DWI
Arrest did not require physical restraint
In an action to set aside the director of revenue’s suspension or revocation of a driver’s license, the director of revenue had to show that, on probable cause to believe that the driver had a blood alcohol concentration greater than a certain percentage, the driver was arrested. Arrest meant “actual restraint of the person of the defendant, or by [her] submission to the custody of the officer, under authority of a warrant or otherwise.” Actual restraint of the driver’s person included restraint by physical injury when further restraint by the officer was impractical or unnecessary. The appellant driver was immobilized and lying down in an ambulance after a serious accident when the arresting officer announced the arrest. In holding that no arrest occurred for lack of further restraint, the circuit court misapplied the law. The Missouri Court of Appeals reversed the judgment and entered judgment for the director.
Amelia Briane Van Vickle vs. Director of Revenue
Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District – WD87196
Criminal
Knowledge of fentanyl shown
The elements of attempted trafficking of a controlled substance included possession, of which the elements included intent to deliver, which the state could support with evidence of possession. Possession’s elements included control over the contraband, which the state showed with evidence that the defendant’s belongings were near the contraband, and even in the same bag; the defendant admitted buying some of the contraband though denied knowing that it was contraband. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction.
State of Missouri vs. Samuel Lee Hines
Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District – WD86284
Reasonable suspicion supported stop
No plain error occurred when the state offered evidence of contraband in defendant’s possession. Nothing required the circuit court to exclude that evidence sua sponte when it resulted from a traffic stop of the defendant prompted by the defendant’s vehicle, which matched the description of a vehicle used in a nearby offense, according to dispatch and responding officers. Those circumstances constituted reasonable cause for the stop. The offense involved shots into a residence, so the detaining officer had cause to conduct a protective search.
State of Missouri, Plaintiff/Respondent, vs. Isaiah M. Lane, Defendant/Appellant.
Missouri Court of Appeals-Eastern District – ED112266
