State v. Hornaday, Cr. N
| Decision Date | 15 November 1991 |
| Docket Number | Cr. N |
| Citation | 477 N.W.2d 245 |
| Parties | STATE of North Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Lane A. HORNADAY, Defendant and Appellant. o. 910101. |
| Court | North Dakota Supreme Court |
Mark A. Flagstad, Asst. State's Atty., Minot, for plaintiff and appellee.
Richard L. Hagar, of Kenner Law Firm, PC, Minot, for defendant and appellant.
Lane Hornaday appealed from a judgment of conviction of actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or with a blood alcohol content in excess of .10 percent. We affirm.
In the early morning hours of June 3, 1989, Officer Stenson of the Minot Police Department observed a vehicle in the parking lot of the Town & Country shopping center in Minot. The three individuals in the vehicle appeared to be drinking something. Officer Stenson radioed the vehicle description and license number to Officer Long of the Minot Police Department, and requested that she investigate further.
When Officer Long arrived at the parking lot, she also noticed the occupants of the vehicle drinking something. As she got nearer to the vehicle, she noticed the two passengers bend down, as if to place something under the seat of the vehicle. Officer Long stopped her patrol car behind and to the side of Hornaday's vehicle, and turned on the patrol car's flashing lights.
Upon approaching the vehicle, Officer Long noticed a strong odor of alcohol. She ultimately arrested Hornaday for being in actual physical control of the vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or with a blood alcohol content in excess of .10 percent. 1
Hornaday moved to suppress the results of the blood alcohol test and dismiss the complaint, alleging that Officer Long lacked an articulable and reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop. The trial court denied the motion. Hornaday entered a conditional plea of guilty pursuant to Rule 11(a)(2), N.D.R.Crim.P., and filed this appeal.
The sole issue raised on appeal is whether Officer Long had an articulable and reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity sufficient to justify the investigatory stop. 2
To justify an investigatory stop of a vehicle, an officer must have an articulable and reasonable suspicion that a law has been or is being violated. City of Minot v. Nelson, 462 N.W.2d 460 (N.D.1990); Geiger v. Backes, 444 N.W.2d 692 (N.D.1989). We employ an objective standard in determining the validity of the stop, taking into account inferences and deductions that an investigating officer would make that may elude laypersons. Geiger v. Backes, supra. The question is whether a reasonable person in the officer's position would be justified by some objective manifestation to suspect potential criminal activity. State v. Neis, 469 N.W.2d 568 (N.D.1991); State v. Smith, 452 N.W.2d 86 (N.D.1990). The factual basis for stopping the vehicle need not arise solely from the officer's personal observations, but may arise from information furnished by other persons. City of Minot v. Nelson, supra; State v. Rodriguez, 454 N.W.2d 726 (N.D.1990).
Numerous factors in this case combined to form the basis for an articulable and reasonable suspicion that the law was being...
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State v. Miller
...plate number, however, had been communicated, and the I.D. of the vehicle was assisted as a result of that information. In State v. Hornaday, 477 N.W.2d 245 (N.D.1991), the officer detained the defendant's vehicle based on information he had received via a radio dispatch which contained inf......
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State v. Smith
...courts have upheld circumstances that involve a stop of an seemingly innocent car. Sarhegyi, 492 N.W.2d at 287. See State v. Hornaday, 477 N.W.2d 245 (N.D.1991) [officer informed that three people in vehicle parked in a shopping center parking lot were drunk and officer observed occupants d......
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State v. Sarhegyi, Cr. N
...innocent looking car has been upheld, all involve something more than the bare circumstances of Sarhegyi's case. See State v. Hornaday, 477 N.W.2d 245 (N.D.1991) [officer informed that three people in vehicle parked in a shopping center parking lot were drunk and officer observed occupants ......
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State v. Kenner
...at stop sign]; State v. Bryl, 477 N.W.2d 814 (N.D.1991) [informant's tip and officer observed truck within two minutes]; State v. Hornaday, 477 N.W.2d 245 (N.D.1991) [officer informed that three people parked in shopping center lot were drunk and officer observed occupants drinking a bevera......