COURT OF APPEALS DECISION DATED AND RELEASED JANUARY 14, 1997 |
NOTICE |
A party may file with the
Supreme Court a petition to review an adverse decision by the Court of
Appeals. See § 808.10 and
Rule 809.62(1), Stats. |
This opinion is subject to
further editing. If published, the
official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. |
No. 96-2548
STATE
OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF
APPEALS
DISTRICT III
COUNTY OF BUFFALO,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
THOMAS P. SCHAEFER,
Defendant-Appellant.
APPEAL from a judgment
of the circuit court for Buffalo County:
ROBERT W. WING, Judge. Affirmed.
CANE, P.J. Thomas Schaefer appeals his conviction for
operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
The sole issue on appeal is whether the arresting police officer had a
reasonable basis to stop Schaefer’s car before obtaining evidence of his
intoxication. Because this court agrees
that the arresting officer had a reasonable basis to make an investigative
stop, the conviction is affirmed.
The facts are
undisputed. While traveling northbound
on Highway 35 in Buffalo County, officer Wayne Boese observed Schaefer’s
vehicle traveling southbound on the highway at approximately thirty miles per
hour and then abruptly make a U-turn.
Boese described Schaefer's turn as a fast U-turn, commonly known as
“spinning a donut” or a “louie.” He
stated that Schaefer’s vehicle in making the U-turn went back over into the
southbound lane while traveling northbound and then continued back into the
northbound lane. He also testified that
Schaefer did not stop to observe oncoming traffic before making the
U-turn. Finally, Boese stated that he
stopped Schaefer because of the vehicle’s fast turn and going over into the
oncoming traffic’s lane while making the turn.
After stopping Schaefer, the officer gathered evidence leading to the
arrest for OWI. Schaefer challenges
only the basis for the stop leading to the arrest for OWI.
The issue of whether a
set of particular facts meet the constitutional requirement of reasonableness
for a stop by a police officer is a question of law, which this court reviews
de novo. State v. Griffin,
183 Wis.2d 327, 331, 515 N.W.2d 535, 537 (Ct. App. 1994). In State v. Krier, 165 Wis.2d
673, 677, 478 N.W.2d 63, 65 (Ct. App. 1991), we held that when a person’s
activity can constitute either a civil forfeiture or a crime, a police officer
may validly perform an investigative stop pursuant to § 968.24, Stats.
Here, Schaefer argues
that the officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe Schaefer had
violated a traffic regulation and, therefore, the evidence gathered as a result
of the illegal stop must be suppressed.
He reasons that the officer admitted that it was not illegal to make a
U-turn on that particular part of the highway and the officer was unable to
articulate any traffic violation by Schaefer when he decided to make the
stop. The trial court rejected his
argument as does this court.
The trial court found
that the officer had observed Schaefer driving on the highway at thirty miles
per hour, hitting his brakes and whipping the car around and then crossing the
centerline into the oncoming traffic’s lane and then back into the northbound
lane. The trial court concluded that
the only reason Schaefer crossed the centerline was because he lost control of
his car.
The County cites §
346.05, Stats., requiring the
driver to operate his vehicle on the right half of the roadway and § 346.57(2),
requiring the person to not
drive
a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the
conditions and having regard for the actual and potential hazards then
existing. The speed of a vehicle should
be so controlled as may be necessary to avoid colliding with any object,
person, vehicle or other conveyance on or entering the highway in compliance
with legal requirements and using due care.
Additionally,
the County cites § 346.62(2), which states that “No person may endanger
the safety of any person or property by the negligent operation of a vehicle.”
The trial court accepted
the officer’s testimony and, based on these facts, this court is satisfied that
the officer had a reasonable basis to believe Schaefer had committed a traffic
offense when crossing into the oncoming traffic lane and failing to keep his
vehicle under control. Because the
officer had a reasonable basis for the stop, the trial court correctly denied
Schaefer’s motion to suppress the evidence supporting his conviction for
OWI. Therefore, the judgment of
conviction is affirmed.
By the Court.—Judgment
affirmed.
This opinion will not be
published. Rule 809.23(1)(b)4, Stats.