After being stopped at a traffic safety checkpoint, Kyle Moss was charged by accusation with two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol. Moss was found guilty in a bench trial on stipulated facts, and he appeals, asserting as his sole enumeration of error the denial of his motion to suppress. He contends that the State failed to establish that the checkpoint had a valid purpose when viewed at the programmatic level, in accordance with the Georgia Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Williams v. State, 293 Ga. 883 750 SE2d 355 2013, and Brown v. State, 293 Ga. 787 750 SE2d 148 2013.1 In denying Moss’ motion to suppress, the trial court explicitly found that at the programmatic level, the testimony indicated that the purpose for the checkpoints is to check licenses, the drivers’ conditions, and vehicle registration. Because this finding was supported by some evidence, we affirm.
In Williams and Brown, supra, both decided on the same day, our Supreme Court held that the State must show that the law enforcement agency’s checkpoint program had an appropriate primary purpose other than ordinary crime control – a purpose examined at that programmatic level, rather than by trying to determine the motives of the supervisor who implemented and the officers who conducted the particular checkpoint at issue. Cit. Brown, supra, 293 Ga. at 798-799 2 f; see also Williams, supra, 293 Ga. at 886-887 2. With regard to the primary purpose of the law enforcement agency’s overall checkpoint program, the State must show that at that programmatic level . . . the agency has not authorized vehicle checkpoints primarily for general crime control but rather for an appropriately limited purpose like traffic safety. Citations, punctuation, and footnote omitted. Brown, supra, 293 Ga. at 798-799 2 e. Brown also notes the appropriate standard of review: if the trial court’s factual determination was supported by some evidence and therefore not clearly erroneous, the court’s order on the motion to suppress should be affirmed. Id. at 788; see also Williams, supra, 293 Ga. at 889 2 a We must defer to that finding if there is any evidence in the record to support it. Cit.
