A judge set bail at $5,000 for a South Boston man accused of being drunk when he slammed into a woman in a crosswalk at O and East 4th streets, sending her to the hospital with fractured ribs, a concussion, internal bleeding and numerous gouges to her face around 1:20 a.m. on Sunday, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports. Read more.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that when an OUI suspect is given breath tests and police get back two different readings, police have to use the lower number.
The Supreme Judicial Court has once again upheld the constitutionality of State Police roadblocks aimed at catching drunk drivers - and arresting them for any contraband they might have with them.
The court decided two sobriety-checkpoint cases today. In one, the court ruled that even though roadblocks involve "warrantless seizures" of both vehicles and their drivers, they are legal as long as they are "not arbitrary," are conducted quickly and are done according to a specific set of rules. In the second, the court ruled that sobriety checkpoints are not random sweeps for contraband - which is unconstitutional - and that police officers do not have to overlook any possible illegal items or activity when they initially check for drunkenness.
In the second case, the court ruled:
Nothing in our cases suggests that an officer participating in an initial lawful encounter with a driver must, or even should, turn a blind eye to contraband or evidence in plain view that provides reasonable suspicion that a crime has been, or is being, committed.
Complete rulings:
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