By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//July 27, 2011//
Motor Vehicles
Refusal hearings; reasonable suspicion
At a refusal hearing, the court my consider whether the driver was lawfully stopped.
“In Anagnos’s case, the deputy did not have probable cause that Anagnos committed a traffic violation, nor reasonable suspicion that Anagnos was drinking and driving. The deputy’s stop of Anagnos was therefore unlawful. Without a legal stop, Anagnos could not lawfully be placed under arrest for OWI. In Nordness, the officer had both reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop, and probable cause to arrest Nordness. The arrest of Nordness was legal, regardless of whether he was actually driving the vehicle. Nordness does not, therefore, prevent a circuit court from determining the lawfulness of a traffic stop at a refusal hearing. We conclude that whether there was reasonable suspicion or probable cause to make the stop, quite apart from whether there was probable cause to arrest for OWI after the stop was made, is a proper subject at a refusal hearing.”
Affirmed.
Recommended for publication in the official reports.
2010AP1812 State v. Anagnos
Dist. II, Walworth County, Kennedy, J., Reilly, J.
Attorneys: For Appellant: Wiedenfeld, Zeke, Elkhorn; For Respondent: Cohen, Barry S., Elkhart Lake
TAGS: WI Court of Appeals Digest, Criminal Digest, Motor Vehicles Digest
http://www.wicourts.gov/ca/opinion/DisplayDocument.html?content=html&seqNo=68305