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State v. Steinmetz7/18/1996
Appeal from the District Court for Logan County, South Central Judicial District, the Honorable Donald L. Jorgensen, Judge.
AFFIRMED.
Opinion of the Court by Maring, Justice.
William J. Steinmetz appeals from an order denying his motion to suppress evidence and from a Judgement of conviction entered on a jury verdict finding him guilty of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor. we affirm.
On the evening of May 20, 1995, Steinmetz backed his vehicle from a parking spot and started down the main street of Fredonia, North Dakota. Logan County Deputy Sheriff Scott Buckhouse saw Steinmetz stop on the main street and partially exit his vehicle to reach and remove a piece of paper under the windshield wiper. Deputy Buckhouse approached Steinmetz's stopped vehicle, conversed with Steinmetz, smelled an odor of alcohol on his breath, and asked him if he had been drinking. Steinmetz admitted he had. At Deputy Buckhouse's request, Steinmetz performed a series of field sobriety tests. Based on the results of the tests, Deputy Buckhouse arrested Steinmetz for driving under the influence . After consulting with Logan County Sheriff Steve Engelhardt, Deputy Buckhouse transported Steinmetz to Wishek, North Dakota, where a registered nurse drew a sample of Steinmetz's blood. The state toxicologist's office reported Steinmetz's blood sample contained 0.12 percent alcohol by weight.
Steinmetz was ultimately charged with violating section 39-08-01(l)(a), N.D.C.C., the per se driving under the influence offense, and with violating section 39-08-01(l)(b), N.D.C.C., driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor. Steinmetz made a pretrial motion to suppress all evidence obtained by the State, alleging that Deputy Buckhouse did not have a reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop him. The trial court denied the motion. At trial, a jury found Steinmetz guilty of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor.
Steinmetz argues the trial court erred in denying his suppression motion. Steinmetz insists his Fourth Amendment right to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures was violated when Deputy Buckhouse stopped him. Steinmetz claims Deputy Buckhouse did not have sufficient information to support a reasonable and articulable suspicion that Steinmetz was under the influence of alcohol.
We will not reverse a trial court's findings of fact in preliminary proceedings of a criminal case if, after resolving the conflicts in the testimony in favor of affirmance, there is sufficient competent evidence fairly capable of supporting the trial court's findings, and the decision is not against the manifest weight of the evidence. City of Fargo v. Thompson, 520 N.W.2d 578, 581 (N.D. 1994); State v. Miller, 510 N.W.2d 638, 640 (N.D. 1994). This standard of review recognizes the trial court's superior opportunity to weigh the credibility of witnesses and testimony. City of Grafton v. Swanson, 497 N.W.2d 421, 422 (N.D. 1993). The question of whether the facts found by the trial court meet a legal standard, such as a reasonable and articulable suspicion, is a question of law which is fully reviewable. City of Grand Forks v. Egley, 542 N.W.2d 104, 106 (N.D. 1996); see Ornelas v. United States, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 1662 (1996).
We have recognized that it is not a Fourth Amendment seizure for a law enforcement officer to approach and talk with a person in a public place, including a stopped vehicle. State v. Franklin, 524 N.W.2d 603, 605 (N.D. 1994). Before a law enforcement officer stops a citizen for investigation, however, the officer must have a reasonable and articulable suspicion that a law has been, or is being, violated."
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