Alabama Federal Case: Miranda and arrest issues
This case involves a DUI related contact with the police, but ultimately an arrest on more serious federal weapons charges. What is interesting here is not the federal value as precedent on Miranda issues (which were the crux of the opinion), but the procedure quoted below.
The Cite: United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES of America, PlaintiffAppellee, v. William Lenories WRIGHT, Defendant-Appellant. No. 08-10935 Non-Argument Calendar. Nov. 12, 2008.
Relevant excerpts from the case:
Hendrix smelled alcohol on Wright's breath and noticed that Wright's speech was slurred. Because of the rain, mud and heavy traffic, Hendrix could not conduct a field sobriety test. However, he did conduct a preliminary breath test, which showed that Wright's blood-alcohol content was .11, over Alabama's legal limit. Hendrix learned that Wright's driver's license was suspended and that Davis did not have a driver's license…
Because neither Wright nor Davis could drive the truck, Hendrix impounded the vehicle and called for a wrecker. Hendrix placed Wright in his patrol car to transport him to the station where he could conduct a field sobriety test under a canopy. Hendrix explained that, although he knew Wright was under the influence of alcohol, he did not arrest Wright for DUI at the scene because he had not yet performed a field sobriety test…
Hendrix returned to the truck to perform an inventory search before the wrecker arrived. Hendrix asked Davis, who was covering herself with a jacket and a blanket, to get out of the truck. As Davis exited the vehicle, Deputy Kevin McNatt, who was assisting Hendrix, pulled away the jacket and blanket, revealing a pistol lying in the middle of the bench seat…
The R & R concluded that once Wright admitted he did not have a permit for the firearm, probable cause existed to arrest him. Thus, the second search following his arrest, which uncovered the Crown Royal bag containing drugs, was incident to Wright's lawful arrest. The R & R also concluded that the brief time between the initial search and the reading of the Miranda rights did not render Wright's post-Miranda statements inadmissible…
Wright objected to the R & R. After de novo review, the district court overruled Wright's objections, adopted the R & R and denied Wright's motion to suppress…
Discussion: It is interesting to see the differences in when a police officer will deem a person to be under arrest for drunk driving. In some jurisdictions, an odor of alcohol and bad driving seems to be enough. In others, they feel that they need some confirmation via a field sobriety test or a preliminary breath test.
Request for other attorneys: If you have had a case where a DUI arrest was made on just an odor of alcohol and a traffic infraction, and that case stood up to a motion to dismiss, please comment or email me privately. I am conducting an informal survey of what police agencies from around the world deem sufficient grounds to place a person under arrest for DWI (as opposed to merely detaining for further investigation).
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