Gaither v. the State
338 Ga. App. 763
| Ga. Ct. App. | 2016Background
- At 1:38 a.m., Deputy Baker saw Gaither turn from Highway 17 into a road leading up a hill toward a gated/closed area near a building called the Hardman House; no signs indicated the road was closed.
- Baker followed; when Gaither passed the only driveway he believed lawful, he activated his patrol car’s blue lights as he reached the gate. Gaither turned around and drove a few feet past the patrol car before stopping after a verbal instruction to stop.
- Baker approached Gaither’s truck, observed an open container of alcohol, and arrested her for DUI and related offenses.
- Gaither moved to suppress evidence, arguing the stop was a second-tier seizure that lacked the particularized, articulable reasonable suspicion required for an investigative stop.
- The trial court denied suppression, finding the stop was justified by reasonable suspicion based on the late hour, the location being a closed historical site, and Gaither’s failure to stop immediately; Gaither appealed interlocutorily.
- The Court of Appeals reversed, holding the officer lacked specific and articulable facts to support reasonable suspicion and that a second-tier encounter had occurred when the lights were activated.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Gaither) | Defendant's Argument (State/Baker) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether activating blue lights and instructing stop converted encounter into a second-tier stop requiring reasonable suspicion | The blue lights and verbal instruction created a seizure; no particularized suspicion existed to justify an investigative stop | The stop was supported by reasonable suspicion (area closed, late hour, suspicious behavior); alternatively, Gaither wasn’t detained until she failed to stop and then fled, giving rise to suspicion | Held for Gaither: activation constituted a second-tier stop and officer lacked particularized, articulable suspicion to justify it |
| Whether Gaither’s brief driving past the patrol car purged an otherwise illegal stop or created reasonable suspicion | Her brief movement was not flight sufficient to cleanse an illegal stop; she stopped almost immediately | State argued her act of passing the car before stopping amounted to fleeing that could justify detention | Held for Gaither: the short maneuver was insufficient to justify the detention; it did not purge an illegal stop |
| Whether officer observed traffic offense or had reports of crime to support suspicion | No traffic violation observed; no reports of criminal activity were shown | Officer relied on general suspicion (location, late hour, reported thefts in area) | Held for Gaither: general crime-proneness or time/place alone are inadequate; the officer’s testimony amounted to a hunch |
| Whether trial court’s factual findings supported reasonable suspicion | Trial court’s findings (closed historical site, thefts common) were unsupported by the record | State relied on those factual findings to justify the stop | Held for Gaither: trial court clearly erred in several factual findings, so legal justification fails |
Key Cases Cited
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (establishes the stop-and-frisk reasonable-suspicion standard)
- State v. Stilley, 261 Ga. App. 868 (Ga. App. 2003) (failure to pull over for extended flight can purge taint of illegal stop)
- Dryer v. State, 323 Ga. App. 734 (Ga. App. 2013) (activation of lights at a closed lot created a second-tier encounter)
- State v. Winnie, 242 Ga. App. 228 (Ga. App. 1978) (turning into a closed facility at night did not alone support reasonable suspicion)
- Williams v. State, 327 Ga. App. 239 (Ga. App. 2014) (investigative stop requires specific and articulable facts beyond a hunch)