Monday, May 9, 2022

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DWI Case Of The Week is Bjerke v. Commissioner of Public Safety (Decided May 9, 2022, Minnesota Court of Appeals, Unpublished) which stands for the proposition that the Court will not decide the constitutionality of the "wide turn" statute if the stop can be upheld on other grounds.

In Bjerke, the Defendant was arrested for DWI after being stopped for failing to properly stop for a stop sign and for making a wide turn in violation of Minnesota Statute § 169.19, sub. 1(a).  The criminal and license revocation hearings were combined and the Defendant moved to suppress all of the state's evidence. The Defendant argued that the sheriff's deputy did not have a reasonable suspicion to stop his vehicle and that Statute  169.19, subs. 1(a) was unconstitutionally vague.

The arresting officer testified that at approximately 10:45 p.m. on April 1, 2021, he observed a Chrysler 300 sedan being driven in the downtown area of Mankato where there are several bars. The deputy testified that he observed the sedan stopped at the intersection of Main Street and Second Street with the front tires of the vehicle stopped “over the crosswalk” such that the vehicle was obstructing the crosswalk. The deputy testified that the driver of the vehicle then made a wide right turn, followed by another wide right turn. According to the deputy, the vehicle crossed over the center lane divider when the driver made both right turns.

Bjerke testified that he has a Class A commercial driver’s license, which allows him to drive combination tractor/trailers. According to Bjerke, he makes wide turns “[a]ll the time” in order “to avoid anything on the curb, or a door opening, going to the right.” And Bjerke acknowledged that he made wide right turns prior to being stopped by the deputy.

The district court determined that Bjerke’s “wide turn provided an independent reasonable articulable suspicion to justify an investigatory stop of the car.” The district court also determined that Minn. Stat. § 169.19, subd. 1(a) is not unconstitutionally vague because, although the statutory phrase ‘“as close as practicable’ is imprecise,” it is “not incomprehensible.” The district court, therefore, denied Bjerke’s motion to suppress, and sustained the revocation of his driver’s license.

On Appeal, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the district court noting:

Minnesota Statute §169.19, subd. 1(a) provides, "Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, both the approach for a right turn and a right turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway. When necessary to accommodate vehicle configuration, a driver is permitted to make a right turn into the farthest lane of a roadway with two or more lanes in the same direction in order to make a U-turn at a reduced conflict intersection, if it is safe to do so."

* * *

"...in State v. Morse, the supreme court considered a challenge to a traffic stop that was made after a driver made a wide turn and subsequently drifted within a traffic lane. 878 N.W.2d 499, 502 (Minn. 2016). Although there was a question as to whether the driver in Morse violated a traffic law, the supreme court upheld the legality of the stop based on the totality of the circumstances, which included (1) the squad-car video supporting the officer’s assertion that the driver’s right turn was not as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway; (2) the squad-car video showing the driver’s vehicle drifting in its lane; (3) the fact that the events occurred close to 2:00 a.m. bar closing time; (4) the fact that the driver was leaving downtown, an area with bars; and (5) the officer’s training and experience.  Id. at 502-03.

Here, the district court found that Bjerke was stopped at approximately 10:45 p.m. “in an area of Mankato where there are many bars and heavy foot traffic.” The district court also found that the deputy “credibly testified” that he observed Bjerke’s vehicle stopped over the crosswalk such that the vehicle “was obstructing the crosswalk.” And the district court found that the deputy observed Bjerke’s vehicle make two wide right turns such that the “driver’s side tires went over the lane divider and into the oncoming lane of traffic.” Finally, the district court found that “there was no evidence the ‘vehicle configuration’ was such to make a wide right turn permissible.” The record supports the district court’s findings, including Bjerke’s admission that he made two wide right turns prior to being stopped, as well as the squad-car video that shows Bjerke make two wide right-hand turns. In fact, the squad-car video shows that when Bjerke made the second wide right-hand turn, his vehicle drifted considerably into the oncoming lane of traffic. The circumstances presented here are similar to the circumstances presented in Morse, in which the supreme court upheld the legality of the stop. See 878 N.W.2d at 502. Therefore, even if Bjerke’s wide right turns did not constitute a traffic violation, we conclude that, under Morse, the totality of the circumstances provided the deputy with the requisite reasonable, articulable suspicion to justify the stop of Bjerke’s vehicle. And because the totality of the circumstances surrounding Bjerke’s driving conduct provided a reasonable basis to stop Bjerke’s vehicle, we need not address Bjerke’s contention that Minn. Stat. § 169.19, subd. 1(a) is unconstitutionally vague."

Moral Of The Story: The Courts will not address the constitutionality of a statute if the matter can be resolved on other grounds.

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





No comments:

Post a Comment