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State upholds Havre man ’ s convictionBv LARRY ELKINAssociated Press WriterHELENA (AP) * The MontanaSupreme Court reaffirmed the right of law officers to take blood tests from injured suspects and upheld on Tuesday a Havre man’s conviction stemming from a fatal auto accident two years agoThe high court ruled 4-1 against an appeal by Arthur Campbell He was convicted of negligent homicide, drunken driving and an habitual offender charge after an accident on June 6,1978 that left one man fatally injured, a highway patrolman paralyzed and sent Campbell and another man to a hospital.It was Campbell's sixth conviction for driving while intoxicatedJustice John C, Harrison wrote the court’s main opinion, saying Campbell had consumed 10 or 12 beers by the time he joined Vincent and Manuel Moreno and headed west out of Havre on U.S 2 The trio was driving toward Fresno Reservoir for a swimMeanwhile, Highway Patrolman Gordon Hage was roaring east down U S. 2 at 90 miles an hour to the scene ofan accident Another driver on the roadreported he saw a cloud of dust in the distance as the patrolman’s carslammed into Campbell s vehicleThe passenger car had tried to makea left turn in front of the oncomingpatrol carCampbell and Manuel Morenoeventually recovered, but VincentMoreno died 38 days later The Morenoshad been thrown from the car, whileCampbell was found pinned in the frontseat.While Campbell was at the hospital, patrolmen testified later, he was unable to give coherent answers even when asked his own name The officers had a blood sample taken showing Campbell with a blood alcohol count of 20 percent, well above the legal limit for drivers in Montana District Judge B W Thomas of Havre rejected Campbell’s efforts to withhold results of the blood tests, as well as to hold a separate trial on the habitual offender charge Campbell was con victed on all three counts and appealed He argued, unsuccessfully, that the blood test should have been disallowed the habitual offender charge shouldhave been tried separately, and thatthere was not enough evidence toconvict him But the Supreme Court said thatwhile a suspect who is coherent must be arrested or must give consent Indore police can take a blood test, the authorities acted properly in this case liecause the suspect Campbell was injured too severely to knowingly refuse to take a blood test The court dismissed arguments that the test was an unconstitutional search and seizure Campbell argued that inclusion of the habitual offender charge tended to prejudice the jury against him But the court said the burden of showing such prejudice is on the defendant, and inMarket quotations are provided through i) A Davidson Company inHavre* Oootutmns art* us of noonthis case Campbell tailed to meet ittn his last argument t'ampbetl noted that the main fact o! the case whether he was driving the car was in dispute He and Manuel Moreno testified that Vincent Moreno was the driver, and the defense brought m aphysicist who said the driver would have been thrown from the vehicleAn investigating Highway Patrolofficer testified that Campbell ap pea ml to have been the driver and patrol officers testified that Manuel Moreno first said Campbell had been the driver, then changed his stoi \ alterVincent Moreno diedPacific Power Light I9!111 *Ralston Purina 12* i ♦Schlumberger 1297* * 1 * *
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