 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
BUSH v. STATE12/1/1995
to respond and was not free to leave. What we have here is a stop of a restricted investigative scope, conducted in a noncoercive manner. It did not amount to a seizure and, thus, did not trigger Fourth Amendment protections. We find that the actions of the police in this situation were neither arbitrary nor unreasonable. The officers had a legitimate investigatory purpose, i.e., to find the perpetrators of these crimes before they committed another, and the investigative intrusion was minimal. We note that the information obtained from the appellant played no part in the ultimate decision to arrest him. The officers did obtain his address, but that would have been ultimately discovered in any case. We find no plain error here.
The appellant contends that inculpatory statements to Lieutenant Ward and Officer Ricky Moore concerning the pistol used in the commission of the crimes should have been suppressed because the investigators delayed for a week in bringing him before a magistrate. He claims that this delay was intentional and done so that the investigators could interrogate him before he could consult with an attorney. He argues that the statements were obtained in violation of his Sixth Amendment rights because, he says, his right to counsel had attached by the time of his interrogation.
There is some question as to whether this issue was specifically raised in the trial court. If it was, it was raised in a very general way. In the appellant's motion to suppress, he stated, "The statement obtained from the defendant was the product of an unconstitutionally prolonged detention without presentation to a judicial officer." In another motion to suppress, he stated, " ounsel was not appointed to represent the accused until September 2, 1981." He did not identify the statement he is referring to in his first motion, and the motions as well as the matter presented at the suppression hearing indicate that he was referring to the first and second statements or the confessions and not the statements made to Lieutenant Ward and Officer Moore about the pistol. Nevertheless, we will consider this issue as if it were properly and timely raised in the trial court and preserved for appellate review.
To support his contention, the appellant relies on Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 95 S.Ct. 854, 43 L.Ed.2d 54 (1975), and Ala. R.Cr.P. 4.3(a)(1)(iii). Gerstein v. Pugh holds that, following a warrantless arrest, "the Fourth Amendment requires a judicial determination of probable cause as a prerequisite to extended restraint of liberty following arrest." 420 U.S. at 114, 95 S.Ct. at 863. Ala.R.Crim.P. 4.3(a)(1)(iii), which is known as the "48-hour rule," reads as follows:
"(1) A person arrested without a warrant:
". . . .
"(iii) Shall be afforded an opportunity to make bail in accordance with Rule 4.3(b)(3) and 4.4. A judge or magistrate in the county of arrest shall determine whether probable cause exists to believe that the defendant committed the charged offense, by examining any necessary witnesses in accordance with the procedures for making a probable cause determination provided in Rule 2.4. If the judge or magistrate finds that there is probable cause for the arrest of the person, a complaint shall promptly be prepared, filed, and served on the defendant, and the judge or magistrate shall proceed as provided in Rule 4.4 for initial appearance. If a probable cause determination is not made by a judge or
magistrate without undue delay, and in no event later than forty-eight (48) hours after arrest, then, unless the offense for which the person was arrested is not a bailable offense, the person shall be released upon execution of an appearan
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 Alabama DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|