DUI Dismissed Following Suppression of the PBT
July 2016
City of Eudora vs. AB: Client charged with speeding and DUI following a traffic stop on a rural highway. Client performed field testing at the scene and submitted a breath test on the Preliminary Breath Test (aka "PBT"), the hand held device often used by officers during a DUI investigation. Following the PBT, client was arrested and charged with DUI. Client performed exceptionally well on the one-leg stand and walk-and-turn field tests, but the PBT result was slightly over the legal limit. Prior to the PBT, however, arresting officer told driver "you have no right to refuse this test" before giving her the three required "warnings" required by law. The officer's error was identical to the mistake the officer made in State v. Edgar, in which the Supreme Court ruled the arresting officer had misinformed the driver of his right to refuse the PBT and therefore a suppression of the test result was required. Following a suppression hearing on the PBT result, the Court ruled the result would be suppressed in accord with Kansas case laws. Following plea negotiations, the prosecutor agreed that the driver had performed well enough on the two field tests to warrant a dismissal for a lack of reasonable suspicion to arrest. DUI Charge dismissed. Guilty plea to the speeding ticket. Client kept her license as a result.