State of Tennessee v. Will Rogers Salmon

The defendant, Will Rogers Salmon, pled guilty in the Sevier County Circuit Court to DUI, first offense, and violation of the implied consent law and was sentenced to eleven months, twenty-nine days in the county jail, suspended to supervised probation following the service of forty-eight hours. As a condition of his guilty pleas, the defendant attempted to reserve the following two certified questions of law: (1) whether reasonable suspicion, based on specific and articulable facts, justified his traffic stop and detention; and (2) whether the arresting officer’s intrusion into his vehicle constituted a custodial environment that required the suppression of any post-arrest statements pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona. 384 U.S. 436 (1966). Based on our review, we agree with the State that the trial court properly found that the traffic stop and detention were justified. We further agree that the defendant’s second certified question of law is not dispositive of his case and, thus, is not properly before this court. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.