Add Judge Price to the list of judges who want to play Russian roulette with our lives by allowing these drivers to return to the streets on the flimsiest of reasons.
To show why Judge Price's decision was overruled, consider this passage from the appellate court's opinion:
Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper Robert Creasey ("Trooper Creasey") was the
only witness called by the Director. Trooper Creasey testified that he was traveling
southbound on Highway 72 around 11 p.m. on a Friday night when he observed a red Dodge
pick-up truck directly in front of him. He stated the truck was traveling between sixty-five and seventy miles per hour in a sixty miles per hour speed zone, that it was weaving within its own lane of traffic, and that "it crossed over the . . . right side of the road on one occasion. . . onto the white line onto the rumble strips.[2]" Trooper Creasey could not recall how many times the truck weaved within its lane.
After making these observations, Trooper Creasey initiated a traffic stop and asked
Jones for his driver's license and proof of insurance. Jones had to be asked twice for proof of insurance, but he did produce it. Trooper Creasey told Jones the reason he had stopped him was because he had driven onto the rumble strip. Trooper Creasey did not provide Jones with any other reason for the stop. Trooper Creasey observed that Jones's eyes were "bloodshot and glassy", that an odor of intoxicants was coming from inside his vehicle, and that when Jones spoke, "he just kind of stared." Because of these observations, Trooper Creasey asked Jones to exit his truck and sit in the passenger seat of Trooper Creasey's patrol car.
From his patrol car, Trooper Creasey radioed for a computer check of Jones's driving
status. While waiting for a response to that inquiry, Jones stated: "I've had a couple of drinks but I'm okay." In response, Trooper Creasey asked Jones how many drinks he had consumed and Jones replied "four or five." Trooper Creasey then had Jones exit the patrol car and perform a series of field sobriety tests consisting of the horizontal gaze nystagmus,the one-leg stand, and the walk-and-turn. Jones failed all three. Trooper Creasey also asked Jones to recite the alphabet. Jones recited it correctly up to the letter L, but Trooper Creasey could not "understand the rest of the letters until he got to X, Y and Z." Trooper Creasey then had Jones blow into a portable breath tester ("PBT"). The PBT detected the presence of alcohol in Jones's breath.
From all of this, Trooper Creasey concluded Jones was intoxicated and placed him
under arrest. He handcuffed Jones and transported him to the sheriff's department. En route to the sheriff's department, Jones stated: "I knew when you turned the lights on I wasn't going to pass." At the sheriff's department, Trooper Creasey informed Jones of the implied consent law and asked him to consent to a chemical test of his breath. Jones refused to take the test. Trooper Creasey then continued to ask Jones standard questions from the alcohol influence report. When Creasey asked Jones what day of the week it was, Jones responded:
"I might be drunker than I think."
And Judge Price restored driving privileges to this guy?
5 comments:
recall the judge. vote no retention.
You're getting the cart before the horse: If you really look at the judge's explanation, it deals with "reasonable suspicion" to make the stop.
Police can't stop every car on the highway unless they have a reason or if they’re running a sobriety check in which EVERY car is stopped.
(It would be the same if someone knocked on your door and demanded to search your house for drugs because they heard people laughing after 10:30 p.m. yes, you might have drugs but, then again, you might be a law-abiding citizen.)
Surging from 60 to 65 mph. does not constitute probably cause for DUI. Neither does hitting the rumble strip. I hit the rumble strip one on my way to work this morning.
If you're within your lane, that's all you need to be. The officer stopped him with "the flimsiest of reasons" and the court recognized this.
The rest of the evidence the Trooper cited occurred after the stop (made on suspicion of drunken driving) took place. Evidently didn't cite the driver for any other offense than D.U.I. So, his probable cause and did not meet the standards established under the law.
The judge made a correct decision. The 4th Amendment of the Constitution still has some validity. Thank God, this is not yet Nazi Germany. Kudos to the judge. Better for one guilty man to walk free than for the rights of everyone to be abused.
Ok...hitting the rumble strip is NOT staying in your lane and that right there is enough to make a traffic stop! And, correct me if I'm wrong....but I thought the officers report stated he was going between 65 and 70 in a 60 mph zone. That again is enough to warrant a traffic stop! The appelate court did the right thing in overturning this judges decision!
With Judges like that it's no wonder there are so many people killed by drunk drivers!
Weaving in your lane and hitting the rumble strip does not in itself constitute sufficient proof of anything being wrong.
That said, reasonable suspicion should not turn on such a rigid requirement. People who are drunk will, reliably, weave and hit rumble strips. Consequently, there is a good reliable statistical reason for pulling such a person over.
Likewise, it may be the case that a person is smoking a perfectly legal rolled cigarette in their car. That said, just about everyone smoking a joint in their car will be doing just this. So it constitutes reasonable suspicion.
No, it doesn't constitute reasonable suspicion. If you read the original statement (which is quoted, minus the officer's actual words), even it says the car crossed ONTO the white line, not "OVER" the white line.
The placement of the rumble strip varies greatly on roads in the state. It could have been part of the white line the driver did not cross over.
It's easy for some blogger to try to destroy the character of Judge Price because he overruled the Trooper's probable cause. But Judge Price has an outstanding record in keeping drunks off the road.
The trooper didn't use his radar gun, wasn't even able to recall how many times the truck weaved within its own lane (which isn't illegal).
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