 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Levitt12/18/2001
Assigned on Briefs September 25, 2001
The defendant drove up behind a vehicle which had halted because of a driver's license roadblock near Knoxville. He then proceeded onto the right shoulder to get around that vehicle and was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol officer conducting the roadblock. What next occurred was highly disputed, but the events culminated with the defendant's being sprayed with Freeze, some of which was deflected back onto the officer, partially incapacitating him also. The defendant was charged with resisting arrest, reckless driving, and failure to carry and display a driver's license on demand. The reckless driving charge was nolle prosequi and, following a jury trial, the defendant was found not guilty of resisting arrest but was convicted of the driver's license charge, sentenced to ten days confinement, which was suspended, and ordered to pay a $50 fine and court costs. He timely appealed the conviction, arguing that the roadblock was unconstitutional. Based upon our review, we conclude that the roadblock was unconstitutional and that the officers lacked probable cause to stop the defendant's vehicle. Accordingly, we reverse the conviction and dismiss the charge.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court Reversed and Dismissed
Alan E. Glenn, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Joe G. Riley and Thomas T. Woodall, JJ., joined.
OPINION
Following a jury trial, the defendant was found not guilty of resisting arrest but guilty of failure to carry and display his driver's license on demand, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated Section 55- 50-351, a Class C misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the defendant to ten days in the county jail, suspended upon payment of a $50 fine and all court costs. Following the denial of his motion for a new trial, the defendant filed a timely notice of appeal to this court, raising two issues, which he states in his brief as follows:
I. The Trial Court erred in determining that the roadblock operated by members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol was constitutionally permissible and denying the Appellant's Motion to Suppress all evidence obtained as a result of this roadblock.
II. The evidence presented at trial was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Appellant was operating a motor vehicle in violation of T.C.A. § 55-50-351, requiring that an individual carry a valid drivers license and display same when asked to by law enforcement officers.
Although the evidence presented was sufficient to sustain the conviction, we conclude that the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion to suppress evidence relating to the charge of failure to carry and display his license on demand, reverse the conviction, and dismiss the charge. FACTS
On Saturday, April 5, 1997, at the beginning of their shifts, Troopers Frank Shearl and Stephen Parsley of the Tennessee Highway Patrol approached their supervisor, Sergeant Dennis Murray, at the Rocky Top gas station in Knoxville, informed him that they wanted to conduct a "traffic enforcement" roadblock together that day, pursuant to General Order 410, and received his permission to establish a driver's license checkpoint underneath the South Knoxville Bridge on Riverside Drive in Knoxville. The spot was a "preapproved" roadblock site, where many roadblocks had been conducted in the past. The road was two-lane, approximately twenty to twenty-two feet wide, and ran east to west underneath the bridge. Paved shoulders that were at least ten feet wide made it possible for the troopers to pull vehicles to the side of the road in safety. Appro
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Tennessee DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|