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State v. Tongue3/17/2000
Supreme Court On Appeal from District Court of Vermont, Unit No. 3, Franklin Circuit December Term, 1999
In these consolidated cases, defendant Edward Tongue appeals from the civil suspension of his driver's license and from the district court's denial of his motion to suppress and motion to reconsider in the related criminal case. On appeal, defendant argues that (1) the court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the civil suspension proceeding; (2) the court in the civil suspension proceeding erred in denying his motion to suppress; and (3) the court in the criminal proceeding erred because it denied defendant's motion to suppress and motion to reconsider without holding a hearing, without making findings of fact, and without reaching the merits of the motion. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
The relevant facts are not in dispute. On August 23, 1998, at approximately two o'clock in the morning, Trooper John Young was driving down Shaw Road on his way to investigate a domestic dispute. While en route, he observed defendant sitting behind the steering wheel of a car parked off of the traveled portion of Shaw Road. The car's lights were off and its engine was not running. After completing the response to the domestic dispute, Trooper Young, joined by Trooper Raymond, returned to the area on Shaw Road where Trooper Young had seen defendant's car approximately twenty minutes earlier. Both troopers approached the car and saw that defendant was apparently asleep. They detected a strong odor of intoxicants coming through the partially opened car window, knocked on the window, awakened defendant, and, based upon their observations, processed defendant for driving while intoxicated (DWI).
On August 28, 1998, Trooper Young sent defendant a notice of intent to suspend his driver's license. See 23 V.S.A. § 1205(c). On August 30, 1998, defendant requested a hearing before the district court on the issue of license suspension. See id. § 1205(f). On October 5, 1998, the court held a preliminary hearing. See id. § 1205(g). On October 19, 1998, fifty-seven days after the date of the alleged offense, the court held a final hearing. See id. § 1205(h). Defendant moved to dismiss the final hearing because it had not been held within forty-two days of the date of the alleged offense, as required by § 1205(h). The court denied defendant's motion, finding that there was good cause for the delayed hearing because "one assumes that the State has done all that it can to bring the charge within the 21 days and we have scheduled the final hearing within 21 days of the preliminary." See id. (" he court shall schedule a final hearing on the merits to be held within 21 days of the date of the preliminary hearing. In no event may a final hearing occur more than 42 days after the date of the alleged offense without the consent of the defendant or for good cause shown.").
Defendant also moved to suppress all of the evidence that flowed from the seizure, arguing that the troopers did not have a reasonable and articulable suspicion to justify seizing him. See State v. Lamb, 168 Vt. 194, 196, 720 A.2d 1101, 1102 (1998). The State countered that no seizure had taken place, and therefore, the troopers were not required to have a reasonable and articulable suspicion. The State further argued that, even if the court concluded that a seizure had taken place, the seizure was justified based on the community caretaking doctrine. The court denied the motion, concluding that a seizure had taken place, and that, under the community caretaking doctrine, the troopers were justified in seizing defendant. See State v. Marcello, 157 Vt. 657, 658, 599 A.2d 357, 358 (1991) (mem.). The court entered judgment for t
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