Jeffries v. State

169 P.3d 913 (2007)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

While grossly intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of .27, D drove an automobile and caused a February 7, 2000 traffic accident that fatally injured his front seat passenger, Beulah Dean. D's blood alcohol content was tested about seventy minutes after the accident. D had been drinking alcoholic beverages before noon on the day of his accident, that after drinking in the morning, he drove to a social club, where he consumed at least six more beers before he drove home and caused the fatal accident. There was also evidence that D may have been drinking while he was driving home. D drove his car directly and slowly in front of an oncoming car on a well-lit, icy, five-lane street. D also had prior convictions for drunk driving, court orders to attend substance abuse programs, and a condition of probation that he abstain from drinking alcohol. These facts permitted a finding that he had a heightened awareness that driving while grossly intoxicated was highly dangerous. D was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder for engaging in conduct that resulted in death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life. D had six prior DWI convictions, his license had been suspended since 1989, he had four times failed to participate in court-ordered substance abuse programs, and as a condition of probation, he had been ordered to abstain from drinking alcohol. D moved for a judgment of acquittal on the second-degree murder count. D claimed there was insufficient evidence that he was driving in a manner that exhibited extreme indifference to the value of human life. D was convicted and appealed. The court of appeals affirmed, and D appealed.