Leming v. Texas (original by judge yeary)
Annotate this CaseAppellant James Leming pled guilty to, and was convicted of, the offense of driving while intoxicated, a felony for him because he had two prior DWI convictions. The trial court assessed his punishment at ten years’ incarceration in the penitentiary. Prior to his plea, Appellant filed a motion to suppress the product of the traffic stop by which the offense was discovered. The trial court denied his motion to suppress, and Appellant challenged that ruling in a single point of error on appeal. The Sixth Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s ruling, holding that the trial court should have granted the motion to suppress. The court of appeals concluded that, on the particular facts of this case: (1) the arresting officer lacked even a reasonable suspicion to detain Appellant for failing to maintain a single lane; and (2) the stop was not a legitimate exercise of the arresting officer’s community care-taking function. The Court of Criminal Appeals granted the State Prosecuting Attorney’s (SPA) petition for discretionary review, and disagreeing with the lower court's judgment, reversed.
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