Opinion ID: 1342327
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Was the Erroneous Ruling Fatal to a Conviction?

Text: Code § 18.2-268(i) provides in part: In any trial for a violation of § 18.2-266 of the Code or of a similar ordinance of any county, city or town, this section shall not otherwise limit the introduction of any relevant evidence bearing upon any question at issue before the court, and the court shall, regardless of the result of the blood or breath test or tests, if any, consider such other relevant evidence of the condition of the accused as shall be admissible in evidence. Code § 18.2-268(r) provides: The court or the jury trying the case shall determine the innocence or the guilt of the defendant from all the evidence concerning his condition at the time of the alleged offense. The statutory mandate is that the guilt or innocence of the accused be determined from all the evidence of his condition at the time of the alleged offense, with or without a breath analysis. In Gardner v. Commonwealth, 195 Va. 945, 954, 81 S.E.2d 614, 619 (1954), we equated under the influence of alcohol with intoxication and adopted the statutory definition in Code § 4-2(14). [4] Accord, Clemmer v. Commonwealth, 208 Va. 661, 159 S.E.2d 664 (1968). The result of a breath analysis is but auxiliary proof which may tend to corroborate evidence of the objective symptoms adopted in Gardner. Under the facts and circumstances of this case, the trial court's erroneous ruling admitting the certificate was not fatal to a conviction. The testimony at the trial clearly showed that there was no room for reasonable doubt about Brooks' actual condition at the time of his arrest. The evidence of his guilt was clear and compelling, and the erroneous ruling of the trial court was harmless. Yager v. Commonwealth, 220 Va. 608, 260 S.E.2d 251 (1979); Rozier v. Commonwealth, 219 Va. 525, 248 S.E.2d 789 (1978), and Goins v. Commonwealth, 218 Va. 285, 237 S.E.2d 136 (1977). Affirmed.