State v. Trane

In State v. Trane, 2002 UT 97, 57 P.3d 1052, the Court evaluated whether officers had probable cause to arrest Trane for public intoxication without a warrant. In that case, two officers responded to a disturbance complaint and found Trane outside a convenience store in the middle of the night. They immediately noticed that he had slurred speech, that he appeared unsteady, and that he smelled of alcohol. The Court rejected Trane's argument that there was no evidence of endangerment under the public intoxication statute because when the officers approached Trane, he "puffed his chest out and took a defensive posture similar to a boxer." This aggressive behavior made the officers "fear for their safety." Thus, in determining whether there was probable cause to believe that Trane was violating the public intoxication statute, we looked for actual evidence of endangerment based on the circumstances.