Legal Topics

Criminal law — Driving under influence — Search and seizure — Vehicle stop  

Apr 05th, 2024 in by admin

Criminal law — Driving under influence — Search and seizure — Vehicle stop — Officer had probable cause to believe that defendant committed offenses of failing to maintain single lane, careless driving, absence of tag light and reckless driving — Further, erratic driving pattern justified stop of vehicle to determine if defendant was ill, tired, or impaired or if vehicle had mechanical difficulty — Detention — Fifteen-minute delay while awaiting arrival of DUI investigator was not unreasonable where officer had reasonable suspicion that defendant was driving under influence — No merit to argument that officers did not have reasonable suspicion to begin DUI investigation — Defendant almost hit patrol vehicle three times, drove far below speed limit, admitted that he was coming from bar, and had multiple physical indicia of impairment — Motion to suppress denied