Court Opinion

ID: 9665174
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:42:13.528781+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:13.589458
License: Public Domain

ON appellant's motion for rehearing.
BEAUCHAMP, Judge.
Appellant’s motion for rehearing emphasized the fact that the arresting officer was not present when the accident described in the opinion occurred. This we recognized. The question of the admissibility of the marijuana in evidence turns upon whether or not the arresting officer had authority under the statute to make the arrest. Our attention is called to the fact that the witness did not smell the marijuana until after the search had been made. In this our original opinion was in error. It is not the turning question in the case, however.
Article 803 of the Penal Code authorizes the arrest without a warrant, by any officer, of anyone violating the provisions of any of the various articles in the chapter into which that article is included. Article 801 of the same chapter is denominated “The Law of the Road.” That the appellant had violated the law of the road (see Note 5 of Vernon’s Annotations) is perfectly apparent. The officer was not in view of the accident as it occurred, but he saw the accident in its fullness in that he appeared on the scene before the vehicles or the parties were removed from the positions in which they were placed by the collision. It was perfectly apparent to the officer what had occurred, as much so as if he had seen it occur. To hold that he could not make an arrest under this circumstance would so restrict the authority given to the officers under Article 803 of the Penal Code as to make the same practically ineffective. We have no power to enlarge the acts of the legislature and, with the same diligence, should strive to understand the purpose of the legislation and refrain from restricting it so as to make it ineffective.
The officer W. A. Kline, Jr. gave other evidence which, in our opinion, warranted his act in making the search. He testified that he had reason to believe that there was marijuana in the car. He stated, as shown by the bill:
“* * * Defendant, William Sutton, seemed to be pretty badly hurt and I would say that he was semi-conscious. I was told that his name was William Sutton and that he was supposed to live in Refugio. I would not have taken the road he was on *220at all if I were going to Refugio, because I would not have any business on that road if that’s where I was going. I would say his, defendant’s, conduct in running the stop-sign and being on the wrong road would indicate to me that something was wrong with him; I would say because the wreck occurred at about three o’clock in the morning and because the defendant was on the wrong road and because he had run a stop-sign without making any attempt to stop, judging from the distance his car travelled after the collision, and, because the defendant was not moaning or groaning as an injured person ordinarily would be after an accident of this kind, that there was something wrong with him. I didn’t smell anything on his breath, but I tried to and that did not indicate to me that he was intoxicated on liquor; then the next thing that I thought was wrong with the defendant was; well, I thought that he was smoking or had marihuana. Yes, sir, I thought that he was smoking marihuana; Yes, Sir, I did see a package, that is, a paper bag or sack lying on the front seat of the defendant’s, car. * * * I could see this paper bag from the outside of the car because the car door was open; yes. I could see the paper bag lying on the front seat from the outside of the car. I sure did have reason to believe that there might be marihuana in that bag. * * *”
"* * * From the action of the defendant and the fact that he was not groaning or moaning or seemed to suffer any more than he was, at the time I picked up this paper bag, I certainly did have reason to believe that there was marihuana somewhere in the defendant’s car. * * *”
“* * * Liquor is one of the first things that we look for in investigating these wrecks and we have a form to report to make out showing whether or not we find any intoxicating liquor. Judge Gayle, you ask me was there anything about his condition that would lead me to believe that he was probably under the influence of some opiate, Yes, Sir. It has always been my experience that, unless the sense of feeling is deadened with drugs, a person who has been severely injured will usually be found moaning or groaning or exhibiting some evidence of pain, where he was not unconscious. Its always been my experience that where a person has been injured like this defendant was, and he is not moaning or groaning or taking on, that would indicate that he could have been smoking marihuana. That’s always been my experience. The fact that the defendant was out there at that hour of the morning, that he was traveling on the wrong road, that he had run a stop-sign, the fact that he was badly *221injured, and the fact that he wasn’t moaning or groaning, those things, well, naturally, they indicated that the defendant could have been smoking marihuana. That’s the reason that I looked in the car for it; I searched the car and found it. * * *
We are unable to agree that the trial court erred in admitting the testimony complained of.
Taking into consideration all the evidence given which was made known to the officer at the time, and taking into consideration the circumstances as he viewed them, we think the arrest was legal and the search was authorized.
The motion for rehearing is overruled.