The state Supreme Court on Friday reversed a lower-court decision that would have made it easier for police departments to operate across municipal boundaries.
The case involved the drunk-driving conviction of Molly Hlubin, 34, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was stopped Sept. 29, 2013, at a DUI checkpoint on Steubenville Pike in Robinson.
The checkpoint, which included officers from 16 different jurisdictions, had been put in place to try to catch drunk and impaired drivers leaving concerts at KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown.
Ms. Hlubin was stopped by a Moon officer and admitted to drinking a shot and a beer. When she had a blood-alcohol test, it showed her level to be 0.152, nearly twice the legal limit for driving.
She was charged by Robinson police with DUI.
Her attorney filed a motion to suppress the evidence against her, arguing that the multi-jurisdictional task force violated the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act (ICA) because none of the jurisdictions involved had a formal agreement to work together.
The prosecution argued that the Municipal Police Jurisdiction Act, which provides six exceptions that allow officers to work outside of their home communities, applied, and therefore the evidence against Ms. Hlubin should stay.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Thomas E. Flaherty agreed with the prosecution, and denied Ms. Hlubin’s motion to suppress.
She was found guilty of DUI in a nonjury trial and ordered to serve 30 days of intermediate punishment, probation and pay fines.
Ms. Hlubin appealed to state Superior Court, and in May 2017, it agreed with Judge Flaherty that the DUI task force was allowed to operate even without a written agreement.
However, in a 35-page opinion issued Friday, the state Supreme Court reversed the appellate panel, finding that the six exceptions to the Municipal Police Jurisdiction Act do not apply for a sobriety checkpoint, and that further, creating a formal agreement among the jurisdictions was required.
The high court also found that the Moon officer did not have authority to pull Ms. Hlubin over and therefore the evidence must be suppressed.
“The governing bodies of the 15 municipalities and the City of Pittsburgh could have each passed ordinances reflecting their understanding and agreement to permit their municipal police officers to participate in sobriety checkpoints in other (non-primary) jurisdictions,” the court wrote.
Without doing so, according to the opinion, officers would have broad latitude to cross municipal boundaries and eliminate local government officials from making decisions about how to deploy the officers that they employ.
“To conduct the type of sobriety checkpoint at issue in this case, a multi-jurisdictional task force must be authorized by a joint agreement that complies with the requirements of the ICA. Such compliance assures that DUI checkpoints allow police to generally promote public safety by removing intoxicated drivers from our roads, and ensures that the governing bodies of the participating municipalities retain local control over their police forces,” wrote Justice Christine Donohue.
Without having such an agreement, she wrote, there is no accountability to local government.
Ms. Hlubin’s attorney, Michael Steven Sherman of Pittsburgh, said he believes the ruling has broad applications relative to multi-jurisdictional police operations.
“In my opinion, the Supreme Court upheld the concept that the power in Pennsylvania belongs with the people through their elected officials and not the police,” Mr. Sherman said.
As for his client, “I would imagine the prosecution would withdraw the charges at this point,” Mr. Sherman said. “There’s no place to go because the decision made it clear the failure to comply with the ICA essentially dooms the case.”
Mike Manko, spokesman for Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., said that the office will review the opinion to decide how to proceed on Ms. Hlubin’s case and to determine whether any other cases might be affected.
Justice Sallie Updyke Mundy wrote a dissenting opinion, arguing that the charges against Ms. Hlubin were filed by the jurisdiction where the stop occurred and that her brief interaction with the Moon officer was not of the type the Municipal Police Jurisdiction Act was written to prohibit.
Paula Reed Ward: pward@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2620 or on Twitter @PaulaReedWard.
First Published: May 31, 2019, 10:48 p.m.
