Reasonable Grounds/Probable Cause

Defendant appealed the decision of the trial magistrate sustaining the violation of R.I.G.L. 1956 §31-27-2.1 (refusal to submit to a chemical test). The Court held that the arresting officer had the requisite reasonable grounds for arrest where defendant left his lane without signaling multiple times, had bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech, emitted the odor of alcohol from his breath, and failed two field sobriety tests. Therefore, the trial magistrate’s decision was not clearly erroneous, and, thus, the Court affirmed that decision sustaining the charge against the defendant.City of Warwick v. Eric Alhborg, C.A. No. T09-0058 (September 16, 2009).pdf