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State v. Bolduc12/3/1998
t or was committing a crime." State v. Boylan, 665 A.2d 1016, 1019 (Me. 1995). The amount of evidence necessary to establish probable cause "is less than the level of a fair preponderance of the evidence." State v. Cilley, 1998 ME 34, 11, 707 A.2d 79, 83.
"A person is guilty of [operating under the influence] if his mental or physical faculties are impaired, however slightly or to any extent." Id. In light of this standard, "probable cause to believe a defendant was operating under the influence exists if there is reason to believe that his mental or physical faculties are impaired by the consumption of alcohol." Id. (quoting State v. Bradley, 658 A.2d 236, 237 (Me. 1995)).
The trial court clearly erred in finding that there was not probable cause to believe that Bolduc was operating under the influence. In the aggregate, the report that a truck with a similar style and color had recently been driving erratically on the same road, the smell of alcohol on Bolduc's breath, his admission that he had consumed two beers that evening, his slurred speech and glossy eyes, and his poor performance on a field sobriety test, warranted a reasonable officer to conclude that Bolduc was driving while intoxicated. See Boylan, 665 A.2d at 1019 (officer could have formed reasonable belief that defendant was driving while intoxicated where defendant's breath smelled of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and he failed field sobriety tests).
The entry is:
Judgment vacated.
Page 1 2 Maine DUI Attorneys
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