Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Minneapolis DWI Lawyer Blogs on Minnesota DWI: This Week's Featured Minnesota DWI Case

The Minnesota DWI Case Of The Week is Walsh v. Commissioner of Public Safety (Decided May 23, 2016, Minnesota Court of Appeals, Unpublished) which stands, once again, for the proposition that the police do not need probable cause to conduct field sobriety tests and a PBT test. I disagree but I am not on the Court of Appeals.

In Walsh, on January 30, 2015, Deputy Ryan Googins heard over his police radio that someone had called in a driving complaint. The caller identified himself and reported that he had seen a female in a vehicle at a Kwik Trip consuming what looked like small, airline-sized bottles of alcohol. The caller stated that when he made eye contact with the driver, she became nervous and drove away. The caller noted the vehicle's license-plate number, provided it to the police, and stated that he last saw the vehicle traveling south on Highway 3 from the Kwik Trip.

Deputy Googins spotted the vehicle and saw it turn into the Dakota County Library parking lot and park in an available space. Deputy Googins pulled into the parking lot, activated his lights, and parked behind the vehicle. As Deputy Googins approached appellant Shannon Forstrom Walsh, she was eating crackers and exiting her vehicle. Deputy Googins noticed an overwhelming odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle. When Deputy Googins asked appellant about the odor, she replied that she had not been drinking and suggested that the smell was coming from the crackers. Deputy Googins also noticed that appellant's eyes were watery and bloodshot.

Deputy Googins asked appellant to step out of the vehicle and take a series of tests. Appellant performed the horizontal-gaze nystagmus, walk-and-turn, and one-leg-stand tests and exhibited indicia of intoxication on all three tests, though the indicia of intoxication were subtle on the one-leg-stand test. Deputy Googins administered a PBT and placed appellant under arrest for driving while impaired (DWI). Deputy Googins read appellant the implied-consent advisory. Appellant declined to consult with an attorney. Deputy Googins offered appellant a breath test, and appellant agreed to take it. The test indicated that appellant's alcohol concentration was 0.12.

The District Court upheld the revocation of the Appellant's driver's license and on appeal, she argued that the field sobriety tests and PBT are subject to the "probable cause" and warrant requirements of the Fourth Amendment.  The Minnesota Court of Appeals, however, rejected this argument stating:

"Appellant's position is inconsistent with the applicable caselaw. An officer needs only reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity to administer field sobriety tests and a PBT. State, Dep 't of Pub. Safety v. Juncewski, 308 N.W.2d 316, 321 (Minn. 1981); State v. Klamar, 823 N.W.2d 687, 696 (Minn. App. 2012) (holding that administration of field sobriety testing based on officer's observations of odor of alcohol and Klamar's bloodshot and watery eyes was reasonable); State v. Vievering, 383 N.W.2d 729, 730 (Minn. App. 1986) (stating that an officer may request a PBT on the basis of specific and articulable facts), review denied (Mi\m. May 16, 1986). Appellant's reliance on Colorado and Oregon law is thus unpersuasive because it is contrary to binding Minnesota precedent."

Far be it for the Court of Appeals to change its mind.  And while it can be argued that field sobriety tests merely require a person to demonstrate their physical characteristics, (such as their ability to balance) and no "search" is involved in such tests, the same cannot be said for a preliminary breath test.  A PBT requires a person to blow a specified volume of air into a machine and the air is then analyzed for alcohol.  The PBT test is a search just like the Data Master test performed at the police station.  And to claim that the PBT test does not require probable cause is just plain wrong.

If you or a loved one have been arrested for a Minnesota DWI, feel free to contact Minneapolis DWI Lawyer, F. T. Sessoms at (612) 344-1505 for answers to all of your Minnesota DWI questions.

No comments:

Post a Comment