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LA2 recognizes a sliding scale of exigency for DWI cases

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant’s stop by an off-duty law enforcement officer driving home who was outside her jurisdiction was valid under Virginia v. Moore. She called for assistance in handling a DWI, and a state trooper told her to stop the car. There is a sliding scale of exigency in DWI cases. State v. Stapa, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1187 (2d Cir. June 9, 2010): In Virginia v. Harris, 130 S. Ct. 10 (2009) Chief Justice Roberts, with whom Justice Scalia joined, dissented from the denial of certiorari. Justice Roberts observed: There is no question that drunk driving is a serious and potentially deadly crime, as our cases have repeatedly emphasized. See, e.g., Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444, 451, 110 S. Ct. 2481, 110 L. Ed. 2d 412 (1990) ("No one can seriously dispute the magnitude of the drunken driving problem or the States' interest in eradicating it...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 29, 2010 (boomark / email).