People v. Ward

Observed driving his truck in a highly erratic fashion, forcing oncoming cars off the road, George Ward was stopped and questioned by two state troopers who had followed him for about a quarter of a mile. When Ward, at their direction, stepped down from his vehicle, the officers noticed that his hands were “ shaking and fumbly,” that he “ weaved ” as he stood talking to them, that his speech was “ slurred,” that he mumbled “in an incoherent manner ”, and that his breath smelled of alcohol. Believing that he might have been drinking to excess, the officers asked him — and, according to Ward,…