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Saucier v. City of Poplarville11/4/2003
NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - MISDEMEANOR
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED
. Tami Saucier was convicted of driving under the influence . She appeals arguing that there was no probable cause for the traffic stop nor for the administration of a breath test. She also argues that the evidence did not support that she was under the influence of alcohol. We find no error.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
. On the night of November 30, 2001, Saucier was driving on Highway 53 near Poplarville, Mississippi. While on patrol, a Pearl River County sheriff's deputy began to follow her. He observed Saucier increase and decrease her speed and "bump" the centerline. She was driving between fifteen and twenty miles per hour in a thirty-five mile per hour zone. He followed her for about eight miles. As they entered Poplarville, Saucier went into the center lane and jerked her vehicle back into the right lane. The officer contacted the Poplarville Police Department for assistance.
. A police officer responded and pulled his vehicle in between the sheriff deputy's vehicle and that of Saucier. He followed her for perhaps three hundred yards. He observed Saucier cross the yellow line into the turn lane and then back into her lane. She was also driving rather slowly. The police officer then stopped Saucier. As he approached Saucier's vehicle, he smelled alcohol coming from inside her vehicle. He then noticed that Saucier's eyes were bloodshot and glassy. He asked her to exit her vehicle. The sheriff's deputy was also present and he saw Saucier sway. Saucier stated that she had been drinking wine earlier at a casino on the Gulf Coast.
. Two field sobriety tests were conducted. Saucier did not successfully complete either, so she was asked to submit to an Intoxilizer exam for breath alcohol content. Saucier was transported to the Pearl River County Sheriff's Department for the test. She was unable to complete it. She was arrested and charged with careless driving and driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor. In the Poplarville Municipal Court, Saucier entered a nolo contendre plea. She then appealed her conviction to the Circuit Court of Pearl River County for a trial de novo. Both parties requested a trial without a jury. Saucier was found guilty of driving under the influence, first offense.
DISCUSSION
1. Probable cause for a traffic stop and for administering field sobriety test
. Saucier claims that there was no probable cause for the police officer to conduct a traffic stop. The United States Supreme Court has stated that, as a general rule, "the decision to stop an automobile is reasonable where the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred." Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 810 (1996). To know whether there was evidence of the offense of careless driving, we examine the statute on that crime :
Any person who drives any vehicle in a careless or imprudent manner, without due regard for the width, grade, curves, corner, traffic and use of the streets and highways and all other attendant circumstances is guilty of careless driving.
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-1213 (Rev. 1996).
. Repeatedly, the vehicle that Saucier was driving crossed over the center line. This is careless driving under the statute. She was driving without due regard for the width and use of the street. This was observed by two law enforcement officers. The officer's observations were sufficient for him to conclude that the traffic violation of careless driving had occurred.
. Saucier relies on a precedent that states that a driver allowing his ve
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