State v. Peter John Long, 2023AP2300, 2/26/25 District II (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
Long appeals pro se from his refusal conviction, contending the officer lacked probable cause to arrest for OWI. COA affirms.
The officer was the only witness at Long’s refusal hearing. Police found a motorcycle that appeared to have crashed and was “hung up” on a curb at 2:51 a.m. (¶3). Police then found Long sleeping or unconscious next to the street about five hundred feet from the motorcycle. (¶4). Long gave an inconsistent story, had the motorcycle key, smelled strongly of alcohol, appeared injured, and his speech was slurred. (¶¶4-5). He refused to do field sobriety tests, was arrested for OWI, and refused to submit to a chemical test.
Long was also charged with OWI 10th. However, at the preliminary hearing, the court commissioner dismissed the case after concluding that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to establish probable cause that Long had committed a felony. (¶7). At the refusal hearing in this case, Long argued that police lacked probable cause to arrest him. The circuit court denied Long’s challenge and entered judgment on the refusal charge.
At a refusal hearing, a defendant may raise various challenges, including whether the officer had probable cause to believe the accused drove or operated a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and was lawfully arrested for an OWI offense. See Wis. Stat. § 343.305(9)(a)5.a.
On appeal, Long argues that police did not have probable cause because there was no proof that he had been operating the motorcycle. Based on the facts discussed above, and others, COA concludes that there was probable cause to believe Long had driven the motorcycle and was intoxicated. “That Long drove his motorcycle up onto the curb shortly prior to [the officer]’s arrival was a reasonable conclusion based on the totality of the circumstances. The fact that [the officer] did not directly see Long driving the motorcycle does not undermine this conclusion.” (¶14).
