Court Opinion

ID: 9690927
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 19:52:27.670196+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:05:07.393198
License: Public Domain

WILLIAM J. CORNELIUS, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
To briefly stop and detain an individual for investigative purposes, an officer need only have reasonable suspicion supported by articulable facts that criminal activity may be afoot. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, *65229, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1884, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). The deputy stopped Bass for what he reasonably believed was a traffic violation. To justify a traffic stop, the officer must have observed specific objective, ar-ticulable facts which, in light of the officer’s experience and personal knowledge, and together with inferences from those facts, would warrant a reasonable person to believe that a traffic violation had occurred. Valencia v. State, 820 S.W.2d 397, 399 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1991, pet. ref'd).
Bass’ argument on appeal is that, even accepting all of the deputy’s testimony as true, the facts presented do not prove the reasonableness of the stop. Bass contends the sole issue in this case is whether the deputy articulated specific facts available to him at the time of the incident to give rise to a reasonable suspicion that Bass had committed a traffic offense, i.e., a violation of Section 545.060(a) of the Texas Transportation Code pertaining to driving within a single lane.3 The State contends there were two bases for the stop. One was Bass’ failure to drive within a single lane. Another was to determine whether Bass was intoxicated or fatigued.
The deputy’s testimony about his observations of Bass’ driving was as follows:
Q [by Prosecutor] Do you remember coming in contact with someone you later knew as Donald Ray Bass?
A Yes, sir.
Q How did that contact come about?
A I was eastbound on 1-20, headed into 31. It was getting close to shift change when I noticed a vehicle in front of me was swerving within its lane.
Q Okay. Once you had noticed him swerving, did he ever go outside his marked lanes?
A Yes, sir, he did.
Q And do you remember how many times?
A No, sir, I do not.
Q Okay. Were there other vehicles around you at that time?
A Yes, sir. There was traffic on I-20.
Q Okay. Once you saw this person faffing to maintain a single lane, what did you do next?
A I stopped the vehicle.
Q All right. Do you remember where you stopped it?
A It was just west of the 31 exit that runs between Longview and Kilgore.
Q ... And what took place at the back of the vehicle?
A I began talking to the individual, just, you know, trying to find out if he was tired, or intoxicated, or what might be causing him to swerve within his lanes.
Q ... How long did you follow him?
A I had been following the subject from [Highway] 135. New 135 to that area there is approximately two and a half miles — three miles.
Q All right. And that’s when you saw him failing to maintain a single lane?
A Yes, sir.
Q And do you know — were y’all being passed by vehicles, or was he speed-*653mg, were y’all passing vehicles, or do you know?
A We were not speeding, and I can’t recall whether we were being passed by vehicles or not.
Q But you know that there were other vehicles around on the highway?
A Oh, yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Q [by Defense Counsel] Was the basis for your stop [sic] the Defendant in this case — his failure to maintain a single lane?
A Yes, sir.
Q Officer, did you observe any car trying to pass my client at the time that he attempted or actually changed lanes?
A In the distance that we traveled, yes, sir. There were several vehicles that passed us.
Q All right. Did you observe any incident that came close to causing an accident or was unsafe in any manner in that regard?
A No, sir, I guess not.
I conclude that the evidence shows the officer had a reasonable belief, supported by articulable, objective facts, that Bass committed a traffic violation. It is well settled that a peace officer is empowered to stop motorists when he reasonably believes he has observed a traffic violation. Valencia v. State, 820 S.W.2d at 399. Specifically, the State alleges that the deputy reasonably believed Bass violated Section 545.060(a) of the Transportation Code. This statute provides that an operator on a roadway divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic (1) shall drive as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane; and (2) may not move from the lane unless that movement can be made safely. Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 545.060(a) (Vernon 1999). In other words, a violation of Section 545.060(a) occurs only when a vehicle fails to stay within its lane when such movement cannot be made safely. Hernandez v. State, 983 S.W.2d 867, 871 (Tex.App.-Austin 1998, pet. ref'd); see also State v. Cerny, 28 S.W.3d 796, 800 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2000, no pet.); Aviles v. State, 23 S.W.3d 74, 77 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2000, pet. ref'd).
The issue before us is whether the officer had a reasonable suspicion, based on articulable facts, that Bass failed to keep his vehicle within its lane when it was unsafe to do so. The time of the incident given on the offense report was 11:45 p.m. In addition to the testimony described above, the officer testified there were other vehicles around them and that several vehicles had passed them. It is true that the officer did not testify in so many words that Bass moved out of his lane of traffic when it was unsafe to do so. However, he did testify that Bass was swerving, that ears had passed them both, and that there was traffic around them. I conclude that a reasonable officer observing a driver “swerving” between lanes on a heavily traveled interstate highway late at night when cars are passing the vehicle and traffic is around him, may reasonably believe that the driver is failing to maintain a single lane when it is unsafe to do so.
The officer did testify on cross-examination that he did not see any incident that came close to causing an accident or that was unsafe in any manner. However, that testimony may be reasonably construed to mean that the officer did not see a near accident or incident. It is not necessary to actually see an accident or even to see a near accident to know that a driver is driving in an unsafe manner. Nor is it necessary for the officer to use the magic words “unsafe manner” so long as the articulable facts he observes justify a reasonable belief that the driver is moving out *654of the lane when it is unsafe to do so. Moreover, the trial court was authorized to resolve any possible inconsistencies in the officer’s testimony.
Bass relies on Hernandez v. State, 983 S.W.2d 867 (Tex.App.-Austin 1998, pet. ref'd), and similar cases. These cases are distinguishable from our case. For example, in Hernandez, the defendant made only one movement out of his lane, and the officer testified there was nothing about that particular movement that was unsafe or improper. Other cases on which Bass relies involve the momentary “drifting” of a car over the line when there were no other circumstances showing that such a momentary movement was unsafe. Other cases on which Bass relies, such as State v. Cerny, 28 S.W.3d 796 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2000, no pet.); State v. Arriaga, 5 S.W.3d 804 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1999, pet. ref'd); and State v. Tarvin, 972 S.W.2d 910 (Tex.App.-Waco 1998, pet. ref'd), are driving while intoxicated cases.
We must remember that it is not necessary for the State to prove there was an actual violation of the law. It is only necessary that the officer have specific, objective facts he observes that lead him to reasonably believe a traffic violation has occurred or is occurring. Drago v. State, 553 S.W.2d 375 (Tex.Crim.App.1977); Powell v. State, 5 S.W.3d 369, 377 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 1999, pet. ref'd); Edgar v. Plummer, 845 S.W.2d 452 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 1993, no pet.); Valencia v. State, 820 S.W.2d 397.
I conclude that the trial court properly overruled Bass’ motion to suppress. Therefore, I would affirm the judgment.

. Tex. Transp Code Ann. § 545.060(a) (Vernon 1999) provides:
(a) An operator on a roadway divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic:
(1) shall drive as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane; and
(2) may not move from the lane unless that movement can be made safely.