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Peters v. State10/1/2003
NOTICE Memorandum decisions of this court do not create legal precedent. Chief See Alaska Appellate Rule 214(d) and Paragraph 7 of the Guidelines for Publication of Court of Appeals Decisions (Court of Appeals Order No. 3). Accordingly, this memorandum decision may not be cited as binding precedent for any proposition of law.
No. 4766
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT
Byron L. Peters appeals his convictions for felony driving while intoxicated and driving while license revoked. Peters argues that Superior Court Judge Trevor N. Stephens erred in (1) refusing to suppress his Intoximeter results on the ground that the State violated Peters's right to consult with an attorney; (2) in refusing to suppress the evidence against Peters on the ground that the police illegally stopped him and arrested him; and (3) in refusing to dismiss the indictment against Peters because the State relied on hearsay evidence to obtain the indictment. We conclude that Peters's claims of error have no merit and affirm his convictions.
Factual Background
On July 21, 2000, Craig Police Chief James See was contacted by police dispatch and told that someone had called the police complaining about a possible drunk driver who was driving poorly and had almost backed over another individual. The caller had given the police dispatcher a description of the car and a partial plate number. Chief See located the car shortly thereafter in front of a local liquor store. A clerk from the liquor store motioned for Chief See to approach him and pointed toward an individual. Chief See testified that the individual was walking toward the car and was staggering and swaying and had to use the car for support once he reached it.
Chief See returned to his car in order to stop and question the individual he observed staggering. Before he could turn his police car around and approach the individual, however, the individual had already started his car and started to pull out of the parking lot. Chief See activated his lights and siren and cut the car off from leaving the parking lot. As Chief See approached the driver, he could smell a "heavy odor" of alcohol on the driver's breath. Additionally, the driver's eyes were droopy and bloodshot, and he was swaying after he got out of his vehicle. The individual handed Chief See a Washington identification card that gave his name as Byron Peters and told Chief See that his Washington license was suspended.
Chief See gave Peters some field sobriety tests, which Peters did not complete to Chief See's satisfaction. Chief See testified that Peters swayed while performing alphabet and counting tests. Peters could not follow instructions and again wavered badly when Chief See asked him to perform a one-leg stand test. Peters was unable to touch the correct fingers when Chief See asked him to perform a finger-counting test. In addition, between tests, Peters would lean against his car for support. Accordingly, Chief See arrested Peters for driving while intoxicated and driving with a revoked license. Chief See returned to the station and administered an Intoximeter test on Peters, which showed that Peters's blood-alcohol level was .141.
Because Peters had at least two prior Washington convictions for driving while intoxicated since 1996, a grand jury indicted him on one count of felony driving while intoxicated. The grand jury also indicted him on one count of driving while license revoked and one count of criminal mischief in the fourth degree. Judge Stephens presided over Peters's case. Peters filed a number of pretrial motions, many of which are the basis for this appeal. A jury eventually found Peters guilty of felony dri
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