Smith v. State, CR
| Decision Date | 19 March 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. CR,CR |
| Citation | 301 Ark. 569,785 S.W.2d 465 |
| Parties | Gary Leonard SMITH, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 89-172. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Bill Luppen, Craig Lambert, Little Rock, for appellant.
Ann Purvis, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
The appellant, Gary Smith, was convicted in the Pulaski County Circuit Court on the charge of driving while intoxicated, fourth offense. On appeal, he argues that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress; (2) the trial court erred in allowing the introduction of the result of his breathalizer test because the State failed to prove that the officer who gave the test was certified; and (3) the trial court erred in finding him guilty of driving while intoxicated, fourth offense, because the State failed to show that he was represented by counsel in an earlier proceeding in Louisiana wherein he was convicted of driving while intoxicated.
The evidence concerning Smith's initial arrest was that the arresting officer observed Smith driving in the center lane of I-430 "quite slow." Several other vehicles were in the area. As the officer drove past Smith, she noticed that he had his bright lights on. She slowed down, and he slowed down "even slower." She then got behind Smith and turned on her blue lights.
Smith argues, in essence, that his actions prior to the time the arresting officer turned on her blue lights did not give the officer reasonable suspicion to stop him. We disagree. In United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981), the Supreme Court found that under certain circumstances, a police officer may rely on his experience and make "inferences and deductions that might well elude an untrained person." Police officers are required to obtain special training before certification and are also trained through experience to observe the actions of individuals in order to ascertain suspicious activities so that they may protect the public from unlawful activities.
The arresting officer testified that Smith's slow driving in the center lane of I-430, together with the bright lights when other traffic was present (for which Smith was issued a warning), and Smith's reactions to her slowing down caused her to stop him.
We find that Smith's actions at the location, time, and under the circumstances were sufficient to give the arresting officer a reasonable suspicion that a misdemeanor involving risk of forcible injury to persons or damage to property had been, or was about to be, committed, and therefore the officer was entitled to stop Smith, as the stop was reasonably necessary to determine the lawfulness of Smith's conduct. See A.R.Cr.P. Rule 3.1.
Smith next contends that the trial court erred in allowing the introduction of the results of his breathalizer test because the State failed, under the best evidence rule, to prove that the officer who gave the test was certified. We disagree.
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