Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Fourth Amendment - Maine Supreme Court ruling upholds privacy rights

I blogged about this case a little while ago; at the time, the Maine Supreme Court hadn't yet made its decision. Well, last week it ruled in favor of an intoxicated motorcyclist who'd been stopped by an officer who hoped to get information about a car the officer had seen speeding. The motorcyclist was convicted of Operating Under the Influence (OUI); and he appealed.

In the lower court, Judge Hunter (who had me handcuffed for trying to assist my husband in his "felon in possession of firearms" case) had denied the man's motion to suppress evidence of his intoxication. The Supreme Court ruled that the public safety concern (the speeding car) was not great enough to justify stopping the motorcyclist, and evidence of the OUI, gained from the stop, should have been suppressed. Here's the case! 

And here's a list of the latest Maine Supreme Court opinions.