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Smith v. State ex rel Wyoming Department of Transportation10/4/2000
Appeal from the District Court of Albany County
The Honorable Jeffrey A. Donnell, Judge
Appellant Eugene P. Smith III was arrested by Laramie Police Officer Charles Donnelly for driving while under the influence of alcohol. He refused to take the chemical tests as required by Wyoming's implied consent law which resulted in an automatic six-month suspension of his driver's license for a first offense. Subsequent to a contested case hearing, the Office of Administrative Hearings issued an Order Upholding Implied Consent Suspension. Mr. Smith filed a Petition for Judicial Review contending lack of foundation for admission of the field sobriety tests and lack of requisite probable cause for the arrest. The district court upheld the license suspension, and we affirm.
ISSUES
Mr. Smith presents these issues for our review:
Was a proper foundation established for admission of the standardized field sobriety maneuvers utilized by the arresting officer to create his probable cause to arrest Mr. Smith, where the arresting officer failed to follow the necessary procedures for giving these tests?
Absent the field sobriety tests, did the arresting officer have probable cause to make a DWUI arrest?
Appellee State of Wyoming ex rel. Wyoming Department of Transportation restates the issues as follows:
I. Were the procedures and results of the field sobriety tests and the HGN test admissible under Rule 702, Wyo.R.Evid.?
II. Did Officer Donnelly have probable cause to arrest Smith for DWUI and request him to submit to a chemical test of breath?
FACTS
On May 15, 1999, at approximately 7:18 p.m., Officer Donnelly stopped Mr. Smith for driving his vehicle forty-two miles per hour in a thirty-mile-per-hour zone. As Officer Donnelly approached the vehicle, Mr. Smith rolled down his window approximately two inches and attempted to pass his driver's license and insurance papers out through the opening. Because Mr. Smith experienced difficulty putting the papers through the narrow space, Officer Donnelly asked him to roll the window down further, and Mr. Smith complied. Officer Donnelly took the driver's license and noticed that Mr. Smith's eyes were bloodshot and glassy and there was an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle. He asked Mr. Smith if he had been drinking, and Mr. Smith replied that he consumed a couple of drinks with dinner. The officer asked Mr. Smith to step out of his vehicle. Mr. Smith hesitated and then asked Officer Donnelly to write him a ticket for speeding and let him go. Officer Donnelly again told Mr. Smith to exit the vehicle. Mr. Smith got out of the vehicle, and Officer Donnelly conducted three standardized field sobriety tests-the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the walk and turn test, and the one-leg stand test.
Officer Donnelly scored Mr. Smith a six on the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (zero to six with zero reflecting no impairment), a three on the walk and turn test (zero to nine with zero reflecting no impairment), and no points on the one-leg stand test (zero to five with zero reflecting no impairment). On the bases of the speeding violation, the admitted alcohol consumption, the odor of alcohol, the general observations of Mr. Smith's behavior, and the results of the field sobriety tests, Officer Donnelly determined that he had probable cause to believe Mr. Smith was operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated to a degree which rendered him incapable of driving the vehicle safely.
Mr. Smith was transported to the Albany County Detention Center and was read the implied consent form. He refused to subm
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