Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Minnesota DWI Lawyer F. T. Sessoms Blogs on Minnesota DWI: This Week's Featured Minnesota DWI Case

The Minnesota DWI Case Of The Week is State v. Haugen (Decided May 28, 2019, Minnesota Court of Appeals, Unpublished) which stands for the proposition that your pre-test right to counsel is not violated if you make no attempt to contact an attorney.

In Haugen, the Defendant was arrested by the state patrol in Beltrami County for DWI and was taken to the jail where he was read the Minnesota Implied Consent Advisory, informing Mr. Haugen of his right to counsel prior to testing.  Mr. Haugen asked to speak with an attorney, and the trooper provided a telephone and phonebooks. Haugen used neither, but refused to submit to testing until he spoke with his attorney. The trooper deemed appellant’s conduct a test refusal.

The Defendant filed a motion to suppress alleging his right to counsel had been violated.  The District Court denied the motion concluding that appellant failed to make a good-faith effort to contact an attorney. The court found that, after appellant was offered a telephone and phonebooks, he did not use them, but rather “argued that he would not be able to reach an attorney due to the hour.” And when the trooper pointed out that appellant could at least try, appellant argued that he needed a Minneapolis phonebook. The trooper indicated that appellant could use the phonebooks in the room, and appellant became upset because he did not have access to his cellphone, which purportedly contained his attorney’s contact information.

On appeal, Mr. Haugen asserted that the trooper’s act of supplying “two local Beltrami Phonebooks” was insufficient, and the trooper was obligated to conduct an Internet search to find the contact information for his Minneapolis-based attorney.  The Court of Appeals rejected the claim stating:

"Appellant cites no caselaw to support his assertion that the trooper was obligated to provide additional phonebooks or conduct an Internet search. The limited right to counsel before deciding whether to submit to chemical testing “is vindicated when the driver is provided with a telephone and given reasonable time to contact and talk with an attorney.” Duff v. Comm ’r of Pub. Safety, 560 N.W.2d 735, 737 (Minn. App. 1997). The trooper was only required to allow and facilitate appellant’s right to counsel, he was not required to ensure that appellant “received the best or even proper counsel.” Butler v. Comm ’r of Pub. Safety, 348 N.W.2d 827, 829 (Minn. App. 1984). The trooper provided appellant with a telephone and phonebooks, and appellant failed to make a good-faith effort to contact an attorney. Appellant’s right to counsel was vindicated."

The result may very well have been different had the Defendant supplied the officer with the name of the Minneapolis attorney he was seeking to reach as previous case law states the police must allow an individual to call long distance to reach a specified Minneapolis attorney. 

Moral Of The Story:  If you want to get something done, do it yourself!

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

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Minnesota DWI Attorney F. T. Sessoms Blogs on Minnesota DWI: This Week's Featured Minnesota DWI Case

The Minnesota DWI Case Of The Week is State v. Peterson (Decided May 6, 2019, Minnesota Court of Appeals, Unpublished) which, once again, stands for the proposition that if you have been drinking and driving and make it home do not open your door!

In Peterson, Minnesota State Trooper Jon Wenzel followed the Defendant to his home after observing an equipment violation and some speeding.  

Peterson parked his truck in his home driveway, immediately exited, and walked quickly toward his front door. Wenzel pulled into the driveway and parked. Wenzel saw Peterson look directly at him and keep walking. Wenzel stepped out of his car, identified himself as a state trooper, and loudly told Peterson to stop because “I need to talk to you.” Wenzel testified that Peterson’s wife, M.P., also saw him as Peterson climbed the steps to his porch. The couple went inside and locked the door.

Wenzel had not activated his emergency lights, in part because he intended to “advise [Peterson] of the equipment violation.” Based on Peterson’s behavior in the driveway, Wenzel testified that he believed that “there might be something other than speeding] or an equipment violation that would cause [Peterson] to try to evade” police.

Wenzel opened the storm door, knocked on the front door, “announced himself,” and said he needed to speak to Peterson.  Peterson's wife eventually answered the door and said that she would see if her husband would come to the door.

Wenzel saw Peterson open a beer can as he walked toward and opened the front door. While they stood in the doorway, Wenzel observed that Peterson had an “unsteady gait,” “sort of swayfed],” had “very slurred” speech, and his eyes were bloodshot and watery. Wenzel testified he smelled an “overwhelming odor of alcohol” coming from Peterson.

Wenzel asked Peterson to come outside and speak with him, and told Peterson that he would be arrested for obstruction of legal process if he did not cooperate. Peterson refused and Wenzel grabbed Peterson’s arm. Peterson resisted and began backing away from the doorway and toward the living room. Wenzel testified that his foot may have been on the threshold as he grabbed Peterson. Peterson, with M.P. ’s assistance, forcefully pulled away from Wenzel, who called for an on-scene deputy to back him up. Together, Wenzel and the other deputy moved Peterson outside the home

After doing some field tests and obtaining a .198 reading on a preliminary breath test, Mr. Peterson was arrested for DWI.  The Defendant was taken to the police station where he subsequently refused to submit to testing.  

Mr. Peterson was charged with felony DWI and he challenged the validity of his arrest asserting the trooper was not in "hot pursuit"when Peterson entered his home.  The State in its response claimed that the trooper was in hot pursuit but on appeal, the Court of Appeals declined to address the issue finding instead that the arrest lawfully began in the doorway of the Peterson home.

The Court of Appeals began its analysis by noting that "Absent exigent circumstances, police officers may not enter an individual’s home to make a warrantless arrest. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 590, 100 S. Ct. 1371, 1382 (1980). The doorway of one’s home, however, has been held to be a public place for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment."..."Once a police officer has begun to arrest a person in a public place, that person may not retreat into their home to thwart an arrest."
***
"Wenzel had probable cause to arrest Peterson for DWI. As Peterson stood in his doorway, Wenzel observed multiple indicia of intoxication within a very short time after Peterson stopped driving. When these observations are considered together with Peterson’s evasive behavior and his refusal to cooperate with Wenzel, we conclude that Wenzel had probable cause to arrest Peterson for DWI."
***
"Because the record supports the district court’s factual findings that Wenzel began to arrest Peterson while he was in the doorway of Peterson’s home, we conclude that these findings are not clearly erroneous. Because Wenzel began to arrest Peterson in the doorway, Peterson could no longer flee back into his house to thwart the arrest."

Moral Of The Story:  A man's home is his castle so don't open the door for the police!



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