State v. Bachmeier

2007 ND 42, 729 N.W.2d 141, 2007 N.D. LEXIS 43, 2007 WL 852373
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 22, 2007
Docket20060235
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 2007 ND 42 (State v. Bachmeier) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bachmeier, 2007 ND 42, 729 N.W.2d 141, 2007 N.D. LEXIS 43, 2007 WL 852373 (N.D. 2007).

Opinions

KAPSNER, Justice.

[¶ 1] Darren Baehmeier appeals from a judgment entered after a jury trial for driving while under the influence and from an order denying his motion to suppress the evidence gathered from a traffic stop. We affirm, concluding the district court did not err by denying Bachmeier’s motion to suppress.

I

[¶ 2] Baehmeier was driving home from a rural tavern shortly before 12:50 a.m. A highway patrol trooper saw his vehicle leave Carpió, North Dakota, and travel south on State Highway 28. The trooper was some distance away from Ba-chmeier’s vehicle when the trooper noticed his taillights. The trooper, without observing any traffic violations, believed it statistically likely that a driver on the road after midnight may be intoxicated. To observe Bachmeier’s vehicle, the trooper accelerated to at least 80 miles-per-hour in a 65 mile-per-hour zone without activating his emergency lights. Once in a position to see the vehicle, the trooper observed Bachmeier’s vehicle weave within its lane, and cross the center and fog lines. The trooper then initiated a traffic stop. The trooper noticed signs of intoxication, so he administered several field sobriety tests. The tests confirmed the trooper’s suspicion, and Baehmeier was arrested for driving while under the influence.

[¶ 3] Baehmeier moved to suppress the evidence gathered during the traffic stop. The district court held a suppression hearing, after which it denied Bachmeier’s motion. The court held there was a reasonable and articulable basis for the stop after the trooper observed Baehmeier weaving and crossing the center and fog lines. The district court concluded the trooper’s speeding was not an appropriate basis for the suppression of the evidence. After a jury trial, Baehmeier was found guilty of driving while under the influence.

II

[¶ 4] The issue on appeal is whether the district court erred by not applying the exclusionary rule, and not suppressing the evidence of Bachmeier’s intoxication gathered during the traffic stop. Specifically, Baehmeier argues the district court erred in not suppressing the evidence because the trooper did not have reasonable and articulable suspicion when he began to pursue Baehmeier. The State argues the district court’s decision was appropriate.

[¶ 5] The standard for reviewing a district court’s decision on a motion to suppress is well established:

We will defer to the [district] court’s findings of fact in the disposition of a motion to suppress. Conflicts in testimony will be resolved in favor of affir-mance, as we recognize the [district] court is in a superior position to assess credibility of witnesses and weigh the evidence. Generally, a [district] court’s decision to deny a motion to suppress will not be reversed if there is sufficient competent evidence capable of supporting the [district] court’s findings, and if its decision is not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence.

State v. Oien, 2006 ND 138, ¶ 7, 717 N.W.2d 593 (quoting State v. Linghor, 2004 ND 224, ¶ 3, 690 N.W.2d 201; State v. Kitchen, 1997 ND 241, ¶ 11, 572 N.W.2d 106). “Questions of law, such as the ulti[145]*145mate conclusion of whether the facts support a reasonable and articulable suspicion, are fully reviewable on appeal.” State v. Parizek, 2004 ND 78, ¶ 7, 678 N.W.2d 154.

III

[¶ 6] To justify a traffic stop for investigative purposes, a law enforcement officer must have a reasonable and articu-lable suspicion that the motorist has violated or is violating the law. Gabel v. N.D. Dep’t of Transp., 2006 ND 178, ¶ 9, 720 N.W.2d 433; City of Fargo v. Ovind, 1998 ND 69, ¶ 8, 575 N.W.2d 901. Determining whether an officer has a reasonable and articulable suspicion is measured by a flexible, fact-specific inquiry. Gabel, at ¶ 9. The inquiry cannot readily, or even usefully, be reduced to a neat set of legal rules. Id.; State v. Loh, 2000 ND 188, ¶ 5, 618 N.W.2d 477. However, “observed traffic violations provide officers with the requisite suspicion for conducting investigatory stops.” Gabel, at ¶ 9; accord Loh, at ¶ 10. Weaving onto the wrong side of the roadway is a traffic violation. See N.D.C.C. § 39-10-08(1); Loh, at ¶ 7.

[¶ 7] Here, the trooper testified once he was in a position to view Bachmeier’s vehicle, he observed the vehicle cross the center and fog lines of a two-lane highway. The trooper’s onboard camera captured video images of the vehicle crossing the fog line, corroborating the trooper’s testimony. Since the trooper observed Bachmeier violate the traffic law, the district court did not err in concluding the trooper had reasonable and articulable suspicion for the traffic stop.

IV

[¶ 8] Bachmeier argues the district court should have excluded evidence of his intoxication because the trooper violated the law by speeding. Bachmeier claims the officer could not have formulated the reasonable and articulable suspicion for the traffic stop without violating the law. We conclude the trooper’s conduct, traveling in excess of the posted speed limit, does not invoke the exclusionary rule.

A

[¶ 9] The United States Constitution protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const, amend. IV; Oien, 2006 ND 138, ¶ 8, 717 N.W.2d 593. Generally, the exclusionary rule is a judicially created remedy that prevents the government from introducing unlawfully seized evidence against the defendant in a criminal prosecution. See Illinois v. Krull, 480 U.S. 340, 347, 107 S.Ct. 1160, 94 L.Ed.2d 364 (1987); see also Oien, at ¶ 8. The exclusionary rule must also be applied to statutory violations but only where the statutory violation is tantamount to a violation of the individual’s Fourth Amendment rights. State v. Utvick, 2004 ND 36, ¶ 27, 675 N.W.2d 387. Nevertheless, the exclusionary rule is only “designed to safeguard ... rights generally through its deterrent effect, [and is not] a personal constitutional right of the party aggrieved.” United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 906, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984) (quoting United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 348, 94 S.Ct. 613, 38 L.Ed.2d 561 (1974)). “An individual is only entitled to the protection of the exclusionary rule if the individual’s ... Fourth Amendment rights were violated.... ” Oien, at ¶ 8.

[¶ 10] In this case, Bachmeier’s Fourth Amendment rights were not violated by the officer’s conduct. The trooper had a reasonable and articulable suspicion when the trooper initiated the traffic stop. Bachmeier’s interaction with the trooper for Fourth Amendment seizure purposes began when the trooper activated his overhead lights and exerted some au[146]*146thority over him. State v. Langseth, 492 N.W.2d 298, 800 (N.D.1992); see also Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979) (concluding the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments were implicated because law enforcement initiated a traffic stop); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 19 n. 16, 88 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
2007 ND 42, 729 N.W.2d 141, 2007 N.D. LEXIS 43, 2007 WL 852373, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bachmeier-nd-2007.