U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Penn Yan Man's Appeal

Oct 10, 2013 12:03 AM

Lucas Day

The nation’s highest court has refused to hear the appeal of a Penn Yan man convicted of his fourth DWI four years ago.

Robert Pealer’s conviction was affirmed by the State Appellate Division in 2011 and was upheld by the state Court of Appeals earlier this year, which prompted an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. His attorney’s petition claimed Pealer's rights under the Sixth Amendment were violated when prosecutors failed to call as a witness the technician that performed the calibration procedure on the breathalyzer machine that was used. The petition also claimed officers had insufficient cause to stop Pealer the evening of his arrest in October of 2008, violating his Fourth Amendment rights.

According to the Yates County District Attorney’s office, on that October evening, Pealer was pulled over by a Penn Yan Police officer that had received a tip about Pealer's condition, observed his erratic behavior on the road, and noted an illegal sticker on the car window. Failing field sobriety tests, Pealer consented to breath analysis, which revealed his blood alcohol content to be .15, nearly twice the legal limit, and was arrested.

Pealer is currently serving the remainder of his 7 year prison sentence at the Orleans Correctional Facility and will be eligible for parole in 2015.