Court Opinion

ID: 9682228
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 08:08:09.369166+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:38.236239
License: Public Domain

CUMMINGS, J.,
Dissenting.
I dissent because I cannot say that the trial court’s finding of intoxication is so against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence as to be unjust and manifestly wrong. In conducting a factual-sufficiency review of the evidence, due deference must be given the [fact finder’s] assessment of the witnesses’ credibility and [its] resolution of any conflicts in the evidence. Jones v. State, No. 72,026, slip op. at 4, — S.W.2d -, -, 1996 WL 732038 (Tex.Crim.App. December 18, 1996); Desselles v. State, 934 S.W.2d 874, 878 (Tex.App. — Waco 1996, no pet.). In conducting a factual-sufficiency review we are not allowed to sit as the “thirteenth juror” in the case. Desselles, at 878. Geesa v. State, 820 S.W.2d 154, 159 (Tex.Crim.App.1991).
In addition to the factual review in the majority opinion, there are several other important facts, the most alarming of which was the location where Mr. Perkins was found slumped over in his car. Apparently a passer-by notified some authority in Dallas that “someone was unconscious in the middle of the road.” Dallas Firefighter Farrel testified that he was dispatched from downtown and that he and several other firemen went to the 8000 block of Military Parkway with their emergency lights and siren on. Upon arrival, he found a car straddling the middle of two eastbound traffic lanes of Military Parkway with Mr. Perkins slumped over in the front seat with his foot on the brake and the car running. The emergency lights and siren did not awaken Perkins. Farrel noted that Perkins was breathing and had a pulse, so he put the car in park and took the keys from the ignition to prevent Perkins from leaving the scene should he awaken before the police arrived.
*368Mr. Perkins testified that he had been parked where Farrel found him “probably five minutes” and that “... there was a lot of traffic out.” Surely the trial court could have inferred from the evidence that Mr. Perkins had created an inherently dangerous traffic situation.
Additionally, as judge of the credibility of the witnesses, the trial judge could have taken into consideration the testimony of Mr. Perkins when he admitted on cross-examination that he had previously been convicted of DWI on an occasion where he had fallen asleep at the wheel of his car at a red light intersection in South Dallas. Further, at the time of this incident, Mr. Perkins was on probation and had been ordered not to drink alcoholic beverages. By his own admission to have drank one beer, he was in violation of that court order.
Finally, I disagree with the majority’s opinion concerning the video tape. As I reviewed the tape, Mr. Perkins responses to the officers requests were slow and deliberate, almost as though he had trained himself to respond slow and carefully. Even at that, he did seem confused at times and occasionally swayed on his feet. He was not falling down drunk, but the trial court witnessed his actions in the courtroom when he testified. The trial court could have believed the prosecutor in his closing argument where he argued that there was a difference in Perkins’ speech in the courtroom compared to his slurred speech in the video.
The fireman and arresting police officer both testified that Mr. Perkins was intoxicated on this occasion. This occasion was the second time Mr. Perkins had passed out on the street in his car. Going to sleep or passing out is further evidence of complete loss of mental and physical faculties. The only difference from the first time he was apprehended passed out behind the wheel of his ear was that he was not taking medication. Here, he states that in addition to the one beer he admitted to drinking, he says he had taken Nyquil for his sinus problem. Both times he was drinking and both times he went to sleep on a public street. I believe the evidence is overwhelming in support of the trial court’s finding of guilt and that the case should be affirmed.