State v. Lussier

Defendants in these two consolidated cases appeal the civil suspension of their driver’s licenses. At issue is whether the district court in a civil suspension proceeding may consider the constitutionality of the underlying stop, and, if so, whether the stops in these two cases were lawful. We hold that a defendant in a civil suspension proceeding may challenge the reasonableness of the underlying stop pursuant to 23 V.S.A. § 1205(h)(1), which permits the court to consider whether the police officer had reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant was driving while intoxicated. This inter*21p…