Dispute over use of police cruiser's lights sharply divides Pa. Supreme Court - PennLive.com
A sharply divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld the suppression of evidence in a drunken-driving case because the state trooper who investigated the incident turned on his cruiser's emergency lights. The three-justice majority didn't outline its reasoning, issuing only a one-sentence ruling this week that backs a state Superior Court opinion that in turn affirmed a Monroe County judge's decision to suppress all evidence in the DUI case against... According to court filings, the incident that prompted the legal battle occurred around 3 a. m. on March 18, 2012, when a trooper saw Barnes drive her Jeep into a gravel area between two auto dealerships off Route 447 and turn off all her lights. The officer decided to investigate, pulled up behind the Jeep and activated the cruiser's overhead lights. After speaking with Barnes the officer concluded she was intoxicated, and later testing showed she had a blood-alcohol content of 0. 22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit, Eakin and Stevens noted in their dissenting opinions. In seeking to suppress the evidence against her, Barnes argued that by activating his cruiser's lights before approaching her the trooper had engaged in an illegal "investigative detention" that was not supported by a reasonable suspicion of... Source: www.pennlive.com
