Court Opinion

ID: 9537623
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 07:20:31.045609+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:56:49.759576
License: Public Domain

COATS, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
It appears from the record that the trial judge applied an incorrect probable cause standard for determining whether Trooper Duncan properly stopped Moran. I would therefore reverse the case and remand the matter back to the trial judge to apply the proper standard. However, I am not prepared at this time to decide the question of whether, as a matter of law, the testimony of Trooper Duncan would in all cases constitute reasonable suspicion for a stop for driving while intoxicated. In my view these factual determinations are best made on a case by case basis by the trial judge who is able to observe the witness, hears testimony of this nature on a daily basis, and is better situated than we are to determine whether the driving in question gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that a motorist is driving while intoxicated.