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State v. Collins3/4/2005
ooking sheet, and he did not believe that it would be proper to admit the booking sheet at the time because no one was available to authenticate it. Neither version of the booking sheet was shown to the jury; nor is either version included in the record on appeal.
The only mention of the booking sheet in the presence of the jury was made by defense counsel and the State's version of the booking sheet was not offered or introduced into evidence. Defendant failed to timely offer his version of the booking sheet. Under these circumstances, we see no error and Defendant has not alerted us as to how there was a violation of a rule of evidence. Finding no error, we reject Defendant's argument that the district court had a duty to allow the booking sheet into evidence to correct the alleged prosecutorial misconduct. We hold that the court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to admit the full booking sheet into evidence.
In conclusion, looking at all of the instances of claimed prosecutorial misconduct, both separately and together, we conclude that Defendant was not denied a fair trial.
7. There Was Not Cumulative Error
Defendant claims that cumulatively the errors in his trial were so prejudicial as to require reversal.
Cumulative error requires reversal of a defendant's conviction when the cumulative impact of errors which occurred at trial was so prejudicial that the defendant was deprived of a fair trial[.] . . . The doctrine cannot be invoked if no irregularities occurred, or if the record as a whole demonstrates that a defendant received a fair trial[.]
State v. Martin, 101 N.M. 595, 600-01, 686 P.2d 937, 942-43 (1984) (citations omitted). Given that, even assuming that there conceivably were errors in Defendant's trial, we have found no prejudice and no cumulative error.
8. The District Court Did Not Err by Denying the Motion for Directed Verdict
Defendant argues that the district court should have granted his motion for a directed verdict because there was insufficient evidence to convict him of DWI .08. Defendant argues that the jury must have believed that the results of the BAC test were unreliable because the jury did not convict him for aggravated DWI .16 even though the results of the tests were .17 and .18. He argues that, because the jury believed that the tests were unreliable, it could not have reasonably relied on the results of the BAC test at all. Further, he argues that the field sobriety tests alone cannot possibly show that Defendant had a BAC of .08 or greater.
"The question presented by a directed verdict motion is whether there was substantial evidence to support the charge." State v. Dominguez, 115 N.M. 445, 455, 853 P.2d 147, 157 (Ct. App. 1993).
In reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we determine whether there is substantial evidence of either a direct or circumstantial nature to support a verdict of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt with respect to every element of the crime charged. We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, resolving all conflicts and indulging all reasonable inferences in favor of the verdict. Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. The question on appeal is not whether substantial evidence would also have supported a verdict of acquittal, but whether substantial evidence supports the verdict rendered.
State v. Caudillo, 2003-NMCA-042, 7, 133 N.M. 468, 64 P.3d 495 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
Once the .17 and .18 BAC test results were admitted in evidence, the State
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