 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Theetge7/14/2000
On Appeal from District Court of Vermont Unit No. 1, Windsor Circuit
March Term, 2000
In this Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) case, the State has filed an interlocutory appeal from a Windsor District Court decision granting defendant Eugene Theetge's motion to suppress evidence obtained from a seizure. The State argues that a seizure did not occur, or, in the alternative, if a seizure did occur, the officer's actions were lawful. We reverse.
On March 2, 1999, at 11:30 p.m., Vermont State Police Trooper Timothy Clouatre observed defendant's stopped vehicle in the southbound breakdown lane of Interstate-91 in Hartland. The officer pulled his cruiser into the breakdown lane behind defendant's vehicle and activated the cruiser's blue lights and spotlight. The officer exited his vehicle and approached defendant's vehicle with a flashlight in one hand and his drawn weapon in the other. Trooper Clouatre's first exchange with defendant was to request his license and registration as well as ordering defendant to keep his hands visible. The officer then verified that defendant was not in need of assistance. Trooper Clouatre observed that defendant's eyes were watery and bloodshot, his speech was slurred and mumbled, and his breath strongly smelled of alcohol. He also noticed alcoholic beverages in the back seat. Suspecting that defendant was under the influence of alcohol, he informed defendant to "hang tight" while he went back to his cruiser to process defendant's information. Additionally, Trooper Clouatre requested the assistance of another officer.
When another officer arrived, approximately twelve minutes later, Trooper Clouatre explained that he observed defendant's vehicle initially stopped in the breakdown lane and investigated for that reason. With the other officer watching the passenger, Trooper Clouatre conducted a series of standard tests which tended to show that defendant was intoxicated. Consequently, the State charged defendant with DWI, in violation of 23 V.S.A. § 1201.
Prior to trial, defendant moved to suppress all evidence in the case, arguing that the officer had illegally seized him. The trial court held a hearing, at which the State called Trooper Clouatre as its sole witness. Further, the State introduced and played portions of a videotape from a dashboard-mounted camera that had been activated when the officer pulled his cruiser into the breakdown lane behind defendant's vehicle. On cross-examination, the officer testified that defendant was not free to leave and that, had defendant attempted to leave, the officer would have pursued him.
In its written decision, the court concluded that the officer had seized defendant, but that he had no reasonable and articulable suspicion that defendant was engaged in unlawful activity. The court also rejected the State's argument that the stop constituted an exception to the reasonable and articulable suspicion requirement under the "community caretaking" doctrine, concluding that Trooper Clouatre's initial request for defendant's license and registration before inquiring whether there was an emergency precluded applying the exception. Having found neither a reasonable and articulable suspicion nor a community caretaking exception to justify the seizure, the court granted defendant's suppression motion. The State filed this interlocutory appeal.
I.
The State first argues that the use of the cruiser's blue lights, when pulling behind a vehicle already parked in the breakdown lane of the interstate, does not create a seizure. In doing so, it invites us to overrule our decision in State v. Burgess, 163 Vt. 259, 261, 657 A.2d 202, 203 (1995), where we held th
Page 1 2 3 Vermont DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|