Anonymous tips alleging DUI: Supreme Court refuses case
In the recent DUI case of Virginia v. Harris (PDF), the United States Supreme Court refused to hear a case regarding the Virginia Supreme Court's decision to reverse a drunk driving conviction because the police officer who stopped Harris did so based on an anonymous tip and he did not witness any swerving or motor vehicle violations.
The highest court in Virginia ruled that stopping Harris without observing any erratic or illegal operation, based solely on the anonymous tip, violated his 4th Amendment constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure. It seems that by deciding not to hear the case, the U.S. Supreme Court was essentially tacitly agreeing with the Virginia court. However, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Justice Antonin Scalia strongly dissented with the majority decision of the Court. The dissenting justices claim that
[t]he effect of the rule below will be to grant drunk drivers ‘one free swerve’ before they can legally be pulled over by police...
In numerous cases, Massachusetts courts had previously established that an anonymous tip generally cannot justify a motor vehicle stop by police. However, this general rule is not without exception and, in some cases, the police will be justified in stopping a motor vehicle based on a citizen's report, even where the officer might not have observed erratic or dangerous driving. Nevertheless, this is an important issue in any Massachusetts DUI case and a skilled attorney may be able to suppress evidence and obtain a dismissal or not guilty verdict on the basis that an anonymous tip did not provide sufficient justification to infringe on a driver's constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches or seizures.
