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MT: Refusing a breath test justifies seizure of a driver's license, but it can't be suppressed

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

“Driving in Montana constitutes a privilege, not a right.” Taking one’s driver’s license for refusing a breath test was a reasonable seizure, and there is nothing to suppress. Nichols v. Dept. Of Justice, Drivers’ License Bureau, 2011 MT 33, 2011 Mont. LEXIS 34 (March 1, 2011). Defendant was driving slowly through a Polaris dealer’s parking lot at night with his headlights off. Considering the expensive inventory, the officer thought that really suspicious and stopped him, and he was found to be under the influence. The stop was valid. State v. Rodriguez, 2011 MT 36, 2011 Mont. LEXIS 35 (March 1, 2011).* Like in Hodari D., defendant was approached by the police and he turned to walk away, discarding a bag of dope in the process, and that was an abandonment...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 05, 2011 (boomark / email).