NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Prosecutors seeking a drunken driving conviction against Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair were dealt a setback Thursday when a judge ruled the arresting officer didn't have "sufficient basis" to pull him over.
Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn granted McNair's request to suppress all evidence relating to the reason for the stop in May 2003, saying that officer Shawn Taylor's observations did not provide "specific and articulable facts that (the) defendant was driving under the influence."
"The court does not condone any defendant driving a vehicle with a (blood alcohol content) of .18 percent, but this court is compelled to follow constitutional standards and there was not a sufficient basis to justify stopping (the) defendant," Blackburn wrote.
McNair was arrested May 22 in downtown Nashville and charged with driving while intoxicated and possessing a handgun while intoxicated. McNair has a permit for the 9 mm handgun, but an intoxicated person cannot legally carry a loaded weapon in Tennessee.
Police said McNair's blood-alcohol level was 0.18 percent when he was arrested, above Tennessee's limit of 0.10 at the time. The legal limit for presumed intoxication while driving was lowered to 0.08 in July.
Earlier this month, Assistant District Attorney Dumaka Shabazz said that if Blackburn granted McNair's motion, it likely would result in the case being dismissed.
"If the stop is deemed to be illegal, then everything (would be thrown out)," he said then.
Calls to Shabazz and McNair's lawyer, Roger May, were not immediately returned.