Reynolds v. City of Water Valley
| Docket Number: | 2010-KM-00900-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 12-06-2011 Opinion Author: Lee, C.J. Holding: Reversed and rendered. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: DUI first offense - Probable cause - Investigatory stop - Reasonable suspicion Judge(s) Concurring: Irving and Griffis, P.JJ., Barnes, Ishee, Roberts, Maxwell and Russell, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Myers, J. Dissenting Author : Carlton, J. Procedural History: Bench Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - MISDEMEANOR |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 05-04-2010 Appealed from: Yalobusha County Circuit Court Judge: James McClure, III Disposition: CONVICTED OF DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, FIRST OFFENSE, AND SENTENCED TO TWO DAYS IN JAIL WITH TWO DAYS SUSPENDED AND TO PAY A $1,000 FINE Case Number: CR2009-1-MY2 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | John Reynolds |
TOMMY WAYNE DEFER |
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| Appellee: | City of Water Valley, Mississippi | DANIEL M. MARTIN |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | DUI first offense - Probable cause - Investigatory stop - Reasonable suspicion |
| Summary of the Facts: | John Reynolds was convicted in the Water Valley Municipal Court of driving under the influence, first offense, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and court costs. Reynolds appealed to circuit court. Reynolds was again found guilty and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, court costs, complete Mississippi Alcohol and Safety Education Program classes, and serve forty-eight hours in jail. The jail time was suspended. Reynolds appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Reynolds argues his conviction should be reversed because the officer did not have probable cause to conduct the traffic stop that led to his arrest and DUI conviction. He asserts that the officer failed to articulate any illegal activity or traffic violation that gave the officer sufficient probable cause or reasonable suspicion to initiate a traffic stop. An officer may initiate an investigatory stop as long as the officer has an objective manifestation that the person stopped is, or is about to be, engaged in criminal activity. ‘Mere hunches’ or ‘looking suspicious’ are insufficient to establish reasonable suspicion for an investigatory stop. In this case, the officer testified that Reynolds’s behavior was suspicious and initiated an investigatory stop based upon the following events: Reynolds stopped six-car lengths behind him at the stop light; the car slowed its speed dramatically upon seeing the officer; and the car, although on a public street, was driving toward the elementary school at 4:30 a.m. Based on this evidence alone, the officer did not have reasonable suspicion sufficient to initiate an investigatory stop. The officer testified that Reynolds did not violate any traffic laws; the car had not been reported stolen; and there was not any other suspicious behavior beyond what was previously described. Further, the officer testified that Reynolds did not exhibit any of the usual signs of DUI. Considered as a whole, these acts of “suspicious behavior” do not demonstrate Reynolds had committed any criminal act or that one was imminent. An investigatory stop based solely on a hunch or looking suspicious is not authorized. Thus, the circuit court erred in finding that reasonable suspicion existed to uphold the officer’s investigatory stop of Reynolds. Since all of the incriminating evidence against Reynolds was discovered solely as a consequence of the unlawful traffic stop, arrest, and detention, Reynolds’s conviction is reversed and rendered. |
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