State v. Burnham, 213 So. 3d 470

Defendant Rockey Burnham was charged with fourth-offense operating a vessel while intoxicated (La. R.S. 14:98(A), 14:98.4(C)); he pled not guilty, was tried by jury, convicted, and sentenced to 20 years at hard labor without parole/probation/suspension.
Parties stipulated Burnham was operating the vessel on April 28, 2015, and had three prior DWI convictions (elements for fourth-offense status).
Incident: while moving a shrimp boat ~50 feet at a crowded dock, the boat struck another vessel and the dock; owner testified the installed throttle controls were reversed and steering oil was low.
Law-enforcement observations: officer observed slurred speech, staring/pauses, near-incoherence, swaying/imbalance, and nystagmus; officer halted some field tests for safety and arrested Burnham.
Toxicology: Intoxilyzer breath test showed 0.00; blood test detected methamphetamine and benzodiazepines (diazepam/nordiazepam); no Suboxone found.
Defense evidence: witnesses (boat owner, paramedic, acquaintances) testified Burnham often had balance problems from a prior back injury, appeared cooperative/not obviously impaired; owner admitted mechanical/control issues and lever installed backwards.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence that defendant was "under the influence" of a controlled dangerous substance while operating the vessel	State: testimony of officers describing behavioral signs of intoxication plus blood positive for methamphetamine established influence beyond a reasonable doubt	Burnham: balance/speech deficits were due to chronic back injury and prescription medication; boat mechanics and wind caused collision, not impairment	Affirmed: Viewing evidence in light most favorable to prosecution, jury could credit officer observations and toxicology to find influence beyond a reasonable doubt
Sentencing/fine error patent review	State: sentence valid but statute mandates $5,000 fine for this offense	Defense: defendant appears indigent	Appellate court: declined to impose mandatory fine given indigency; did not add fine
Record inaccuracies (minute entry and commitment order)	State: records must match transcript	Defense: —	Remanded: correct minute entry language about enhancement and remove erroneous concurrent-sentence language in Uniform Commitment Order

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes standard for sufficiency review)
State v. Reeder, 189 So.3d 401 (La. App. 5th Cir.) (application of Jackson standard and behavioral signs supporting DWI)
State v. Davis, 128 So.3d 1195 (La. App. 5th Cir.) (behavioral manifestations can support DWI conviction)
State v. Dixon, 982 So.2d 146 (La. App. 5th Cir.) (single witness testimony can support conviction if believed)
State v. Oliveaux, 312 So.2d 337 (La.) (errors patent review authority)