State v. Fuller, 556 A.2d 224 (Me. 1989). · Go Syfert
State v. Fuller, 556 A.2d 224 (Me. 1989). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
20 citation events (5 in the last 25 years) across 8 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: State of Iowa v. Jeffrey Dana Kurth (iowa, 2012-05-11)
Treatment trajectory · 1989 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1989 2007 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 7 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) State of Iowa v. Jeffrey Dana Kurth (2×)
Iowa · 2012 · confidence medium
See Mitchell, 498 N.W.2d at 694 (holding that an officer was justified in stopping a vehicle under the community caretaking exception to advise the driver that his taillight was out); see also State v. Harrison, 111 Ariz. 508 , 533 P.2d 1143, 1144 (1975) (holding a state patrol officer could properly stop a vehicle in the exercise of his public safety duties when the vehicle was weaving somewhat on the highway and the left rear tire was “bouncing”); State v. Fuller, 556 A.2d 224, 224 (Me.1989) (upholding a stop of a moving motor vehicle to advise the driver “to fix the headlights before …
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Commonwealth v. Smigliano
Mass. · 1998 · confidence medium
Many cases cited in the concurrence, identifying specific facts justifying police intervention, support our view that there must be limits on a police officer’s discretion to extend a “helping hand.” See, e.g., United States v. King, 990 F.2d 1552, 1561 (10th Cir. 1993) (driver incessantly honked his horn at accident site; officer reasonably believed this created a hazard); Crauthers v. State, 727 P.2d 9, 11 (Alaska App. 1986) (driver rolled down his window; officer reasonably believed he was requesting assistance); State v. Puig, 112 Ariz. 519, 520 (1975) (driver used hand signal; offic…
cited Cited as authority (rule) State v. Mehuren
Me. · 1991 · confidence medium
See, e.g., State v. Pinkham, 565 A.2d 318, 319-20 (Me.1989) (stop for unsafe driving); State v. Fuller, 556 A.2d 224, 224 (Me.1989) (stop for blinking headlights).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) State v. Marshall
Utah Ct. App. · 1990 · confidence medium
See Townsel v. State, 763 P.2d 1353, 1355 (Alaska Ct.App.1988) (court held stop justified when vehicle's headlight was out, a tail light was broken, the license plate and windows were obscured, and speeding); State v. Puig, 112 Ariz. 519 , 544 P.2d 201, 202 (1975) (suspicion of defective turn signals justified stop); State v. Fuller, 556 A.2d 224, 224 (Me.1989) (stop justified when blinking headlights led officer to stop vehicle for safety reasons). 4 .We do not analyze this issue under article I, section 14 of the Utah Constitution as the state constitutional issue was not sufficiently partic…
discussed Cited "see" State of Maine v. Lovejoy
Me. Super. Ct · 2022 · signal: see · confidence high
See State v. Fuller, 556 A.2d 224 (Me. 1989) (blinking headlights which officer believed were possibly defective justified stop).
discussed Cited "see" State of Maine v. Ouellette
Me. Super. Ct · 2021 · signal: see · confidence high
See State v. Fuller, 556 A.2d 224 (Me. 1989) (blinking headlights which officer believed were possibly defective justified stop).
discussed Cited "see" State of Maine v. Clardy
Me. Super. Ct · 2019 · signal: see · confidence high
See State v. Fuller, 556 A.2d 224 (Me. 1989) (blinking headlights which officer believed were possibly defective justified stop).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
STATE of Maine
v.
Gardner W. FULLER
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.
Apr 3, 1989.
556 A.2d 224
1989 Me. LEXIS 79
William R. Anderson, Dist. Atty., Patricia Worth, Asst. Dist. Atty., Belfast, for plaintiff., David M. Melesky, Winterport, for defendant.
Collins.
Cited by 19 opinions  |  Published
COLLINS, Justice.

Gardner W. Fuller appeals his conviction of operating after revocation in violation of 29 M.R.S.A. § 2298 (Class C) (Supp.1988) entered on a conditional guilty plea after the Superior Court (Waldo County; Beaulieu, J.) denied his Motion to Suppress.

In order to initiate an investigatory stop, a law enforcement officer must act on the basis of “specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion.” State v. Griffin, 459 A.2d 1086, 1089 (Me.1983). We will not disturb the trial court’s finding that the intrusion was reasonably warranted unless the record on appeal establishes that the finding is clearly erroneous. State v. LaPlante, 534 A.2d 959, 962 (Me.1987). In the present case, Officer Lindall testified that Fuller’s car approached him at approximately 6:30 p.m. on October 9, 1987 with its headlights blinking on and off four or five times within a quarter of a mile. Lindall, thinking the headlights were possibly defective, stopped Fuller to advise him to fix the headlights before getting stranded in the dark. Viewing these facts in their totality, and recognizing that the presiding justice alone passes upon the credibility and weight of the testimony and decides what inferences and deductions can reasonably be drawn therefrom, we cannot say that the Superior Court clearly erred in finding that Officer Lindall reasonably suspected that Fuller may have been in trouble. See LaPlante, 534 A.2d at 962 (finding that a lone car pulled over to the side of a major highway at night reasonably warranted a state trooper’s inquiry).

The entry is:

Judgment affirmed.

All concurring.