“Becoming a Police State…in the Name of DUI”
Posted by Lawrence Taylor on August 30th, 2006The following is from a presiding justice’s dissenting opinion in a Pennsylvania appellate decision affirming a DUI conviction:
I must vigorously dissent from the well-written opinion of the majority, as it seems we are coming perilously close to turning a blind eye to questionable conduct by our police officers. While I acknowledge that our police officers are charged with the awesome and sometimes onerous responsibility of protecting the public, I cannot sanction the whisperings of the majority that that protection comes at the deprivation of the constitutional rights of citizenship. We do not want a police state, and it seems we are on the precipice of becoming one, in the name of DUI. I suggest that the Court, and the police, can ill afford to sanction this type of conduct.
(Emphasis added.) Fortunately, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed this lower court ruling a few days ago and, in so doing, agreed with the dissenting justice’s comments. Comes the dawn?
(Thanks to Fred Slone and Troy McKinney.)
i live in a police state florida.
i was wrongly charged and convicted.
i have done with the court part almost 3 yrs.
now i am doing dmv supervision.
i have to do much more than probation.
got to meetings no 12 alternative. have to write about topic which violates program anonymity.
they want a sponsor name.
its 2 yrs i have done a 1 1/2 yrs.
all they care about is money.
there is no reason for these apts just to hand in verifications.
i have panic about cops now don’t trust them.
it is time for reasonable dui laws, not making every traffic stop a potiental dui.
its time to say enough is enough
Comment by elf — August 18, 2009 @ 7:59 pm