] and in denying his motion for arrest of judgment, we view Randhawa's challenge as being to the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction. Indeed, he argues here, as he did at the trial court, that the State failed to produce sufficient evidence to justify convicting the defendant of driving recklessly and that no rational trier of fact could conclude that the blood alcohol analysis was accurate inasmuch as the individual who conducted the test did not testify nor was he or she even identified by the State. Br. of Appellant at 39. The State responds that it presented sufficient evidence to justify a rational trier of fact in finding, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Appellant was guilty of driving in a reckless manner and while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. Br. of Resp't at 24. The standard of review for a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence was set out in State v. Green, 94 Wash.2d 216, 616 P.2d 628 (1980). We said there that evidence is sufficient if, after it is viewed in a light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Green, 94 Wash.2d at 221, 616 P.2d 628 (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, reh'g denied, 444 U.S. 890, 100 S.Ct. 195, 62 L.Ed.2d 126 (1979)). Where, as here, a defendant is charged with alternative means of committing vehicular homicide, jury unanimity is not required as to which alternative the defendant is guilty of, provided the State presented sufficient evidence supporting each of the alternative means. See State v. Ortega-Martinez, 124 Wash.2d 702, 707-08, 881 P.2d 231 (1994). If there is sufficient evidence to support each alternative means submitted to the jury, the conviction will be affirmed because we infer that the jury rested its decision on a unanimous finding as to the means. State v. Whitney, 108 Wash.2d 506, 739 P.2d 1150 (1987). For reasons set forth hereinafter, we conclude that the evidence presented to the jury was sufficient to support Randhawa's conviction on both alternatives chargedoperating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner or while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. Insofar as the allegation of driving while under the influence of alcohol is concerned, there was sufficient evidence, aside from the evidence concerning the analysis of Randhawa's blood, that Randhawa had consumed alcohol prior to the accident and that it had lessened his ability to drive a motor vehicle to an appreciable degree. In that regard, two Washington State troopers said that they smelled an odor of intoxicants on Randhawa, one indicating that he noticed it immediately upon entering the ambulance in which Randhawa was being treated. Several other witnesses, including Randhawa himself, testified that Randhawa had been drinking prior to the accident. As far as the alcohol's effect on Randhawa's driving, the State presented testimony of an eyewitness and an expert witness which supported a conclusion that Randhawa had been speeding and that he veered out of his own lane of travel just before the accident occurred. In addition, Randhawa admitted that he was speeding and his expert gave testimony which could have supported the jury's finding that he was driving over the speed limit. Added to this was the evidence that Randhawa failed to negotiate a sweeping curve, despite the fact that the roadway on which he was driving was dry and there were no atmospheric conditions that would have impaired his ability to see the curve or the sign suggesting a reduced speed in the curve. When viewed in a light most favorable to the State, this evidence is sufficient to support a finding by the jury that Randhawa had consumed intoxicating liquor and that the alcohol had lessened, to an appreciable degree, his ability to drive his automobile. This evidence was also sufficient to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Randhawa was driving his vehicle in a reckless manner, i.e., a rash or heedless manner, indifferent to the consequences. CP at 84.