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Griffin v. State ex rel Wyoming Department of Transportation5/28/2002
At approximately 2:00 a.m. on July 3, 1999, Police Officer Hampton observed Griffin driving between sixty and seventy m.p.h. in a forty m.p.h. zone, and he observed the vehicle swerve and cross the center line. As a result, the officer stopped Griffin's vehicle. Upon contact, the officer observed that Griffin had watery and bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and smelled of alcohol. When questioned, Griffin admitted to drinking two or three beers. The officer asked to see Griffin's driver's license, which he had a hard time locating, taking three attempts to get the license out of his wallet and hand it to the officer. When the officer returned the license, Griffin dropped it. The officer then asked Griffin to exit the vehicle so that field sobriety maneuvers could be performed. Griffin agreed.
[ ] Griffin performed a number of maneuvers, the first of which was the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test. When questioned about his qualifications to administer the HGN, the officer testified that he had been a police officer for a little more than three years and had completed DWUI training at the police academy, as well as refresher courses following academy graduation. The officer stated that he estimates the forty-five degree angle used in conducting the HGN as recommended in the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) manual. After confirming that Griffin was neither ill nor on medication, the officer held a pen eighteen to twenty-four inches from Griffin's nose and told Griffin to follow the pen as he moved it from side to side. The officer observed the tracking of Griffin's eyes and noted that Griffin showed a lack of smooth pursuit and had nystagmus onset prior to forty-five degrees in both eyes, which is an indication of intoxication.
[ ] The officer next asked Griffin to recite the alphabet. Griffin recited the alphabet correctly, but, when he got to Z, he became confused and said he did not remember what came after Z. The officer next asked Griffin to perform the Rhomberg test. The officer told Griffin to stand with his feet together, bend his knees slightly, put his head back, close his eyes, and count to thirty. Griffin could not follow these directions and was confused about counting to thirty.
[ ] The final maneuver Griffin was asked to perform was the walk and turn. The officer instructed Griffin on how to perform the maneuver, but he was confused and had to have the instructions repeated. When taking the first nine steps of the maneuver, Griffin appeared unsteady, and he missed the heel-to-toe requirement in four of the nine steps. Rather than continuing the maneuver, Griffin had to ask the officer what to do next. The officer told him to take a series of small steps so that he would be headed back in the direction from which he came, and then instructed Griffin to take nine steps heel to toe in that direction. Griffin began taking the small steps to turn around and, contrary to instructions, counted out those steps. Griffin then took nine steps towards the beginning point of the maneuver and missed the heel-to-toe requirement in five of the nine steps.
[ ] The officer next asked Griffin to blow into an Alco-sensor, which is a small hand-held field unit that indicates if a person has been drinking. Griffin did not blow into the sensor as instructed. Based on his experience and observations, the officer decided that he had probable cause to arrest Griffin for DWUI. Following the arrest, Griffin was informed of the requirement for chemical testing and the consequences for refusal to submit to testing, according to the implied consent advisement required by statute. The officer asked Griffin to submit to a test of his blood or urine, as the breathalyzer was out of service
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