Summary
The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Richard Santimore's motion to suppress the results of a preliminary breath test and field-sobriety tests in a DUI case. The court held that 23 V.S.A. § 1203(f) requires reasonable, articulable suspicion that a person may be driving under the influence, and that the officer's observations of alcohol odor, bloodshot and watery eyes, and the defendant's admission to drinking satisfied that standard.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether 23 V.S.A. § 1203(f)'s requirement that an officer have 'reason to believe' a person may be driving under the influence requires a standard more demanding than reasonable, articulable suspicion before administering a preliminary breath test.
- Whether the officer had reasonable, articulable suspicion of DUI sufficient to administer the preliminary breath test and subsequent field-sobriety tests.
- Whether the test results, together with the other observations, established probable cause to arrest Santimore for DUI.
Holdings
- Under 23 V.S.A. § 1203(f), an officer may administer a preliminary breath test when the officer has reasonable, articulable facts supporting a belief that the person may be driving under the influence; the statute does not require probable cause or incontrovertible proof.
- The officer's observations of alcohol odor and Santimore's bloodshot and watery eyes, together with his admission that he had consumed alcohol, provided reasonable suspicion of DUI sufficient to administer the preliminary breath test and subsequent dexterity tests.
- The preliminary breath-test result of 0.106 and Santimore's failure of six dexterity measures, combined with the other indicia of intoxication, provided probable cause to arrest him for DUI.
Key quotations
“At the point a PBT is administered, the officer needs only to have some basis for believing that a suspect may be driving under the influence.” (¶ 9)
“Given the minimally invasive nature of the test, requiring an officer to articulate more than reasonable suspicion of DUI would effectively convert the PBT from a screening device to a mere confirmation of intoxication.” (¶ 9)
Factual background
A Milton law-enforcement officer stopped Santimore after observing him exceed the posted speed limit. The officer smelled alcohol or intoxicants, observed that Santimore's eyes were bloodshot and watery, and learned that he had consumed one beer. The preliminary breath test showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.106, and Santimore performed poorly on six dexterity measures, leading the officer to process him for DUI.
Procedural history
After an officer stopped Santimore for speeding, administered a preliminary breath test, and conducted dexterity tests, Santimore moved to suppress the results and dismiss the civil suspension and criminal charge. The district court denied the motion and upheld the civil suspension. Santimore then entered a conditional guilty plea to the criminal DUI charge, was fined, and appealed.