State v. Sanchez
| Decision Date | 07 November 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 21,752.,21,752. |
| Citation | 36 P.3d 446,131 N.M. 355 |
| Parties | STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Roberto SANCHEZ, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of New Mexico |
Patricia A. Madrid, Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, Max Shepherd, Assistant Attorney General, Albuquerque, NM, for Appellee.
Phyllis H. Subin, Chief Public Defender, Nina Lalevic, Assistant Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellant.
Certiorari denied, No. 27,227, December 12, 2001.
{1} Defendant, Roberto Sanchez, appeals from the judgment and sentence of the trial court for aggravated driving while under the influence of alcohol (DWI), pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 66-8-102(D)(3) (1999). On appeal, Defendant raises four issues. Defendant argues that (1) there was insufficient probable cause to arrest him for DWI, (2) there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction for aggravated DWI, (3) statements made to the arresting officer should have been suppressed for failure to advise Defendant of his Miranda rights, and (4) the trial court erred by not appointing new counsel for Defendant at trial. Not persuaded by Defendant's arguments, we affirm.
{2} Defendant approached a DWI roadblock on August 22, 1999. Officer Massis was one of the officers working the roadblock. Officer Massis approached Defendant's vehicle, after Defendant had stopped at the roadblock, and asked Defendant for his driver's license, registration and proof of insurance. Instead of a driver's license, Defendant gave Officer Massis a New Mexico identification card. Further questioning by the officer revealed that Defendant was driving with a revoked license. While talking to Defendant, Officer Massis noticed that Defendant had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, and blood-shot, watery eyes. According to the officer's testimony, when asked if he had been drinking, Defendant responded that he had consumed two beers that night. At this point, Officer Massis told Defendant to pull over to the side of the road and get out of the car so that he could administer the field sobriety testing. The officer told Defendant to move to the front of his patrol car so that the tests could be videotaped. The videotape, which was admitted into evidence, shows that Defendant flatly refused to consent to the field sobriety testing saying, It is also clear, from the videotape, that Defendant was wearing a leg brace at the time. After Defendant refused to consent to the field sobriety testing, Officer Massis placed him under arrest for DWI, and for driving with a revoked license. Defendant offered no explanation for refusing to take the field sobriety tests, and only alluded to having a knee problem later, after the officers had performed a pat-down and were in the process of helping Defendant into the patrol car.
{3} At trial, Officer Massis testified that, prior to Defendant's refusal to consent to the field sobriety testing, he thought there was reasonable suspicion, but not probable cause, to conclude that Defendant was guilty of DWI. When asked what brought him to the point of determining that he did have probable cause to arrest Defendant, the officer testified, "because [Defendant] refused to do my field sobriety tests." After Defendant refused to perform field sobriety tests, Officer Massis placed him under arrest, read him the Implied Consent Act, and asked him if he would take a blood test. See NMSA 1978, §§ 66-8-105 to -112 (as amended through 1993). Defendant also refused to consent to a blood test.
{4} At a bench trial, Defendant testified that he told Officer Massis that he would not take the field sobriety testing because of his bad knee. However, the videotape does not show Defendant offering any such explanation. At trial, Defendant could not explain why that alleged portion of the conversation was not on the videotape. The trial judge ruled that the videotape had not been altered, and found that Officer Massis had probable cause to question and detain Defendant based on his observations. Additionally, the trial judge found that Defendant's refusal to take the field sobriety testing could indicate a consciousness of guilt, and that Defendant's refusal, combined with the other factors observed by the officer, justified Defendant's arrest. Ultimately, the trial court convicted Defendant of aggravated DWI under Section 66-8-102(D)(3), as well as driving with a revoked license.
{5} Defendant contends that Officer Massis lacked probable cause to arrest him for DWI because Defendant did not exhibit signs of impaired driving. At trial, Officer Massis conceded that Defendant was not driving improperly, and that Defendant would not have been stopped, if not for the roadblock. Defendant places great emphasis on the officer's testimony that, until Defendant refused to perform the field sobriety testing, Officer Massis felt that he had no more than reasonable suspicion that Defendant might be driving under the influence. Defendant argues that his refusal to perform the field sobriety testing, without any direct evidence of impaired driving, did not rise to the level of probable cause. We disagree that the officer needed to observe Defendant driving, and conclude that Officer Massis had probable cause for an arrest, based on everything the officer observed about Defendant.
{6} A police officer has probable cause when facts and circumstances within the officer's knowledge, or about which the officer has reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient to warrant an officer of reasonable caution to believe that an offense is being committed or has been committed. State v. Salas, 1999-NMCA-099, ¶¶ 17-18, 127 N.M. 686, 986 P.2d 482. It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of intoxicating liquor to drive any vehicle within the state. Section 66-8-102(A). A person is under the influence of intoxicating liquor if "as a result of drinking liquor [the driver] was less able to the slightest degree, either mentally or physically, or both, to exercise the clear judgment and steady hand necessary to handle a vehicle with safety to [the driver] and the public." UJI 14-4501 NMRA 2001; see State v. Deming, 66 N.M. 175, 180, 344 P.2d 481, 484 (1959)
; State v. Sisneros, 42 N.M. 500, 507, 82 P.2d 274, 278 (1938). An officer does not have to observe a suspect actually driving in an impaired manner if the officer, based upon all the facts and circumstances, has "reasonable grounds to believe that Defendant had been driving while intoxicated." State v. Jones, 1998-NMCA-076, ¶ 10, 125 N.M. 556, 964 P.2d 117.
{7} In this case, Officer Massis needed to have knowledge of facts sufficient to allow him, or an objectively reasonable officer in his position, to conclude that Defendant had been driving while he was "to the slightest degree" unable to exercise the clear judgment and steady hand necessary to handle a vehicle in a safe manner. The State does not argue for a general principle that refusal to perform the field sobriety testing, standing alone, constitutes probable cause for an arrest. However, the State does argue that such a refusal can be considered, in combination with other factors, to constitute probable cause.
{8} In the case before us, Officer Massis had information other than Defendant's refusal to submit to the field sobriety testing. The officer observed that Defendant smelled strongly of alcohol, and had blood-shot, watery eyes. According to the officer's testimony, Defendant had admitted to drinking two beers that night. An objectively reasonable officer could take all of these factors into account in determining whether there was probable cause to make an arrest.
{9} The State can use evidence of a driver's refusal to consent to the field sobriety testing to create an inference of the driver's consciousness of guilt. McKay v. Davis, 99 N.M. 29, 32, 653 P.2d 860, 863 (1982); State v. Wright, 116 N.M. 832, 834-36, 867 P.2d 1214, 1216-18 (Ct.App.1993). Officer Massis, or an objectively reasonable officer in his position, could logically infer from Defendant's refusal to consent to the field sobriety testing that Defendant knew he was driving under the influence of alcohol and that these tests might reveal his impairment. This inference, combined with the officer's other observations of Defendant, gave Officer Massis probable cause to arrest Defendant for DWI.
{10} Defendant attempts to rebut that inference with evidence of his leg brace. He argues that the officer should have known that there was a plausible explanation, other than consciousness of guilt, for Defendant's refusal to perform the field sobriety testing. However, the court was entitled to find, as an issue of fact, that Defendant made no attempt to explain his refusal by referring to the leg brace or to any problems with his knees. The court was not required to conclude that the officer should have attributed Defendant's refusal to the leg brace when Defendant failed to articulate a rationale for refusing to take field sobriety tests.
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Salas
...is that which is acceptable to a reasonable mind as adequate support for a conclusion." State v. Sanchez , 2001-NMCA-109, ¶ 14, 131 N.M. 355, 36 P.3d 446. Appellate courts "review the evidence in the light most favorable to the [s]tate, resolving all conflicts and indulging all permissible ......
-
Trujillo v. Rio Arriba Cnty. ex rel. Rio Arriba Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't
...andcircumstances, has reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect has been driving while intoxicated.'" MSJ at 8 (quoting State v. Sanchez, 2001-NMCA-109, ¶ 6, 36 P.3d 446, cert. denied, 131 N.M. 382, 37 P.3d 99 (2001)). Second, the Defendants assert that a "brief seizure at a sobriety c......
-
State v. Wilson
...for purposes of Miranda, even though the individual is seized and cannot leave); State v. Sanchez, 2001-NMCA-109, ¶ 22, 131 N.M. 355, 36 P.3d 446 (same); Armijo, 105 N.M. at 773-74, 737 P.2d at 554-55 {16} The State does not advance the free-to-leave test and in fact argues that the test to......
-
State v. Notah-Hunter
...by a videotape taken by the officer, that the defendant had a brace on his leg. So much for objectivity! See State v. Sanchez, 2001-NMCA-109, 131 N.M. 355, 36 P.3d 446. {38} For many years, one of the most often used field sobriety tests was the Horizontal Eye Gaze Nystagmus Test, commonly ......