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In the case of State v. Burns, a driver appealed her DUI conviction, claiming her statement refusing to take a Breathalyzer test should have been suppressed.

The police had received three reports of a possible drunken driver, one of which was from an employee working at a drive-through window of a restaurant, who provided a description of the make, model and marker plate number of the driver's automobile. Several minutes after a police officer, W, heard the police dispatch, he saw the automobile in the area of the restaurant, followed it and performed a stop of the vehicle, which matched the description provided by the dispatcher and had the same marker plate number. W observed beer cans in the vehicle, and the defendant had an odor of alcohol, was swaying heavily, and had red, glossy eyes. Subsequently, the driver failed several field sobriety tests. The driver claimed, inter alia, that the trial court improperly denied her motion to suppress evidence obtained by the police during their allegedly unlawful stop of her automobile. Specifically, she claimed that the anonymous tips leading to the stop of her vehicle were insufficient to create a reasonable and articulable suspicion because there was no confirmation of the identity or reliability of the citizen informants and no corroboration of the information provided by them.

The appellate court disagreed. Her right to remain silent was not violated when an officer gave her the choice to take or to refuse the test, as she had read her Miranda rights, was given the opportunity to contact counsel, and was given a form with information regarding the implied consent advisory and the consequences of refusing to take the test. Therefore, her statement of refusal was admissible under Connecticut law.

Maya Murphy P.C. has the resources and expertise to offer you the best possible representation throughout the criminal process. If you are facing criminal charges or wish to appeal your case, please call the offices of Maya Murphy, P.C. today at (203) 221-3100 or Joseph C. Maya, Esq. at JMaya@Mayalaw.com.

Source: State v. Burns, 140 Conn. App. 347, 59 A.3d 819, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 36, 2013 WL 149908 (Conn. App. Ct. 2013)