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North Carolina v. Bumgarner3/20/1990
n 23 of the North Carolina Constitution was violated by the pretrial release requirement imposed by Magistrate Johnson. Defendant claims that the imposition of the requirement that he not be released until 11:00 a.m. unless a sober adult appeared thwarted his attempt to obtain evidence in his own behalf at the only point
in time such evidence could be gathered. This restriction violated his pretrial release right and prejudiced him. Again, we disagree.
The restriction defendant complains of is clearly authorized by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-534.2(c). There is ample evidence to support the trial court's finding that the magistrate performed her job in setting the pretrial release requirements. Magistrate Johnson based her determination of the additional pretrial release restriction upon the testimony of Trooper Fox, her personal observations, as well as the results of the sobriety test. This evidence was sufficient to support her decision to impose the restriction. Furthermore, the record clearly indicates that the magistrate informed defendant of the requirements of his pretrial release. Although defendant tried to contact an attorney to observe his sobriety test, he admittedly did not attempt to call any other witness and apparently was unable to find a sober adult to agree to take custody of him. Defendant cannot blame anyone but himself for not securing his timely release.
In summary, the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-139.1(d) were not violated by only providing defendant with access to a telephone. His federal constitutional rights were not violated in failing to transport him to the hospital. Furthermore, the magistrate correctly imposed the pretrial release restriction requiring a sober responsible adult to take custody of the defendant pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-534.2. There was no statutory or constitutional violation in her actions.
No error.
Disposition
No error.
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