King v. State

733 S.W.2d 704, 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 8052
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 1, 1987
Docket05-86-00461-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 733 S.W.2d 704 (King v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
King v. State, 733 S.W.2d 704, 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 8052 (Tex. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinions

STEPHENS, Justice.

Michael Ray King appeals his conviction for driving while intoxicated. The jury assessed punishment at thirty days’ confinement, probated for two years, a fine of five hundred dollars, and suspension of King’s driver’s license for one year. Although appellant asserts nine points of error on appeal, we find his first point of error dispositive. In his first point of error, appellant argues that the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress evidence that was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution based on seizure pursuant to an illegal traffic roadblock. We agree with King’s first point of error. Consequently, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

The record in this case regarding the date the suppression hearing was conducted is very confusing. However, we assume, as indicated by the trial court in a letter directed to this Court at this Court’s request, that the proceedings outside the presence of the jury from pages 63 to 161 of the statement of facts constitute the only hearing on the motion to suppress.

The evidence at the suppression hearing consisted of the testimony of: Sargent Gibbons, the arresting officer; Sargent Ben-ningfield, who had no personal knowledge of the events that occurred at the roadblock but appeared at trial under a subpoena duces tecum issued by King; and John Thomas Maguire, a police officer present at the roadblock in question. The relevant testimony of each officer is summarized below.

Sargent Gibbons

Sargent Gibbons testified that on April 12, 1986, he was assigned to conduct a roadblock at the 1800 block of Storey Lane for the purpose of checking drivers’ licenses. The roadblock was conducted near an area highly concentrated with restaurants and bars. The roadblock stopped traffic traveling westward only, away from the bars and restaurants. Eastbound traffic, traveling toward the bars and restaurants, was not stopped. The roadblock began at approximately 1:30 a.m. and lasted a little over an hour. Most of the bars in the area closed at 2:00 a.m. Sargent Gibbons was a member of the DWI Selective Enforcement Unit of the Traffic Division of the Dallas Police Department. Sargent Gibbons had no discretion in choosing whom to stop; all westbound traffic was stopped. The location and time of the roadblock were left solely to Sargent Gibbons’ supervisor’s discretion. Appellant was stopped at the check point and asked to produce his license. When King rolled down his car [706]*706window at the checkpoint, Sargent Gibbons noticed a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” on King’s breath. Sargent Gibbons asked King to step out of his car. Another officer escorted King across the street where a third officer gave King a “field sobriety test.” Appellant was then arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Sargent Benningfield

Sargent Benningfield testified that he was responding to King’s subpoena duces tecum on behalf on Chief Prince, and that he had in his possession several officers’ activity reports from the roadblock in question. Sargent Benningfield was not present at the roadblock and had no personal knowledge concerning the roadblock or King’s arrest. The roadblock in question was conducted under Sargent John T. McGuire’s supervision. Typically, driver’s license checks are conducted at or near “target sites.” Target sites are areas which, based on data accrued in the two previous years, have a high probability of DWI violations, other violations, fatalities, and serious injuries. The primary purpose of all driver’s license roadblocks conducted is to check whether the driver of the automobile possesses a valid operator’s license. The officers present at a driver’s license roadblock are authorized to take appropriate enforcement action should they come across any other violations such as DWI, drug violations, weapons, or no insurance. The officers participating in a driver’s license roadblock are told to look for any “enforceable violations of the law.” The typical driver’s license check includes the presence of several officers standing by to administer field sobriety tests in the event one of the drivers stopped for a license check is suspected of driving while intoxicated.

Sargent McGuire

Sargent McGuire testified that he supervised the driver’s license roadblock conducted on April 12,1985, at 1:30 a.m. at the 1800 block of Storey Lane. All the officers present at the roadblock in question were members of the DWI Selective Enforcement Unit. Flare lines were set up approximately fifty feet prior to the stop point. A sign bearing the words “driver’s license check” was placed on the road prior to the flare lines, to advise motorists of the nature of the upcoming stop. The officers present at the roadblock in question were instructed to take action on any violation of the law they observed during the stop, and the officers had wide discretion in this area. The primary purpose for the roadblock in question was to check driver’s licenses.

We will first address the constitutionality of the roadblock in the case at bar. There are two alternative rationales for holding this roadblock unconstitutional; by following the rationale set forth in Higbie v. State, 723 S.W.2d 802 (Tex.App. — Dallas 1987, pet. filed) and by following the rationale set forth in Padgett v. State, 723 S.W.2d 780 (Tex.App. — Dallas 1987, pet. filed). First, as this Court recently wrote in Higbie:

[T]he arresting officer testified that the sole purpose of the roadblock was to check for valid driver’s licenses. However, the intent or purpose of the stop must be measured by all the circumstances surrounding the stop. If all traffic traveling in both directions is stopped in broad daylight on a street heavily traversed by a wide variety of citizens, we would have little problem determining the intent of the stop. On the other hand, if the roadblock occurs in the middle of the night and stops all traffic traveling away from the bars on a street where bars are closing the intent is not as clear.... The check began at 1:45 a.m., about the time when the bars were closing. It was just down the street from a number of bars. The check only stopped traffic traveling away from the bars and toward a residential area; it did not stop traffic coming from the residential area toward the bars. All the officers on the check were members of the Driving While Intoxicated Squad. Given all these circumstances, it becomes apparent that the roadblock was there for the specific purpose of catching drunk drivers. The arresting officer’s [707]*707testimony that the stop was solely for the purpose of checking driver’s licenses is not sufficiently persuasive to contradict the apparent intent of the stop as demonstrated by the circumstances. Therefore, we hold that the seizure of appellant was not pursuant to a routine driver’s license check as authorized under article 6687b, § 13.

Higbie, 723 S.W.2d at 804 (emphasis in original). The circumstances described in Higbie, are nearly identical with the circumstances surrounding the stop in the present case. Hence, we conclude that the officers' testimony that the stop in the case at bar was solely for the purpose of checking drivers’ licenses is not sufficiently persuasive to contradict the apparent intent of the stop as demonstrated by the circumstances.

In Higbie,

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Related

King v. State
800 S.W.2d 528 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1990)
United States v. Ramos
733 F. Supp. 260 (S.D. Texas, 1989)
King v. State
733 S.W.2d 704 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1987)

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Bluebook (online)
733 S.W.2d 704, 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 8052, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/king-v-state-texapp-1987.