WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court cast doubt Tuesday on the authority of a police officer to pull over a suspected drunken driver based solely on a caller’s tip.
Over strong dissent by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court let stand a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that held a police officer can follow but cannot stop a suspected drunken driver’s car until he sees it do something suspicious, such as swerve in a lane. “The effect of (this) rule will be to grant drunk drivers ‘one free swerve’ before they can be pulled over by the police,” Roberts said. “It will be difficult for an officer to explain to the family of a motorist killed by that swerve that the police had a tip that the driver of the other car was drunk, but that they were powerless to pull him over, even for a quick check.”
The Supreme Court’s action is not a formal ruling, and it does not require other states to follow Virginia’s lead. But the case is likely to encourage more similar legal challenges. Los Angeles Times
