State of Tennessee v. David Mack Brewer

Defendant, David Mack Brewer, was indicted by the Hardin County Grand Jury with one count of DUI per se, one count of DUI, and one count of possession of a loaded handgun while under the influence of an intoxicant. Defendant filed a motion to suppress all “evidence, specifically including any alcohol test results, firearm, statements and field sobriety tasks results, acquired, observed and/or seized by any and all law enforcement officers, . . . by means of a warrantless entry, search, seizure and arrest of the Defendant’s person, breath, acts, conduct, statements and vehicle . . . on April 26, 2016.” An evidentiary hearing was held. The trial court narrowed the issues during the hearing to the sole issue of whether there was an unlawful warrantless arrest. The trial court determined that the warrantless arrest for the misdemeanor of DUI was unlawful and granted the motion to suppress on that basis. The State subsequently announced it could not prosecute without the evidence which had been suppressed and moved to dismiss the indictment as a result of the suppression ruling. The trial court dismissed the charges, and the State filed a timely notice of appeal of the trial court’s suppression of the evidence. After oral argument and the review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we reverse the judgment of the trial court, reinstate the indictment, and remand for further proceedings in the trial court.