RI District Court and Traffic Tribunal Case Law

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Town of Middletown v. Svetlana Semenova, Ca.A. No. T11-0049 Telephone Call

Defendant appealed the decision of the trial judge sustaining the violations of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-27-2.1 (refusal to submit to a chemical test) and R.I.G.L.  1956 § 31-15-11 (laned roadway).  Defendant claimed that she was denied her right to a confidential phone call because the officer entered the room while she was speaking with her attorney.  The Court held that the defendant’s right to a confidential phone call was not violated because the officer left the defendant in the room for fifteen minutes while she spoke with her attorney and he only entered the room because the defendant summoned him in to ask him a question.  Accordingly, the Court held that the defendant had voluntarily waived her right and sustained the violation of § 31-27-2.1. 

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