State v. Rudd

The State appeals an order granting Earl Cody Rudds motion to suppress evidence related to his arrest for driving while intoxicated and his motion to exclude the arresting officers testimony regarding Rudds performance on the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test. The State contends in three issues that the court erred by ruling: (1) "that a police officer may not lawfully question a witness to an accident unless the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe that person has also committed an offense"; (2) "that an officer has no probable cause to arrest a person the officer believes to be intoxicated unless the officer personally witnessed that person drinking and driving or operating a motor vehicle"; and (3) that the results of an HGN test are inadmissible even if the court finds that the officer was qualified and certified to perform that test. We will affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.