Chapter Two: The Case On February 7, 2003, a University of Minnesota police officer pulled over a car for a traffic violation on University Avenue in Minneapolis. University Avenue is a one- way street with three lanes of traffic. There is a paved bicycle lane next to the right curb. The officer parked his squad car behind the stopped car and turned on his emergency lights. In doing so, his squad car partially occupied the right lane of traffic. The officer got out of his squad car and went to talk to the driver of the stopped vehicle. While walking back to his squad car, the officer saw a vehicle coming toward him on University Avenue in the center lane. This approaching vehicle, driven by Anderson (the defendant), had signaled a lane change and moved into the center lane to avoid the officer and his squad car. Believing that Anderson’s vehicle passed too close to him and his stopped squad car, the officer got into his squad car, pursued Anderson, and then stopped him. The officer told Anderson that he broke the Move Over Law (Minn. Stat. §169.18, subd. 11). The officer believed that Anderson was in violation of this law because he thought it was illegal for Anderson to pass the stopped squad car without allowing “a buffer (extra) lane of traffic” between the two vehicles. When the officer was talking to Anderson, he thought that Anderson might be drunk and gave him a breath test to be sure. Due to the test result, the officer arrested Anderson for impaired driving. The state charged Anderson with Driving While Impaired (DWI) in the Fourth Degree (driving with an alcohol concentration of .10 or more, 2002 law). He was not charged with breaking the Move Over Law. Facts from Minnesota v. Anderson, MN Supreme Court A03-290. July 29, 2004.
Chapter Two: The Case On February 7, 2003, a University of Minnesota police officer pulled over a car for a traffic violation on University Avenue in Minneapolis. University Avenue is a one- way street with three lanes of traffic. There is a paved bicycle lane next to the right curb. The officer parked his squad car behind the stopped car and turned on his emergency lights. In doing so, his squad car partially occupied the right lane of traffic. The officer got out of his squad car and went to talk to the driver of the stopped vehicle. While walking back to his squad car, the officer saw a vehicle coming toward him on University Avenue in the center lane. This approaching vehicle, driven by Anderson (the defendant), had signaled a lane change and moved into the center lane to avoid the officer and his squad car. Believing that Anderson’s vehicle passed too close to him and his stopped squad car, the officer got into his squad car, pursued Anderson, and then stopped him. The officer told Anderson that he broke the Move Over Law (Minn. Stat. §169.18, subd. 11). The officer believed that Anderson was in violation of this law because he thought it was illegal for Anderson to pass the stopped squad car without allowing “a buffer (extra) lane of traffic” between the two vehicles. When the officer was talking to Anderson, he thought that Anderson might be drunk and gave him a breath test to be sure. Due to the test result, the officer arrested Anderson for impaired driving. The state charged Anderson with Driving While Impaired (DWI) in the Fourth Degree (driving with an alcohol concentration of .10 or more, 2002 law). He was not charged with breaking the Move Over Law. Facts from Minnesota v. Anderson, MN Supreme Court A03-290. July 29, 2004.