State v. Elizabeth C. Emmenegger, 2011AP1214-CR, District 4, 3/1/12
court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Emmenegger: Lora B. Cerone, SPD, Madison Appellate; case activity
Sufficient cause for traffic stop upheld, citing State v. Post, 2007 WI 60, 301 Wis. 2d 1, 733 N.W.2d 634.
¶17 While any one of these facts, standing alone, might be insufficient to constitute reasonable suspicion, “such facts accumulate, and as they accumulate, reasonable inferences about the cumulative effect can be drawn.” Id., ¶37. Here, the vehicle’s repeated drifting within the lane, coupled with the time of night and the officer’s experience in traffic patrol, as well as the fact that the road was dry, clear, and relatively straight, and traffic was light, gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that the driver of the vehicle was under the influence of an intoxicant.
