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Ferrer v. State5/23/2001
Jeff Ferrer seeks certiorari review of an opinion of the circuit court, sitting in its appellate capacity, that affirmed his conviction and sentence for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or a controlled substance. We deny the petition and approve the circuit court's opinion.
The State charged Petitioner with driving under the influence . He filed a motion to suppress "any and all evidence obtained as the result of an illegal stop." In his motion, he stated that an Officer Claremont had stopped his car after he (Claremont) was dispatched to look for an impaired driver. According to Petitioner, because Officer Claremont did not see him drive his automobile in a manner warranting investigation, he effected his traffic stop for use of an expired tag. After the stop, Deputy Vila, Broward County DUI Task Force, arrived on the scene to assist Officer Claremont. Vila tested Petitioner for use of alcohol or drugs and arrested him for driving under the influence.
Petitioner argued in his motion to suppress that Officer Claremont lacked sufficient grounds to stop him because the tip did not furnish a valid basis for the stop. He further argued that the stop was pretextual. The State subpoenaed Officer Claremont, but he did not appear at the hearing on Petitioner's motion to suppress. That hearing was continued. Officer Claremont again failed to appear at the second hearing and the trial court heard only Deputy Vila's testimony.
The trial court overruled Petitioner's hearsay objection to Deputy Vila's testimony that Officer Claremont informed him of a tip that he received from a valet driver who had observed a man driving a vehicle in an intoxicated state and his testimony that Officer Claremont told him that he saw Petitioner driving with an expired tag. Vila also testified that when he arrived on the scene, he observed Petitioner's red, bloodshot eyes and a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath. Vila arrested Petitioner after he conducted roadside sobriety tests. Vila did not testify that he had observed an expired tag on Petitioner's car.
Petitioner argued that the evidence of his intoxication should be suppressed because without Officer Claremont's testimony, there was insufficient evidence to support the validity of the stop. He further argued that the trial court could not rely solely on the hearsay evidence of what Officer Claremont told Deputy Vila. The trial court denied the motion to suppress. Thereafter, Petitioner pled no contest to the charge and reserved the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. The trial court granted Petitioner's motion to find his motion to suppress dispositive. Petitioner then appealed his adjudication and sentence to the circuit court, sitting in its appellate capacity. The circuit court affirmed the judgment and sentence based on its finding that under "the fellow officer rule," Officer Claremont's knowledge and information had been properly imputed to Deputy Vila in making the arrest.
In his Petition to this Court, Ferrer argues that the circuit court's application of the "fellow officer" doctrine or rule denied him his constitutional right to confront a critical witness at the motion to suppress hearing. He further argues that he was entitled to cross- examine Officer Claremont to determine the motivation behind the stop because Claremont did not witness Petitioner driving as if impaired and could not corroborate the tip from the valet. Finally, Petitioner contends that he had the right to confront Officer Claremont concerning when he saw the license tag and if, in fact, the license tag was expired.
Notwithstanding that Officer Claremont's interest in Petitioner arose from the v
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