Conviction in fatal OWI crash overturned
Driver eligible for new trial in 2020 homicide
A Des Moines driver convicted of vehicular homicide by OWI in a 2020 crash is entitled to a new trial, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled.
David Dwight Jackson, now 55, whose driving privileges had been revoked, was driving a stolen car on Aug. 9, 2020, when he crossed the centerline on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and struck a three-wheeled motorcycle coming the other direction.
The driver of the trike, Bounleua Lovan, died of his injuries. Witnesses testified Jackson continued driving until striking a building, then left the scene; one woman who spoke with him said he appeared to be “in a daze” and “confused” and that he claimed he hadn’t been driving the vehicle.
Officers located Jackson outside a nearby senior care facility, where he attempted to run and was subdued with pepper spray.
A blood test found he had methamphetamine in his system at the time of the crash.
At his subsequent trial, Jackson testified he’d borrowed the car from a neighbor and hadn’t known it was stolen. As for the crash itself, he claimed he had a history of “blacking out” and had done so behind the wheel, saying he had no memory of the accident and hadn’t realized until later he’d struck someone.
In response, prosecutors called a jail health official to testify about Jackson’s medical treatment there, showing the jail had treated him for detoxification but had no indication of any disorder that might have caused him to black out.
Jackson was convicted of vehicular homicide by OWI, leaving the scene, reckless driving and operating a vehicle without consent.
On appeal, Jackson argued the district court had wrongly allowed prosecutors to bring up his medical record and that the administrator’s testimony on the subject amounted to hearsay. The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the verdict, but on further review, the Iowa Supreme Court partially reversed it, finding in a 4-3 decision that the administrator’s testimony should not have been allowed.
Jackson’s appellate lawyer, Gary Dickey, declined to comment on the decision.
Records not introduced
Like most states, Iowa law permits hearsay evidence under a “business records exception” that applies to some types of documents, including in many cases medical records that cite
the patient’s own statements. The state argued that Jackson opened the door to discussing his medical history through his testimony, and that the jail administrator’s testimony falls within that exception.
The problem, Justice Christopher McDonald wrote for the majority, is that the state never introduced the actual jail records, instead bringing in the administrator to talk about records not in evidence.
Numerous state and federal courts have found that to be inappropriate, as did the majority here.
“In short, the rules of evidence create a ‘business records exception’ to the rule against hearsay and not a ‘testimony about business records exception’ to the rule against hearsay,” McDonald wrote.
The majority found Jackson is entitled to a new trial because the inadmissible testimony could have been significant to the outcome. In particular, McDonald noted other evidence, such as driving data from the car and testimony from witnesses who saw the crash, could support the interpretation that Jackson had a medical episode behind the wheel.
Justice Edward Mansfield, joined by Justice Thomas Waterman and Chief Justice Susan Christensen, wrote that Jackson’s conviction should stand.
The dissenting opinion notes that Jackson’s testimony at trial was the first time he’d ever claimed to have had a medical issue, and that prosecutors had to quickly offer rebuttal evidence from the jail health care official.
Jackson and his attorneys never argued in the trial or on appeal that the state was required to enter the actual records in evidence, Mansfield notes, and the minority objected to granting him a new trial on grounds that, in their view, he never asked for.
Mansfield also discussed Jackson’s actions after the crash, including video where he appears to be moving purposefully and trying to gain entrance to the nearby senior building, to argue there was “substantial evidence that the defendant was under the effects of methamphetamine at the time of the accident and little corroboration or consistency for his claim of a blackout.”
Lynn Hicks, spokesperson for the Polk County Attorney’s Office, said Monday that prosecutors were considering whether to try Jackson again.