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State v. Kuba9/26/1985
OPINION OF THE COURT BY HAYASHI, J.
The State of Hawaii (hereinafter "State") appeals 1) an Order Granting Defendant's Motion to Suppress Statements; 2) an Order Granting Defendant's Motion for Dismissal of Count I of the Indictment for Insufficient Evidence; and 3) an Order Granting Defendant's Motion to Suppress Evidence Obtained in Violation of Defendant's Miranda Rights. The trial court concluded that the police questioning of Defendant after a traffic stop amounted to custodial interrogation and that Defendant should have been informed of his constitutional rights to silence and an attorney under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). The trial court also dismissed Count I of the indictment on the ground there was insufficient evidence to indict Defendant For Driving Under the Influence of Drugs. Finally, the trial court invalidated the seizure of two and one-half methaqualone tablets as products of the initial illegal interrogation. For the reasons stated below, we reverse the orders and remand the case for trial.
I.
On April 27, 1983 at about 1:00 a.m. on Nuuanu Avenue, Officers Torres and Castro observed Defendant's truck straddling two lanes of traffic and travelling five miles per hour in a twenty-five mile per hour zone. Officer Torres stopped Defendant, requested Defendant's license, and sked Defendant to step out of the truck. Defendant appeared disoriented and unsteady on his feet. Officer Torres told Defendant the reason for the stop. Officer Torres suspected Defendant of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor and informed Defendant of that suspicion.
Defendant then responded that he had consumed four beers earlier at a downtown bar. Officer Torres asked Defendant if he "normally gets wasted on four beers." In response to this question, Defendant
responded that he had also smoked some marijuana.
Defendant failed a field sobriety test administered by Officer Torres. Officer Torres then arrested Defendant for driving under the influence of alcohol in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (hereinafter "HRS") § 291-4 (1976). At the police station, Defendant submitted to an intoxilyzer test to determine his blood alcohol count. The test resulted in a reading of .00 indicating no alcohol in Defendant's blood. Officer Torres conferred with the watch captain, advising him of Defendant's statement of smoking marijuana. Officer Torres amended the charge to driving while under the influence of drugs in violation of HRS § 291-7 (1976). At the receiving desk Officer Coons searched Defendant for evidence of drugs and found two and one-half tablets of methaqualone. The Defendant was charged with driving while under the influence of
drugs and possession of the methaqualone in violation of HRS § 712-1243 (1976), Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the Third Degree.
Defendant moved to suppress the statements. In his memorandum in support of his motion, Defendant contended that the roadside questioning was a custodial interrogation, and that any statements obtained by the police without the giving of Miranda warnings should be suppressed. Defendant sought to dismiss Count I of the indictment for prosecutorial misconduct and insufficient evidence on the basis that no evidence, other than the illegally obtained statements, was presented to the grand jury to support the charge that Defendant had in fact taken drugs. Finally Defendant moved to suppress the methaqualone as fruits of the allegedly unlawful questi
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