Judge upholds officer's statement that anyone driving past midnight is a DUI suspect

[Terminator]

MINOT, N.D. - A judge has rejected a motion to throw out evidence against a man charged with drunken driving, but not without criticizing the testimony of an officer who said anyone driving after midnight is a drunken driving suspect.

Highway Patrol Trooper Ryan Hoffner testified in Northwest District Court last month in the case of Darren Lee Bachmeier, who was charged with drunken driving.

"It is assumed that everyone on the road after midnight is a suspect for driving under the influence," Hoffner testified, according to court documents. He said statistics bear that out.

"Hoffner's belief is a sad commentary for a state that professes to hold its citizens in high regard, " Northwest District Judge Gary Lee said.

Bachmeier had asked the judge to throw out evidence against him based on outrageous governmental conduct.

Court records say Bachmeier was stopped by Hoffner early last Nov. 13, on North Dakota Highway 28 between Carpio and Berthold.

Bachmeier testified that he and two others left the Carpio area in a pickup about 1 a.m, after they had been to a bar, to drive back to Berthold. He denied any erratic driving, and his passengers supported him, court documents say.

Hoffner testified that he took off after Bachmeier's pickup even though he had not observed any violations, court documents say. He said he drove at least 80 mph on the road, which has a 65 mph speed limit.

Bachmeier said Hoffner had to have been speeding more than 100 mph to catch up to him.

The trooper said he stopped Bachmeier after he saw the pickup swerve within its own lane.

Lee wrote that Hoffner's only reason to suspect Bachmeier was his assumption that anyone driving after midnight is suspected of drunken driving.

"The court does not find this to be a reasonable justification for exceeding the posted speed limit," Lee wrote.

"Almost as incredible to the court is the state's reply to those actions. The state's reply is simply, 'so what,'" the judge wrote.

"The state's attorney is responsible for enforcing the law. Turning a blind eye to violations of law, especially when committed by trained law enforcement officers, seems to be in derogation of that duty," Lee said.

Still, the judge said, the trooper's actions did not rise to the level of outrageous conduct, and he denied Bachmeier's motion to throw out the evidence.

The case is awaiting a jury trial.

[zpd307]

articulation, articulation, articulation! would have helped him in court.

[Retdetsgt]

That wasn't my experience. I worked graveyard for 10 years in uniform and made a number of traffic stops (pretense mostly, looking for crooks) after midnight and not that many had been drinking at all.....

[Lazy Fed]

So when I go to work I am drunk according to this guy??????

[Cujo]

I guess I'm drunk to cause I go on shift at 22:00. My Chief is gonna be real mad!
Pax
Cujo

[zpd307]

he could have put something more in his report to justify a turn around or catch up. even resort to the license plate light out. when you write a shitty report, the defense drills you on the stand, when you get drilled on the stand you start saying stupid shit, which leads to this. i say again, articulation, articulation, articulation!!!! but to testify in court that everyone after 0000 is drunk, even though sfsts trains you that the % is greater, is asking for trouble. i quarantee after this burn job, hell write better reports. what i dont get is that if he saw them leave the bar but still had race up to get behind him. sounds like an experience thing, oh well.

[zpd307]

this remnds me of a case we had hear in mn a few years ago. a k-9 cop in cloquet made a stop on a guy. the guy was nervous and had a lot of indicators for being a mule. so he brought out his dog and did a sniff around, this was when a canine sniff was legit for no reason if it was on scene and the subject was not unreasonably detained. anyway, dog hit on drugs, drugs were found.... i believe in the engine compartment. fast forward to court, guy made his testimony and the defense drilled him. defense asked the cop if he believed that there were drugs in the vehicle when he brought out his dog. cop testified NO . case closed, dropped and court made ruling that dog can not sniff unless theres reasonable suspicion. state court couldnt believe dogs were running around cars for no reason on stops. another hard lesson learned.

[Sapper_132]

God thats stupid, some of the laws over there (NM) are a little carzy
Here in OK we can stop someone go back to our car, have the driver come back with us (I know not a safe thing to do) a K-9 officer will stop by get his dog out and do a quick run around the car. If the dog hits and we find something cool, we can take that driver and put him in the back seat. And if the dog finds nothing no big deal!

[RdrB67]

Isn't there USSC case law that states RS is NOT required for a dog sniff (as the sniff does NOT constitute a search, therefore no Constitutional protections apply)?!!

[RdrB67]

PS. APB is how I found out about this forum site and got signed up! I'm a long-time subscriber.

[zpd307]

Isn't there USSC case law that states RS is NOT required for a dog sniff (as the sniff does NOT constitute a search, therefore no Constitutional protections apply)?!!

state case law can be stricter than fed law, not the other way around.

[PACMAN]

"It is assumed that everyone on the road after midnight is a suspect for driving under the influence," Hoffner testified, according to court documents. He said statistics bear that out.

Bachmeier testified that he and two others left the Carpio area in a pickup about 1 a.m, after they had been to a bar, to drive back to Berthold. He denied any erratic driving, and his passengers supported him, court documents say.

Hoffner testified that he took off after Bachmeier's pickup even though he had not observed any violations, court documents say. He said he drove at least 80 mph on the road, which has a 65 mph speed limit.

The trooper said he stopped Bachmeier after he saw the pickup swerve within its own lane.

Somone should tell that Trooper it is illegal to fish with Dynamite. Sounds like a good cop making a dumb statement in court. Although I agree with him.

I can picture the two drunks catching a ride home swearing in court that thier buddy was a perfect driver......No slanted testimony there either..

[jmur5074]

MN is VERY strict when it comes to dog searches, and vehicle searches. It's ridiculous.....