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Not guilty of federal conspiracy, federal conversion - theft of military vehicles. As three defendants awaited sentencing for felony conspiracy and theft convictions, Attorney Tracey Wood and her client walked out of the courtroom. He client was found not guilty on all charges.
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Appeals court: Crossing fog line not reasonable suspicionKevin Murphy Momentarily crossing the "fog line" painted near the right shoulder of a road doesn't give police reasonable suspicion that a motorist is operating while intoxicated, a state appeals court ruled today. In reversing a first OWI (operating while under the influence of an intoxicant) implied consent violation, the District 4 Court of Appeals found that "the totality of the circumstances" didn't give a state trooper cause to stop and arrest a driver for OWI. The state trooper observed a vehicle travelling for three or four seconds on the white line marking the right edge of a traffic lane on SH 30 at 2:05 a.m. on July 17, 2004. The vehicle then crossed over the line for another three to four seconds while traveling eastbound. Logan stpped the vehicle, and after administering field sobriety tests arrested the driver for drunk driving (OWI - 1st offense). Gullickson refused to take the blood-alcohol test. The state dropped the OWI charge, but and obtained an implied consent conviction before a Wisconsin Circuit Judge (Steven Ebert). The court imposed a $846 fine. On appeal, attorney Tracey Wood argued that her client's Fourth Amendment rights protected him from unreasonable search and seizure and that the non-erratic driving didn't give the state trooper reasonable suspicion to perform a stop. On appeal, the state argued that the trooper had cause to arrest the driver because statutes require motorists to drive as "nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane" and "shall drive in the lane designated." The District 4 court disagreed, finding the statutes do not exclude the fog line as part of the designated lane. Also, no reported cases have held that driving over or on the fog line is contrary to any statute. In his seven-page opinion, Judge Paul Higginbotham wrote that the vehicle's driver didn't repeatedly cross the fog line and the movements were gradual. Also, while the stop occurred near bar time and the trooper had 10 years trooper experience and averaged 80 OWI arrests a year, "these two building blocks do not add up to reasonable suspicion under the totality of the circumstances. The investigative stop was therefore invalid," Higginbotham wrote. Evidence of intoxicated operation was the "fruit of the illegal traffic stop" and can't be can't be used to prove improper refusal to submit to a blood alcohol test, according to the opinion. Attorney Wood was unavailable for comment this morning, and efforts to contact Assistant District Attorney Shelly Rusch were unsuccessful. Reprinted and archived by permission from Kevin Murphy. Free Initial ConsultationIf you have been charged (or convicted) of criminal conspiracy, please call (608-284-1200 in the Madison area, or 1-866-262-4599 statewide) the attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood for a brief but professional free first-impression analysis of your case. You can also send your case information online, or email the attorneys.
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