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In handcuffs? Being taken to the police station? You're under arrest. [NOT FINAL]

By Randall Hodgkinson

Daniel Walter won in City of Norton v. Wonderly, No. 97,889 (Kan. App. Dec. 14, 2007), reversing a Norton County DUI conviction on Fourth Amendment grounds. The COA held that that handcuffing and transporting the suspect constitutes arrest:

we conclude that Wonderly was under arrest when Morel, without seeking Wonderly's consent, transported Wonderly in handcuffs to the sheriff's office to perform field sobriety tests. Under the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable person in Wonderly's position would have believed he or she was under arrest at that point. Regardless of what interests Morel may have had in continuing his investigation, by taking Wonderly to the sheriff's office in handcuffs, Morel performed an act indistinguishable from a traditional arrest. This act violated Wonderly's Fourth Amendment rights unless Morel had probable cause to arrest Wonderly for DUI at the scene of the traffic stop.

Seems like a no brainer to me. Because the COA also concluded that the stop was only based on reasonable suspicion, it held the evidence obtained after the arrest violated the Fourth Amendment.

Full post as published by Kansas Defenders on December 18, 2007 (boomark / email).