North Dakota v. Van Der Heever
Annotate this CaseThe State appealed a district court order granting Marco Van Der Heever’s motion to suppress evidence, arguing the officer had reasonable suspicion to stop Van Der Heever’s vehicle. Van Der Heever was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicating liquors. He moved to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of his vehicle being stopped by law enforcement. The district court held a hearing, where Sergeant Cory Mortensen provided the sole testimony. Mortensen testified he was contacted by dispatch to respond to a possibly impaired driver at approximately 12:30 a.m. on June 28, 2020. Dispatch informed him that the reporting party, John Towes, stated a silver F-150 pickup was traveling on Central Avenue in Walhalla, North Dakota, stopping and reversing in the middle of the road. Towes reported the driver’s actions caused him to stop and reverse his vehicle to avoid being hit by the F-150. Mortensen testified that Central Avenue was the road between the two bars in Walhalla, and that Towes reported the F-150 was parked “up town at the local bar all afternoon.” Mortensen stated that he was personally familiar with Towes from prior community contacts. After receiving Towes’ phone number from dispatch, Mortensen called him. Towes identified the driver as male and believed he was probably impaired. Towes did not know where the F-150 was located at that time, but called back shortly after and said the vehicle was parked on 7th Street, just north of Delano Avenue. Towes was parked down the road, watching the F-150, and he told Mortensen the driver of the F-150 was outside of his parked vehicle. After the suppression hearing, the district court granted Van Der Heever’s motion to suppress, concluding that Mortensen should have corroborated some of Towes’ report before stopping Van Der Heever’s vehicle. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court misapplied the law when it concluded Mortensen needed to further corroborate Towes’ information. Under the totality of the circumstances, Mortensen had reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, and the court erred by granting Van Der Heever’s motion to suppress evidence.
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