Lefebvre v. State
| Decision Date | 26 May 2011 |
| Docket Number | 2009.,No. 623,623 |
| Citation | 19 A.3d 287 |
| Parties | Jennifer L. LEFEBVRE, Defendant Below, Appellant,v.STATE of Delaware, Plaintiff Below, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Delaware |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Court Below—Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for Sussex County, Cr. I.D. No. 0903001060.Upon appeal from the Superior Court. AFFIRMED.Eric G. Mooney, Esquire (argued) and James D. Nutter, Esquire, Mooney & Nutter, P.A., Georgetown, Delaware, for appellant.Paul R. Wallace, Esquire (argued) and Sean P. Lugg, Esquire, Deputy Attorneys General, Wilmington, Delaware, for appellee.Before STEELE, Chief Justice, HOLLAND, BERGER, JACOBS and RIDGELY, Justices, constituting the Court en Banc.HOLLAND, Justice, for the majority:
The defendant-appellant, Jennifer Lefebvre (“Lefebvre”), appeals from a Superior Court judgment of conviction for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.1 Lefebvre's conviction arises from an arrest made by Delaware State Police officers on February 12, 2009.2 Lefebvre filed a pretrial motion to suppress the results of an intoxilyzer test administered to determine her breath alcohol concentration (“BAC”). In support of her motion to suppress, Lefebvre argued, inter alia, that there was no probable cause to arrest her for a DUI offense.3
The Superior Court denied the motion to suppress in a bench ruling. In order to preserve her appellate rights, Lefebvre consented to a stipulated trial. At trial, the parties agreed to admit the evidence produced during the suppression hearing and that Lefebvre was operating a motor vehicle in Sussex County on the date and time alleged in the indictment. Lefebvre's BAC test result was also admitted as a State's exhibit.
Based on the stipulated evidence, the trial judge found Lefebvre guilty of the charge of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol in violation of title 21, section 4177 of the Delaware Code. The trial judge immediately sentenced Lefebvre to serve two years of incarceration at Level 5, to be suspended after Lefebvre served the ninety-day mandatory jail term required for a third offense. Lefebvre's jail sentence was followed by eighteen months of Level 3 probation.
The sole issue raised by Lefebvre in this appeal is that the Superior Court erroneously denied her motion to suppress. We have concluded that argument is without merit. Therefore, the judgment of the Superior Court must be affirmed.
The State presented testimony at the hearing on the motion to suppress from the two officers, Delaware State Police Sergeant Darren Short (“Sergeant Short”) and Trooper Brian Page (“Trooper Page”), both who participated in Lefebvre's arrest. Sergeant Short testified that he had been employed by the State Police for sixteen years and is currently in charge of the Kent County Drug Task Force stationed out of Troop 3 in Camden, Delaware. Sergeant Short received training in DUI enforcement whilst in the police academy and is certified in DUI detection and field sobriety testing. Sergeant Short estimated he has made more than 300 DUI arrests.
On February 12, 2009, Sergeant Short was working as part of a federal investigation in Sussex County. At approximately 4:41 p.m., Sergeant Short was operating an “unconventional” police SUV 5 that was stopped at a red light on Route 1 southbound in the area of Sea Air Mobile Home Park near Rehoboth Beach. In the lane next to Sergeant Short, a black Mitsubishi Lancer was stopped. Sergeant Short heard yelling from the Mitsubishi and observed the occupants shouting and bouncing around inside. Sergeant Short stated it looked like a “girls gone wild” video.
When the light turned green, the Mitsubishi accelerated from the light and “came up directly behind” a small grey car. According to Sergeant Short, the driver of the Mitsubishi was following the grey car too close, with only a foot between the vehicles, such that the grey car could not slow down without being hit from behind. Sergeant Short could not tell if the Mitsubishi was speeding. According to Sergeant Short, the Mitsubishi did not swerve within its lane. The Mitsubishi tailgated the grey car for approximately one-half mile. The grey car then made an abrupt lane change to apparently “get away from” the Mitsubishi.
After observing these actions, Sergeant Short decided to conduct a traffic stop of the Mitsubishi. Sergeant Short followed the Mitsubishi as it made a left turn across northbound Route 1 without signaling, and turned into the parking lot of a restaurant. Sergeant Short blocked-in the Mitsubishi using his vehicle and activated his vehicle's emergency equipment.
Sergeant Short then approached the driver of the Mitsubishi, Lefebvre, and identified himself. Sergeant Short testified that he noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage and that Lefebvre's speech was slurred. Lefebvre appeared visibly flustered and asked why she had been stopped. Lefebvre produced her license and registration as requested, although she reportedly had to be asked for her license more than one time. Sergeant Short could not observe Lefebvre's eyes because she was wearing sunglasses.
After speaking with Lefebvre, Sergeant Short returned to his police car and requested that a patrol unit respond to conduct field sobriety tests. Trooper Page was in his police car when he heard the dispatch request a patrol unit to respond to Sergeant Short's location to conduct field tests. Trooper Page responded and met with Sergeant Short, who briefed Trooper Page about his observations and belief that Lefebvre was under the influence. Sergeant Short advised Trooper Page that he had not yet conducted any field tests.
Trooper Page had been a Delaware State Police officer for two years. Before joining the State Police, Trooper Page served in the Air Force for thirteen years. Trooper Page received training in DUI enforcement in the police academy and was certified in DUI detection and field sobriety testing. Before February 12, 2009, Trooper Page estimated he had made approximately twenty arrests for DUI offenses.
After speaking with Sergeant Short, Trooper Page approached the Mitsubishi and spoke to Lefebvre. Trooper Page testified that he noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage and that Lefebvre's face was flushed. His entire interaction with Lefebvre was recorded on his patrol vehicle's dashboard camera, the video of which was admitted into evidence and played at the suppression hearing.
Trooper Page asked Lefebvre when she last had a drink. She responded an “hour and a half ago.” No alcoholic beverages were visible in her vehicle. Lefebvre asked several times why she had been stopped. Trooper Page characterized Lefebvre as being argumentative, but not confused. Although the video reflects that Lefebvre's speech was understandable, Trooper Page testified that Lefebvre's speech was slurred. When questioned about this discrepancy, Trooper Page did not agree that the video accurately depicted Lefebvre's speech.
Although Trooper Page believed Lefebvre was impaired before he conducted any field tests, he nonetheless asked Lefebvre to perform field sobriety tests which Trooper Page testified, are designed to “show that [a] person is under the influence of alcohol by having them perform multiple tasks.” Trooper Page first administered two pre-exit tests, the alphabet and counting tests, while Lefebvre remained seated in her car. She performed both tests correctly. 6
Trooper Page then had Lefebvre exit her car for additional testing. Trooper Page testified that he is trained to observe DUI suspects as they exit their car for signs of impairment, such as staggering or using the car for balance. Trooper Page characterized Lefebvre's exit as normal.
Once Lefebvre was outside of her car, Trooper Page administered the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (“HGN”). Trooper Page testified about the general principles underlying the test, his training to administer the test and the six clues for which he checks. Although Trooper Page testified that Lefebvre exhibited all six clues, the Trooper did not conduct the test in accordance with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) protocol. Therefore, the Superior Court found that the results were compromised and did not consider them in determining whether probable cause existed.
After the HGN test, Trooper Page had Lefebvre perform a finger dexterity test. Trooper Page instructed Lefebvre to touch the tip of her thumb with the tip of each finger, counting, one, two, three, four, and then going back counting, four, three, two, one. This test requires the subject perform a total of sixteen actions (counting aloud eight times and touching the fingers eight times). Lefebvre was instructed to do this test twice with each hand. Trooper Page acknowledged that Lefebvre did well on the test.
Trooper Page next administered the walk-and-turn test. Lefebvre was instructed to stand with her right foot in front of her left. The video shows that Lefebvre held this position without issue for nearly a minute while Trooper Page explained the test. Lefebvre was instructed to walk nine steps forward heel-to-toe, and then pivot and take nine steps back heel-to-toe. Trooper Page concluded that Lefebvre passed this test.
Trooper Page then administered the one-leg stand test. Lefebvre was instructed to stand with her hands at her side, raise either foot six inches off the ground and then count to thirty by 1,000 (1001, 1002, 1003, etc.) until told to stop. Before the test, Lefebvre commented to Trooper Page that “I'm not that good at this sober.” The videotape of Lefebvre's test shows that more than thirty seconds elapsed before Lefebvre began to sway. The Superior Court found as fact that Lefebvre did not begin to lose balance until after thirty seconds had elapsed. Thus, Lefebvre passed this test.
Finally, Trooper Page administered a portable breath test (“PBT”) to Lefebvre. Although Trooper Page...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
West v. State
...suspicion that the driver [wa]s impaired” such weight as to undercut its earlier, above-quoted analysis. Id. (citations omitted).10 19 A.3d 287 (Del.2011) ; see also id. at 293 (holding that an odor of alcohol and a traffic violation, standing alone, do not constitute probable cause for a D......
-
State v. Bell
...her eyes because she was wearing sunglasses. The motorist admitted to having had a drink one hour and a half earlier. Lefebvre v. State, 19 A.3d 287, 291 (Del.2011).16 The officers arrested the motorist even though she performed well on four field sobriety tests.17 The motorist conceded, an......
-
State v. Brown
...standard but fall short of probable cause. That is precisely the case with respect to the odor of marijuana."); Lefebvre v. State , 19 A.3d 287, 295 (Del. 2011) ("[T]he commission of a traffic offense combined with an odor of alcohol, standing alone, do not constitute probable cause to arre......
-
Juliano v. State
...C. § 4764(c)(3).49 16 Del. C . § 4764(d).50 See supra note 46.51 Houston v. State , 251 A.3d 102, 114 (Del. 2021).52 Lefebvre v. State , 19 A.3d 287, 293 (Del. 2011).53 988 A.2d 937, 2010 WL 424241 (Del. Feb. 4, 2010) (TABLE).54 148 A.3d 1170, 2016 WL 5853434 (Del. Sept. 29, 2016) (TABLE). ......