Dale v. State

785 So. 2d 1102, 2001 WL 537894
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 22, 2001
Docket1999-KM-02107-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 785 So. 2d 1102 (Dale v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dale v. State, 785 So. 2d 1102, 2001 WL 537894 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

785 So.2d 1102 (2001)

Gray DALE, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 1999-KM-02107-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 22, 2001.

*1103 Ronald W. Lewis, Oxford, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jean Smith Vaughan, Attorney for Appellee.

Before SOUTHWICK, P.J., BRIDGES, and LEE, JJ.

BRIDGES, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. This case comes from the Circuit Court of Lafayette County, Honorable Henry L. Lackey presiding. After being convicted for DUI second in the Lafayette County Justice Court, Gray Dale appealed to the Lafayette County Circuit Court for a trial de novo. Dale waived his right to a jury trial, and in a bench trial, the circuit court found Dale guilty of driving under the influence, Dale's second conviction of this crime. The trial court noted Dale preserved his right to appeal. Dale appeals to this Court on the basis of one issue, which is:

WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN DENYING DALE'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS THE EVIDENCE AND DISMISS THE CHARGE OF DUI ON THE GROUND THAT HIS DETENTION AT A ROADBLOCK VIOLATED HIS RIGHTS UNDER THE FOURTH AMENDMENT OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE 3 SECTION 23 OF THE MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION?

Finding no error, we affirm.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

¶ 2. On June 5, 1998, Gray Dale was stopped at a roadblock set up by the Lafayette County Sheriffs Department on County Road 149 in Lafayette County. The roadblock was under the direction of shift supervisor Dennis Carlyle, who had decided to set up the roadblock twenty minutes prior to Dale's arrest. At this roadblock, as a driver approached, a deputy would signal the driver with a flashlight to stop the car. This was done with every car that approached the roadblock. The primary purpose of the roadblock was to check licenses and also to check against outstanding warrants. There is no record of the procedures used at this roadblock.

¶ 3. Dale was stopped at 1:17 in the morning by Deputy Jody Mayfield. After noting signs of intoxication (Dale's nervousness, the smell of intoxicating liquor, and Dale's bloodshot eyes), Mayfield asked Dale to step out of the car. Mayfield noticed Dale was unsteady on his feet and *1104 suspected Dale had been driving under the influence. Mayfield took Dale into custody and transported him to the Lafayette County Detention Center. Dale consented to a breathalyzer test, and registered a blood alcohol content of .186 percent. Dale was then charged with DUI second, under the age of twenty-one.

¶ 4. Dale sought to suppress the results of his breathalyzer test in the Lafayette County Justice Court on the grounds the roadblock was an unconstitutional search and seizure. This motion was denied and Dale perfected his appeal to the Lafayette County Circuit Court for a trial de novo. Dale filed a motion to suppress the evidence in the circuit court on the same grounds he used in the justice court, and the circuit court found the roadblock passed constitutional muster. Upon stipulation of the parties, the trial court found the only thing at issue was whether the court had committed reversible error by denying Dale's motion to suppress. Dale waived his right to a jury trial to speed up his appeal, on the denial of his motion, to the Mississippi Supreme Court. The trial court found Dale guilty of driving under the influence second. The trial court also found Dale had properly reserved his right to appeal. Dale was sentenced to ten days in jail in the custody of Lafayette County, a fine of $650, and court costs amounting to $200.50.

DISCUSSION OF THE LAW

STANDARD OF PROOF

¶ 5. A stop of any kind is a seizure, but such a seizure will be allowed if it is ruled to be a reasonable seizure. Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 50, 99 S.Ct. 2637, 61 L.Ed.2d 357 (1979). In determining whether a roadblock is a reasonable seizure, the inconvenience of a typical motorist is balanced against the State's interest in performing the roadblock. Brown, 443 U.S. at 50-51, 99 S.Ct. 2637. "Consideration of the constitutionality of such seizures involves a weighing of the gravity of the public concerns served by the seizure, the degree to which the seizure advances the public interest, and the severity of the interference with individual liberty." Id.

ANALYSIS

WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN DENYING DALE'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS THE EVIDENCE AND DISMISS THE CHARGE OF DUI ON THE GROUND THAT HIS DETENTION AT A ROADBLOCK VIOLATED HIS RIGHTS UNDER THE FOURTH AMENDMENT OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE 3 SECTION 23 OF THE MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION?

¶ 6. Dale argues the roadblock in this case was unconstitutional, thus making any evidence derived from it "fruit of the poisonous tree." This would reverse his DUI conviction. The State argues the roadblock was constitutional and then goes on to prove the deputy did have probable cause to believe Dale was driving under the influence. The key to this case is whether the roadblock was constitutional, because if it was then there is no doubt this case should be affirmed. In deciding whether the roadblock was an unreasonable, unconstitutional seizure, this Court must apply the balancing test set out in Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 99 S.Ct. 2637, 61 L.Ed.2d 357 (1979), and more recently upheld in Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444, 450, 110 S.Ct. 2481, 110 L.Ed.2d 412 (1990).

¶ 7. In applying the balancing test, this Court must look at the importance of the public concern served by the seizure, the degree to which the seizure advances the public interest, and the severity of the *1105 interference with Dale's liberty. Brown, 443 U.S. at 50-51, 99 S.Ct. 2637. Dale argues the purpose of the roadblock was in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. The two purposes of the roadblock were to check licenses and to check outstanding warrants. It should be noted this Court held in the case of Briggs v. State that the State does arguably have an interest in seeing drivers of vehicles are properly registered and in making sure vehicles are properly registered and inspected. Briggs v. State, 741 So.2d 986 (¶ 8) (Miss.Ct.App. 1999). Therefore, there was a public concern served by this roadblock, and thus served by the seizure.

¶ 8. Dale makes the assertion that the second purpose of the roadblock in question, taken with some other facts, caused this roadblock to be unconstitutional. In making this argument, Dale refers to cases by the Supreme Court, such as City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, 531 U.S. 32, 121 S.Ct. 447, 148 L.Ed.2d 333 (2000), which state the Supreme Court would not uphold roadblocks if the justification for such a seizure was for the general interest of crime control. City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, 531 U.S. 32, ___, 121 S.Ct. 447, 454, 148 L.Ed.2d 333 (2000). Dale argues the use of the roadblock to check against outstanding warrants serves the interest of crime control. This is not the case. The primary purpose of this roadblock was to check licenses. This is a government interest approved by this Court as a basis for a roadblock, and also approved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Briggs v. State,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
785 So. 2d 1102, 2001 WL 537894, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dale-v-state-missctapp-2001.