Toops V. Case Brief

Facts

In the late evening hours of October 30, 1992, Terry Toops, Warren Cripe, and Ed Raisor were at Toops’s home in Logansport, Indiana, drinking beer. Around 3:00 a.m. the following morning the trio decided to drive to a store in town. Because he was intoxicated, Toops agreed to allow Cripe to drive Toops’s car. Toops sat in the front passenger seat and Raisor sat in the rear. Toops began to feel ill during the drive and stuck his head out the window for fresh air.

Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Day and Town Marshall Gary Layer were on routine patrol when they observed a person later identified as Toops hanging out the car window. The officers decided to investigate and made a U-turn to follow the car. Cripe saw the patrol car turn around and

The officers overtook the car and noted that Toops, whom they had originally seen hanging out of the car window, was now seated behind the steering wheel. The officers also noted that Cripe and Raisor were seated in the back seat of the car. At the officers’ request, Toops submitted to a breath test that revealed a BAC of .21%. As a result Toops was arrested and charged with various alcohol related traffic offenses. He was also charged with Criminal Recklessness, Operating a Vehicle Without a Seat Belt, and Driving Left of Center, all of which the State dismissed prior to trial. Toops was convicted on all remaining

Application/Analysis:

However because no Indiana case has specifically set forth the elements of the necessity defense. In that regard we agree with the Californian count’s holding People v. Pena (1983), 197 Cal. Rptr. 264,271, that the following requirements have traditionally been held to be prerequisites in establishing a necessity defense (The Rules)