Reasonable Suspicion-Motion to Suppress

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WI Court of Appeals – District III

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Michael Pruett Rudolf

Case No.: 2022AP000157-CR

Officials: Hruz, J.

Focus: Reasonable Suspicion-Motion to Suppress

At approximately 10:40 p.m. on August 6, 2020, Rudolf was driving an SUV when Officer Kislewski saw Rudolf’s vehicle swerve over the fog line in the road and nearly strike the curb. Kislewski began following Rudolf and then saw Rudolf’s SUV continue to swerve and almost strike the curb a total of six or seven times. Rudolf then drove for about ¾ of a mile without incident or other moving violation before pulling into the parking lot of a closed car dealership and stopping in the middle of the lot. Rudolf appeals a judgment of conviction for operating a motor vehicle while having a prohibited alcohol concentration (PAC), as a third offense. Rudolf argues that the circuit court erred by denying his suppression motion because the police officer who stopped Rudolf’s vehicle lacked reasonable suspicion to believe that he was acting unlawfully. The appeals court ruled that the short amount of lawful driving did not dispel the reasonable suspicion that arose out of Rudolf’s severe, repeated swerving, especially when later combined with his stopping in the middle of the parking lot of a closed business. Any reasonable suspicion that dissipated by Rudolf’s driving without incident or without making additional moving violations for some blocks after swerving repeatedly was largely restored when Rudolf pulled into the parking lot of a closed business and parked. The appeals court concludes the officer had reasonable suspicion that Rudolf was operating while intoxicated, and the court, therefore, did not err by denying Rudolf’s suppression motion.

Affirmed.

Decided 10/31/23

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