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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Ind. Decisions - "Driver's DWI tossed on appeal"
The Court of Appeals' decision yesterday in the case of State of Indiana v. Christopher L.Rager (see ILB entry here - 4th case) is the subject of a story by Niki Kelly in today's Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Some quotes:
Police in Noble County had no justifiable reason to pull over Christopher L. Rager during a concentrated patrol in April 2006, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.The decision affirms an earlier trial court decision throwing out evidence related to the felony drunken-driving stop and charge. * * *
The appeals court noted first that because Indiana 9 is not a four-lane highway, Rager was not required to change lanes.
The decision also said Feller had no idea whether Rager reduced the speed of his vehicle as he approached the site of the traffic stop, and there was no evidence that his speed was unsafe.
The appellate court also noted that the trial judge viewed the videotape of the traffic stop recorded from Feller’s vehicle and didn’t “see much difference” in the speed of Rager’s truck compared with that of other passing vehicles.
Without evidence from the stop, the prosecution will be forced to dismiss the case.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 25, 2008 08:01 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions