Administrative – Driver’s License – Revocation – Implied Consent Offense – Probable Cause – Test Refusal

Moss v. State (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-16-0951, 12 pp.) (Cressie H. Thigpen Jr., J.) Appealed from Lincoln County Superior Court. (F. Lane Williamson, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Click here for the full-text opinion.

Holding: A DMV hearing officer found as fact that (1) Trooper Futrell stopped petitioner Moss and Justin Beam near the site of an accident involving a pickup truck; (2) Trooper Futrell observed fresh cuts on petitioner, and petitioner smelled like alcohol; (3) Beam told Trooper Futrell that petitioner had come to his door asking for a ride because he had just been in an accident; (4) petitioner admitted to being in the truck at the time of the accident; (5) petitioner first told Trooper Futrell that Allen Roberts was driving, but, when Trooper Futrell told petitioner that Roberts was at home at the time of the accident, petitioner said he didn’t know who was driving; and (6) Trooper Futrell knew the truck involved in the accident was registered to a person named “Moss.” These findings of fact are sufficient to establish that Trooper Futrell had probable cause such that a reasonably prudent person would believe that petitioner had committed an implied-consent offense.

Because there is sufficient evidence in the record to support the hearing officer’s findings of fact and the findings of fact support the conclusions of law, the trial court erred by reversing the hearing officer’s revocation of petitioner’s driving privileges. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s order.