RI District Court and Traffic Tribunal Case Law

This website is in no way affiliated with, sponsored by, or supported by the Rhode Island Judiciary, the Rhode Island District Court, or Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.

State of Rhode Island v. Michael Netro, A.A. No. 06-25-Reasonable Grounds/Probable Cause

Defendant appealed the decision of the Appeals Panel reversing the trial magistrate’s decision to dismiss the violations of a  R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-27-2.1 (refusal to submit to a chemical test) and R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-17-5 (entering a private road or driveway). The Court held that probable cause to arrest is determined by the totality of the circumstances pursuant to State v. Castro, 891 A.2d 848, 853 (R.I. 2006). Here, the District Court held that the officer had probable cause to arrest because the defendant had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech, emitted an odor of alcohol from his breath, and failed two field sobriety tests. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the decision of the Appeals Panel and remanded the case back to the trial magistrate.

Case Index