Virginia's the Place to Drink and Drive

The U. S. Supreme Court recently refused to hear a lower court ruling that threw out a Virginia DUI conviction based on a traffic stop after an anonymous tipster called police to rat on the drunk driver.

The police officer responding to the tip observed no conduct of the accused that would lead him to believe the tipster was correct. A mere anonymous tip is not enough to allow the police to pull over a suspected drunk driver. In essence, drunk drivers in Virginia get one free swerve before a law enforcement officer is justified in pulling them over.

In a written dissent on the question of accepting the case for review, Chief Jusitce John Roberts said "the dangerous consequences of this rule are unavoidable." Roberts added, "But the police should have every legitimate tool at their disposal for getting drunk drivers off the road. I would grant certiorari to determine if this is one of them."

For more on this see the copyrighted AP story at WATE.COM.

Virginia does not have a dram shop law.