 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
McChesney v. State10/20/1999
5-36 (Utah App. 1997). The tip of an anonymous informant is unlike that of an identified citizen-informant. The latter tips are higher on the reliability scale because an identified informant exposes himself to possible criminal and civil prosecution if the report is false. Id.; see Borgwardt v. State, 946 P.2d 805, 807 (Wyo. 1997) (citizen informants are presumptively reliable sources of information). Because the anonymous tip in this case is on the low end of the reliability scale, more information is required to raise a reasonable suspicion. Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. at 330-31, 110 S.Ct. at 2416.
The REDDI tip in the instant case merely recited the color, make, and direction of travel of the McChesney vehicle. These are facts that were available to anyone traveling on I-90 west of Gillette that July morning. Corroboration of this type of information does not increase the reliability of the tip. State v. Miller, 510 N.W.2d 638, 642 (N.D. 1994); Pinkney v. State, 666 So.2d 590, 592 (Fla.App. 1996); Commonwealth v. Lyons, 564 N.E.2d 390, 393 (Mass. 1990); Campbell v. State of Wash. Dept. of Licensing, 644 P.2d 1219, 1221 (Wash.App. 1982); see 4 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure ' 9.4(h), at 222, n.391-99. Where, as here, the informant makes no prediction of future behavior indicating Ainside information,@ the investigating officer is required to corroborate the tip in some other fashion, usually by observing either a traffic violation or driving indicative of impairment. Pinkney v. State, 666 So.2d at 592.
This enhanced corroboration requirement stems from a number of legitimate concerns. An anonymous tip, without more, may be no more than a citizen=s hunch or merely an assertion based on rumor. In addition, the potential for citizen abuse is readily apparent. Anybody with enough knowledge about a given person to make that person the target of a prank, or to harbor a grudge against that person, will certainly be able to formulate a REDDI tip. See Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. at 333, 110 S.Ct. at 2418 (Stevens, J. Dissenting). In the law enforcement context, there is the danger that Aan officer prompted not by a tip at all, but only by a hunch, could relay a description and license number through the dispatcher and thereby effectuate a lawful stop.@ Mix v. State, 893 P.2d 1270, 1272-73 (Alaska App. 1995).
In the instant case, any traveler on the highway that morning could have Apredicted@ the facts contained in the REDDI tip. The tip did not provide a description of the driver, the passengers, or any of their future activities. As such, the tip did not provide any Ainside information@ that would indicate that the tip was reliable. Even Alabama v. White was referred to as a Aclose case@ on its facts. 496 U.S. at 332, 110 S.Ct. at 2417. The facts of this case are far less compelling. Under these circumstances, we hold that the anonymous REDDI report was not sufficient to create a reasonable suspicion to justify an investigatory stop.
Officer Will properly investigated the REDDI report when he followed McChesney as he exited the interstate, made several turns, and traveled a substantial distance. Officer Will did not observe any erratic or illegal driving. He merely observed the passengers looking back at him and the driver looking into his mirrors. Although we have adopted the doctrine that Aeven conduct which is wholly lawful and seemingly innocent may form the basis for a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot,@ State v. Welch, 873 P.2d 601, 604 (Wyo. 1994), we conclude that this conduct did not provide a reasonable suspicion in this case. First, we dismiss the driver=s glances in his mirrors as inconsequential; such action is undeniably the sign of a safe
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Wyoming DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|