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State v. Fitterer11/5/2002
REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
Larry Fitterer appeals the trial court's dismissal of his motion to suppress and the subsequent judgment based on a jury's verdict finding him guilty of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor. We reverse and remand with instructions.
I.
On September 14, 2001, the North Dakota Highway Patrol stopped Larry Fitterer at a sobriety checkpoint and charged him with driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor. Before trial, Fitterer moved to suppress evidence as a result of the checkpoint. Fitterer claimed he was not stopped for committing a traffic violation or for an apparent vehicle safety defect, and the checkpoint stop was illegal under Article I, Section 8, of the North Dakota Constitution and under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. He requested discovery under N.D.R.Crim.P. 16, seeking documents and tangible objects material to the preparation of his defense. The State responded and moved to dismiss, arguing that because Fitterer did not specify in his motion which of his rights were violated or provide evidence of what was wrong with the checkpoint stop, his motion was inadequate on its face, and should be dismissed. In response to the discovery request, the State argued Fitterer had full means of obtaining the information from the Highway Patrol and, therefore, the State was not obliged to provide it.
At a hearing on the motion, the trial court dismissed Fitterer's motion to suppress evidence, ruling sobriety checkpoints are per se constitutional, and that before a hearing would be conducted, it was Fitterer's burden to show as part of his moving papers how and why the checkpoint was unconstitutional. At trial, the jury returned a guilty verdict. Fitterer appeals, arguing the trial court erred in dismissing his motion to suppress because (1) the motion provided adequate notice of alleged constitutional violations; (2) the State failed to comply with his request for discovery.
II.
Fitterer argues his motion to suppress evidence should not have been dismissed because he sufficiently stated his grounds for suppression providing adequate notice to the trial court and the State of the claimed constitutional violations. Fitterer claims he was neither stopped for committing an offense nor stopped for any apparent safety defect on his vehicle. Relying on City of Bismarck v. Uhden, 513 N.W.2d 373, 379 (N.D. 1994), Fitterer maintains that checkpoint stops are not per se constitutional and, therefore, once the issue was identified and raised with sufficient clarity, the State had the burden to present record evidence to show the checkpoint was constitutionally valid.
The State argues Fitterer's motion to suppress was properly dismissed because it lacked authority and specificity to support his constitutional claim. See Wisdom v. North Dakota Real Estate Comm'n, 403 N.W.2d 19, 22 (N.D. 1987); N.D.R.Ct. 3.2. The State argues our case law requires parties raising constitutional claims to articulate the specific constitutional provision being violated. See Menz v. Coyle, 117 N.W.2d 290, 302 (N.D. 1960).
At the motion hearing, the trial court essentially dismissed Fitterer's motion to suppress because it lacked specificity or particularity. While we defer to a trial court's findings of fact on a motion to suppress, questions of law are fully reviewable. State v. Hawley, 540 N.W.2d 390, 392 (N.D. 1995). Prima facie evidence to support a motion to suppress is not required in a party's moving papers. Cohen v. United States, 378 F.2d 751, 761 (9th Cir. 1967) (stating a motion may be supported by affidavit, however, "in the absence of a
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