DUI Case Stands After Defendant Questioned Original Trial Decision

Sep 22, 2013 at 11:00 pm by bryan


A man who was charged with DUI in Rutherford County appealed his case to the court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee in Nashville. The original case was heard before Judge David Bragg in the Circuit Court that is located on the Murfreesboro square.

While most DUI related cases are fairly cut and dry, the defendant in this particular case suggested that his vehicle was stopped illegally. Joshua Lynn Pitts was stopped by Murfreesboro Police in 2011 on NW Broad Street for having a faulty brake light. Video from a patrol car also showed that the car in question drifted our of the lane of travel three times.

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Upon the officer walking to the car after making the stop, Pitts allegedly smelled like alcohol, according to Officer Higgins who initiated the traffic stop. Medical personnel later withdrew blood from Pitts which showed his blood alcohol content was at point 14, which is over the legal limit.

The Court of Criminal Appeals reviewed the case and determined that the original trial court ruled correctly in convicting Pitts and later sentencing him to eleven months and twenty nine days of probation. He also served 48-hours behind bars.

Additional Details from the Appeal Documents: 

"We conclude that the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court’s finding that the Defendant’s motion to suppress should be denied. The video evidence and the officer’s testimony confirm that the Defendant was driving a vehicle that had an inoperable brake light and that his vehicle veered into the adjacent lane of traffic on three occasions, two of which can be clearly seen on the video. The totality of circumstances support that Officer Higgins had specific articulable facts sufficient to rise to the level of reasonable suspicion as a basis for an investigatory stop of the Defendant’s vehicle."

Source:

View the Court of Criminal Appeals Documents HERE

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