Opinion
CUMCD-CR-2011-05955
04-11-2012
State of Maine v. TYLER TRUE
The State was represented, ADA Matthew Tice. The Defendant was represented, Neil Weinstein, Esq.
The State was represented, ADA Matthew Tice.
The Defendant was represented, Neil Weinstein, Esq.
ORDER ON MOTION
The court has carefully considered the following motions:
1. The Defendant's Motion to Suppress which was heard on April 10, 2012.
2. The court concludes :
The initial turn over the line along with weaving within the lane observed over four miles coupled with the entry into the wrong lane at the rotary constituted adequate reasonable articulable suspicion of criminality to justify the stop. See e.g. State v. Burnham 610 A.2d 733 (Me. 1992) (weaving within center line and breakdown lane factor justifying stop).
The court also concludes Officer Swarm to be credible in his testimony regarding this event and his observations of Mr. True after the stop constituted probable cause for BAC testing and subsequent arrest.
Contrary to the claims made at hearing, requiring a person to submit to roadside field sobriety testing does not rise to the functional level of arrest and is therefore not considered custody for either Miranda purposes or requiring probable cause to conduct field sobriety testing. See e.g. State v. Little 468 A.2d 615 (Me. 1983), State v. Griffin 459 A.2d 1086 (Me. 1983).
3. THEREFORE, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:
Motion to Suppress is denied.
The Clerk is directed to incorporate this order by reference on the docket.