Com. v. Phelan, K.
Com. v. Phelan, K. No. 1358 EDA 2016
| Pa. Super. Ct. | Aug 7, 2017Background
- At ~2:00 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2007, Pa. State Police Cpl. Malone followed Phelan’s vehicle on Route 202 after observing lane drift and clocking it at 65 mph in a posted 45 mph zone; he timed speed over the statutory minimum 0.3 miles with a certified speedometer.
- Upon stopping the car, Malone smelled a strong odor of alcohol from the vehicle and from Phelan, who admitted he was coming from a microbrewery; Phelan’s eyes were red and speech slightly slurred.
- Phelan refused field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test (PBT), was arrested for DUI, and refused chemical blood draw.
- Phelan moved to suppress evidence, arguing the stop lacked reasonable suspicion/probable cause; the trial court denied suppression.
- After a non-jury trial the court convicted Phelan of DUI (general impairment), speeding, and lane violation; Phelan appealed challenging suppression and sufficiency of DUI evidence.
- The Superior Court affirmed: it held the trooper had probable cause to stop for speeding and that evidence supported the 3802(a)(1) conviction.
Issues
| Issue | Phelan's Argument | Commonwealth's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of the traffic stop (speeding/lane drift) | Stop unlawful: trooper lacked probable cause; MVR shows trooper accelerated and didn’t clock speed for required distance | Trooper had probable cause to stop for speeding (and court may affirm on any ground) | Affirmed: trooper had probable cause to stop for speeding (timed >0.3 mile at 65 in 45 zone) |
| Sufficiency of evidence for DUI (75 Pa.C.S. §3802(a)(1)) | Commonwealth failed to prove Phelan imbibed enough alcohol to be incapable of safe driving | Odor of alcohol, red/slurred appearance, admission of leaving a brewery, driving behavior, refusals, justify conviction | Affirmed: evidence sufficiently supported general-impairment DUI conviction |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Freeman, 150 A.3d 32 (Pa. Super. 2016) (standard of review for suppression rulings; consider only Commonwealth evidence when it prevailed below)
- Commonwealth v. Salter, 121 A.3d 987 (Pa. Super. 2015) (probable cause required to stop a vehicle for speeding)
- Commonwealth v. Whitmyer, 668 A.2d 1113 (Pa. 1995) (officer must time speed for statutory minimum distance to establish probable cause for speeding)
- Commonwealth v. Ibrahim, 127 A.3d 819 (Pa. Super. 2015) (definition of probable cause inquiry)
- Commonwealth v. Brown, 64 A.3d 1101 (Pa. Super. 2013) (appellate court may affirm suppression ruling on any correct ground supported by the record)
- Commonwealth v. Kerry, 906 A.2d 1237 (Pa. Super. 2006) (elements of §3802(a)(1) and methods of proof)
- Commonwealth v. Segida, 985 A.2d 871 (Pa. 2009) (types of admissible evidence to prove general-impairment DUI)
- Commonwealth v. Chambers, 157 A.3d 508 (Pa. Super. 2017) (standard for sufficiency review)