State v. Kevin W. Cook
State v. Kevin W. Cook
Opinion
*510 ¶ 1. Following his conditional guilty plea to driving under the influence, defendant Kevin Cook appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to dismiss, in which he argued that his failure to signal a turn was not illegal under the circumstances and thus did not provide a reasonable, articulable suspicion for the arresting officer to stop his vehicle. 1 We affirm.
¶ 2. The facts are not contested. Shortly after midnight on December 4, 2016, defendant was driving east on Hoyt Street in St. Albans and approached a "T" intersection where Hoyt and Main Streets meet. Hoyt Street ends where it meets Main Street, and it has designated right- and left-turn lanes for drivers approaching the Main Street intersection. There is a stop sign at the intersection for cars using Hoyt Street. Preparing to turn right onto Main Street, defendant drove into the right-turn-only lane and stopped at the stop sign. At that time, a police officer pulled onto Hoyt Street and noticed defendant's car stopped at the intersection without its turn signal on. The officer watched defendant make the right turn onto Main Street without signaling and stopped defendant's car for that reason. During the traffic stop, the officer smelled alcohol on defendant and conducted field-sobriety tests. Ultimately, defendant was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).
¶ 3. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the DUI charge. He argued that the officer had no grounds to stop him because, although Vermont law requires drivers to signal their intention to turn under 23 V.S.A. §§ 1064 and 1065, drivers are not required to put on their turn signal when there is only one legal turning maneuver possible-such as turning right in a right-turn-only lane. In a brief entry order, the trial court denied defendant's motion, citing this Court's decision in
State v. Harris
,
¶ 4. "In reviewing a denial of a motion to suppress, we apply a deferential standard of review to the trial court's findings of fact, and we review the court's legal conclusions de novo."
State v. Fletcher
,
¶ 5. Vermont motor vehicle statutes 23 V.S.A. §§ 1064 and 1065 govern drivers' obligation to signal when turning and moving on the road. In relevant part, § 1065
*511
provides that "[a] right or left turn
shall not
be made
without first giving a signal of intention
either by hand or by signal in accordance with section 1064." 23 V.S.A. § 1065(a) (emphases added). Section 1064 explains that "[t]he signals provided for in section 1065...
shall be used to indicate an intention to turn
, change lanes, or start from a parked position,"
¶ 6. In construing statutes, our goal is to implement the intent of the Legislature.
Harris
,
¶ 7. We have had occasion to consider the requirements of our turn-signal statutes several times in recent years, and this body of caselaw supports our conclusion here. First, a change in direction, such as the ninety-degree change in direction defendant took from Hoyt Street onto Main Street here, may indicate that the driver is turning and that a signal is required under §§ 1064 and 1065. See
¶ 8. Next, in
State v. Fletcher
, we explained that turn signal requirements under § 1064 apply regardless of traffic conditions.
*512
¶ 9. Finally, and most recently, in
State v. Hutchins
, we held that continuing on the natural arc of a road did not trigger the turn-signal requirement.
¶ 10. These cases are consistent with one another and dictate the result here. It is undisputed that defendant's car changed directions from east to south when it made the right turn at the Main Street intersection. See
Harris
,
¶ 11. Defendant contends that he was not required to use his signal because the only legal path his vehicle could take from a right-turn-only lane was to turn right, as he did. In addition to the analysis outlined above, policy reasons support our rejection of this argument. We have long recognized that motor-vehicle statutes governing direction and stop signals are safety statutes intended to protect the public travelling on Vermont's roadways. See
Smith v. Grove
,
*513
¶ 12. Additionally, decisions from most other states have rejected obviating the requirement for the use of a turn signal from a turn-only lane. See
State v. Smith
,
¶ 13. Other courts have not required turn signals to be used where that state's turn-signal statute, unlike Vermont's, requires turn signal use only when it impacts upon the safety of other vehicles. See
State v. Goodman
,
¶ 14. The Vermont Legislature could have enacted turn-signal statutes that require the use of turn signals only when the safety of other vehicles might be affected, or it might have enacted statutes which specifically exempt the requirement of turn-signal use when turning in the anticipated direction from a turn-only lane. It has done neither, and it is not up to us to substitute our judgment for the Legislature's, even were our judgment to differ.
¶ 15. Because Vermont's motor-vehicle statutes required defendant to signal before turning, we conclude that the officer here had a reasonable, articulable suspicion of wrongdoing. 3 The motion to dismiss was properly denied.
Affirmed .
Although captioned solely as a motion to dismiss, the motion challenges the legality of the motor-vehicle stop and, consequently, seeks suppression of evidence obtained following the stop. The State recognized this in its opposition to the motion, which it captioned as an opposition to defendant's motion to suppress and dismiss, as did defendant on appeal.
We also note that the Vermont Legislature has provided that the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) "may adopt rules ... governing the examination of new applicants for operators' licenses and may prescribe what shall be requisite to obtain or hold a license or learner's permit[,] ... contribut[ing] to the selection of safe and efficient operators." 23 V.S.A. § 631. Pursuant to this authority, the Commissioner adopted rules pertaining to the organization and administration of the DMV that, in relevant part, specify the "various manuals ... used by the department and ... available to the public upon request." Organization of Department of Motor Vehicles, Rule 1(d), Code of Vt. Rules 14-050-043 [hereinafter DMV Rules], https://dmv.vermont.gov/enforcement-and-safety/laws/administrative-rules/organization-of-department-of-motor-vehicles [https://perma.cc/ MWQ9-77XM]. The Vermont Driver's Manual, which is the training guide used to instruct driver's license applicants on Vermont's motor vehicle laws and safety procedures prior to obtaining a license, is included in this list. DMV Rules, Rule 1(d)(4). Notably, the manual contains no exception for vehicles positioned in turn-only lanes. Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Vermont Driver's Manual, https://dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/documents/VN-007-License_Manual.pdf [https://perma.cc/D9LR-P6ZS] [hereinafter DMV Driver's Manual]. To the contrary, the manual reiterates that "[t]he law states that a driver must use a turn signal not less than 100 feet before making a turn or changing lanes." DMV Driver's Manual at 27. As such, the manual, which is ultimately intended to "contribute to the selection of safe and efficient operators," requires a signal prior to turning and does not make any exceptions for turn-only lanes. 23 V.S.A. § 631. This supports our construction of the statute.
"[R]easonable suspicion does not require confirmation of criminal activity before making a stop. Specific and articulable facts, along with rational inferences warranting a reasonable belief in potential wrongdoing, are sufficient."
State v. Edmonds
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Vermont v. Kevin W. COOK
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published