Spencer v. State

The trial court did not err in allowing the arresting officer to testify in the defendant's DUI trial that the presence of four out of six clues on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test generally indicates a blood-alcohol level equal to or greater than .08.

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After a jury trial, Mellecia Spencer was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol to the extent she was a less safe driver and possessing an open container of alcohol in the passenger area of her vehicle. She appeals, arguing that the trial court erred allowing the arresting officer to testify that Spencer’s performance on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus HGN test proved a specific numeric blood-alcohol content level. However, the officer did not give such testimony, and instead properly testified that generally an HGN test showing four out of six clues indicates impairment. Spencer also claims that the trial court erred in giving a burden-shifting jury charge on reasonable doubt, but we find no error as the court correctly gave the suggested pattern jury instruction on reasonable doubt. Accordingly, we affirm.

Construed in the light most favorable to the verdict, see Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979, the evidence showed that at approximately 2:00 a.m. on January 31, 2015, a police officer stopped Spencer for driving a car with a non-working headlight. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer smelled the odor of alcohol, saw that Spencer was wearing a paper bracelet from a drinking establishment with the word Budweiser on it, saw a plastic cup with an apparent alcoholic drink in the car’s center console, and observed that Spencer’s speech was slurred. Spencer initially denied drinking any alcoholic beverages, but then admitted drinking a margarita. Spencer’s performance on field sobriety tests, including the presence of four out of six clues on the HGN test, indicated impairment. Spencer refused to take a roadside breathalyzer test or the state-administered test for blood alcohol content.

Spencer v. State

The trial court did not err in allowing the arresting officer to testify in the defendant's DUI trial that the presence of four out of six clues on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test generally indicates a blood-alcohol level equal to or greater than .08.

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