State v. Wortman

2017 WI App 61, 902 N.W.2d 561, 378 Wis. 2d 105, 2017 WL 3616674, 2017 Wisc. App. LEXIS 622
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedAugust 23, 2017
DocketNo. 2016AP1144-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2017 WI App 61 (State v. Wortman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Wortman, 2017 WI App 61, 902 N.W.2d 561, 378 Wis. 2d 105, 2017 WL 3616674, 2017 Wisc. App. LEXIS 622 (Wis. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

¶ 1.

REILLY, PJ.

Michel L. Wortman appeals from a judgment of conviction for ninth offense operating while intoxicated (OWI). Wortman was stopped by police after he walked away from the scene of an accident. Wortman argues that all evidence obtained [109]*109from him should have been suppressed and that the court erred in the imposition of his fine. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2. On February 14, 2012, at 8:00 p.m., Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Deputy James Pfeiffer1 responded to a call about a truck in a ditch. Upon arrival, Pfeiffer observed a truck that had crossed the center line, went through a driveway, and crashed into a ditch. Weather was not a factor. Pfeiffer observed Wortman walking away from the scene. Pfeiffer activated his patrol lights and pulled his squad car in front of Wortman, blocking Wortman's path. Pfeiffer asked Wortman if he was the driver of the truck, how the accident occurred, and if Wortman was injured. Wortman replied that he was the driver, that he had fallen asleep while driving, and that he was not injured. Wortman's eyes were glassy and Pfeiffer smelled alcohol. Wortman said he drank a "king" can of beer. Pfeiffer identified Wortman by his driver's license and told Wortman to get in the squad car so they could return to the scene of the accident. Wortman made no objection and rode in the backseat of the squad car.

¶ 3. Pfeiffer checked Wortman's driving record and learned that Wortman's license was revoked, he had eight prior OWI convictions, was on extended supervision, and had a blood alcohol content limit of .02. Pfeiffer administered field sobriety tests. Wortman failed the tests, and Pfeiffer placed Wortman under arrest. Wortman then told Pfeiffer that he had purchased and drank the "king" can of beer from Kwik [110]*110Trip after the crash. Pfeiffer stated surveillance from the Kwik Trip would be pulled to verify Wortman's claim, to which Wortman responded that he had lied and apologized. At no time did Pfeiffer recite Miranda2 warnings to Wortman.

f 4. Wortman moved to suppress the statements he made at the scene of his arrest.3 Wortman claimed that he was in custody beginning when Pfeiffer pulled up in front of him to block his path and that any statements made after this point were statements made in custody without Miranda warnings and should be suppressed. The circuit court found that Wortman was not in custody and that Pfeiffer had both reasonable suspicion to stop and probable cause to arrest. Wortman thereafter pled no contest to OWI, ninth offense, and received a ten-year prison sentence and a fine of $1524.4

ANALYSIS

Suppression of Evidence and Statements Made Prior to Arrest

¶ 5. Wortman argues that the activation of the squad lights, the blocking of his path by the squad car, the invitation that he get into the back of the squad car, and the taking of his driver's license all equate to Wortman being in custody and therefore unlawfully [111]*111arrested. We disagree as all of the officer's actions were performed as part of an investigatory stop rather than a custodial arrest.

¶ 6. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. We recognize two types of seizures: an investigatory or Terry5 stop and an arrest. State v. Young, 2006 WI 98, ¶¶ 20, 22, 294 Wis. 2d 1, 717 N.W.2d 729; see also Wis. Stat. § 968.24 (2015-16).6 An investigatory stop that involves temporary questioning is a minor infringement on personal liberty, and is constitutional if supported by reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed. Young, 294 Wis. 2d 1, ¶ 20. "Reasonable suspicion requires that a police officer possess specific and articulable facts that warrant a reasonable belief that criminal activity is afoot." Id., ¶ 21. Whether the reasonable suspicion standard is met is determined by considering the facts known to the officer at the time the stop occurred, together with rational inferences and inferences drawn by officers in light of policing experience and training. See State v. Washington, 2005 WI App 123, ¶ 16, 284 Wis. 2d 456, 700 N.W.2d 305; see also State v. Seibel, 163 Wis. 2d 164, 183, 471 N.W.2d 226 (1991).

[112]*112I 7. A formal arrest, in contrast, "is a more permanent detention that typically leads to 'a trip to the station house and prosecution for crime,' " and requires probable cause to suspect that a crime has been committed. Young, 294 Wis. 2d 1, ¶ 22 (citation omitted). We determine whether a person has been arrested by questioning whether a "reasonable person in the defendant's position would have considered himself or herself to be 'in custody,' given the degree of restraint under the circumstances." State v. Swanson, 164 Wis. 2d 437, 447, 475 N.W.2d 148 (1991), overruled on other grounds by State v. Sykes, 2005 WI 48, ¶ 27, 279 Wis. 2d 742, 695 N.W.2d 277.

¶ 8. In State v. Quartana, 213 Wis. 2d 440, 570 N.W.2d 618 (Ct. App. 1997), we addressed the propriety of an investigatory stop under a similar factual scenario. There, Quartana lost control of his vehicle, drove into a ditch, left the accident scene, and walked home. Id. at 443-44. After arriving on the scene of the accident and determining that Quartana was the owner of the vehicle, an officer went to Quartana's home. Id. at 444. Quartana admitted to the officer that he was driving at the time of the accident. Id. The officer collected Quartana's driver's license, noted bloodshot and glassy eyes and the odor of intoxicants, and drove Quartana back to the scene of the accident in his squad car. Id. Quartana failed field sobriety tests conducted at the scene and was thereafter placed under arrest. Id.

¶ 9. We determined that the actions of the officers in Quartana did not exceed the scope of an investigatory Terry stop. We found that the express language of Wis. Stat. § 968.24 authorizes an officer to relocate the suspect a short distance during the course [113]*113of a temporary investigation, so long as the person is moved within the "vicinity" and the purpose for the move is reasonable. Quartana, 213 Wis. 2d at 446. We also refused to find that Quartana1 s conditions of transportation amounted to an arrest: "A restraint of liberty does not ipso facto prove that an arrest has taken place." Id. at 449. The transporting of Quartana back to the accident scene in the back of a squad car did not equate to an arrest as Quartana's detention was brief and public in nature. Id. at 450.

f 10. Like Quartana, a reasonable person in Wortman's situation would not have believed he was under arrest. Pfeiffer was investigating an accident when he observed Wortman walking away from the scene and stopped him to investigate.

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Bluebook (online)
2017 WI App 61, 902 N.W.2d 561, 378 Wis. 2d 105, 2017 WL 3616674, 2017 Wisc. App. LEXIS 622, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wortman-wisctapp-2017.