Location Of DWI Is A Factor In Considering Whether Police Officer Had Reasonable Suspicion
A few months ago the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reviewed a case where the defendant was charged with DWI. An Austin police officer saw the defendant around 1:30 a.m. around Austin's Sixth Street bar district.
Foster v. State, 326 S.W.3d 609 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010). The officer was at a red light when the defendant drover his truck behind the officer's vehicle--he came very close. The defendant's truck then began to lurch and the engine was revving--the officer believed that the defendant was trying to get into the other lane, but the defendant was too close to get around the officer's car.
Another officer saw this and pulled along side the defendant's truck. The officer was concerned that the driver was drunk because his driving was unsafe, the time of night, and the location (nearby downtown Austin). When they approached the truck, they smelled alcohol and removed the defendant from his truck. He was later arrested for DWI.
It is a classic proposition of Fourth Amendment jurisprudent that a law enforcement officer may stop and BRIEFLY detain a person for investigative purpose on less information that is constitutionally required for probable cause to arrest. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968). The officer must have more than a hunch to stop the person and it must be a reasonable and brief detention.
Interestingly, the Court clearly stated that a "location near a bar district where police have made numerous DWI arrests is also a relevant factor in determining reasonable suspicion." A rational inference from this fact, along with other factors, could allow for an officer to reasonably believe that the driver is intoxicated.