Commonwealth v. Palacios (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-171-16)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us 15-P-711 Appeals Court COMMONWEALTH vs. MARLIN PALACIOS. No. 15-P-711. Suffolk. October 24, 2016. – December 8, 2016. Present: Green, Wolohojian, & Massing, JJ. Alcoholic Liquors, Motor vehicle. Intoxication. Evidence, Hospital record, Intoxication, Medical record. Ambulance Worker. Motor Vehicle, Operating under the influence, Operation. Practice, Criminal, Required finding. Complaint received and sworn to in the Chelsea Division of the District Court Department on July 26, 2013. The case was tried before James H. Wexler, J. William T. Harrington for the defendant. Adrian Bispham, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. MASSING, J. At the defendant’s jury trial for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (OUI), the Commonwealth relied in part on ambulance and hospital records that referred to her consumption of alcohol. The defendant claims that the ambulance records were erroneously admitted as hospital records, that references to her intoxication should have been redacted, and that the Commonwealth failed to prove the element of operation. Discerning no error of law or abuse of discretion in the admission of the ambulance and hospital records, and finding the evidence of operation to be sufficient, we affirm. Background. The defendant ran a stop sign and crashed into the passenger side of another driver’s car. When the other driver got out of his car, the defendant approached him, yelling that he was at fault for not stopping. Nobody else was in the defendant’s car. The responding police officer found the defendant to be glassy-eyed and unsteady on her feet. She gave the officer her identification and stated, in response to his questioning, that “she had been drinking and had approximately two to three drinks.” Because the defendant claimed to be injured and wished to go to the hospital, she was not then arrested. Instead, an ambulance operated by Cataldo Ambulance Services (Cataldo) transported her to Whidden Memorial Hospital (Whidden).[1] Cataldo emergency medical technicians (EMTs) made several observations of the defendant, which they recorded on a form that was admitted as an exhibit in redacted form. The “clinical impressions” section of the form states, “Primary Impression: pain — arm; Secondary Impressions: intoxication — alcohol acute.” The “narrative” section of the form included details of the defendant’s condition, including references to her consumption of alcohol: “Pt found with PD […]