United States v. Cassandra Nickerson

Appellant Cassandra B. Nickerson appeals from the District Court’s affirmation of her conviction before a Magistrate Judge for three Class B misdemeanors: operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in violation of 36 C.F.R. § 1004.23 (a)(1); operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content over 0.08% in violation of 36 C.F.R. § 1004.23 (a)(2); and failure to maintain control of a vehicle in violation of 36 C.F.R. § 1004.22 (b)(1). We affirm her conviction.

I. Background

On January 6, 2008, at about 10:20 p.m., United States Park Police Officer April Ramos responded to an incident involving a car hitting a curb in the Presidio of San Francisco. At the scene, Officer Ramos saw Nickerson standing next to a disabled vehicle. After Nickerson failed field sobriety tests and preliminary blood alcohol screening tests, Officer Ramos placed her under arrest and transported her to the police station.

At the police station, Officer Ramos conducted a breath test on Nickerson and then placed her in a holding cell. Unbeknownst to Nickerson, a motion-sensitive surveillance camera captured her time in the holding cell. There was no sign posted to warn…