State of Maine v. Worth

• Court: Superior Court of Maine
• Decided: March 20, 2009
• Docket: CUMcr-08-2360
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

t? , STATE OF MAINE v,. SUPERIOR COURT CUMBERLAND, SS. Criminal Action Docket No. CR-08-;2360 2: 51 ~_ 'c.'

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STATE OF MAINE ) Plaintiff ) ) v. ) ORDER ) KEVIN WORTH ) Defendant )

Defendant Kevin Worth is charged with criminal speeding. He has

filed a motion to suppress the evidence against him on the ground that officers of

the Oxford County Sheriff s Office were outside of their jurisdiction when they

picked him up on radar and arrested him for speeding 83 miles-per-hour in a 50

mile-per-hour zone. . . This is one of the rare cases where the parties here agree that the facts

on a motion to suppress can be stipulated. Those facts are set forth in a stipulation

dated January 27, 2009. In addition, at a conference with the court in February,

counsel stipulated to one additional fact - that at the time they encountered Worth,

Oxford deputies Ontengco and Wyman were traveling on Route 117 in

Cumberland County because that was a convenient route to get to the western

portion of Oxford County from the eastern portion of Oxford County.

This is not a case where the "fresh pursuit" statute, 30-A M.R.S.

§ 2671(2), authorized the arrest. Nevertheless, the Law Court has declined to adopt a per se rule that evidence obtained in violation of the fresh pursuit statute is

inadmissible. See,~, State v. Rideout, 2000 NIE 194, 'i1 8, 761 A.2d 288, 290.

Thus, in State v. Jolin, 639 A.2d 1062 (Me. 1994), the court concluded that a

territorial violation did not justify suppression where the arresting officer had

probable cause to arrest a driver for OUI and the officer's actions was reasonable

in light of the immediate need to prevent defendant from harming himself or

others. 639 A.2d at 1064 (officer getting coffee outside her jurisdiction observed

car swerving into wrong lane). Similarly, in State v. Pike, 642 A.2d 145 (Me.

1994), the court again declined to exclude where the officer had probable cause

and did not "intentionally disregard the territorial limits to which he was subject in

order to ferret out crime." 642 A.2d at 147 (officer outside of jurisdiction saw

vehicle pull over, approached to see if driver needed assistance, and found driver

was impaired by alcohol).

Most recently, in the Rideout case, the Law Court upheld a vehicle stop

made by an officer driving to a court appearance outside of his jurisdiction who

recognized a driver who he believed was under suspension. 2000 NIE 194, 'i1'i12, 9,

761 A.2d at 289, 291.

In this case, under the stipulated facts, the Oxford deputies had probable

cause to arrest when they tracked Worth on radar as driving 83 in a 50 mile-per­

hour zone. Moreover, under the stipUlated facts, the officers were not engaged in

2 an extraterritorial excursion to ferret out crime but were cutting across Cumberland

County because it was a convenient route to the western portion of Oxford County.

Under Rideout, an immediate threat to safety is not necessarily required to justifY

an extraterritorial stop. However, there is certainly a potential safety issue when a

person is driving 83 miles-per-hour in a 50 mile-an-hour zone.

Because, as in Rideout, the Oxford officers were not intentionally

disregarding their territorial limits to ferret out crime in another jurisdiction, the

motion to suppress is denied.

Dated: March :2-0 ,2009 Thomas D. Warren Justice, Maine Superior Court

3 STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT vs CUMBERLAND, ss. KEVIN E WORTH Docket No PORSC-CR-2008-02360 226 NEWBURYPORT TNPK ROWLEY MA 01969 DOCKET RECORD DOB: 11/15/1962 Attorney: BRIAN HAWKINS State's Attorney: ANGELA CANNON HAWKINS & BOISVERT US ROUTE #302 ROOSEVELT TRAIL PO BOX 479 BRIDGTON ME 04009-0479 RETAINED 08/21/2008

Filing Document: CRIMINAL COMPLAINT Major Case Type: MISDEMEANOR (CLASS D,E) Filing Date: 08/21/2008

Charge(s)

1 MOTOR VEHICLE SPEEDING: 30+ MPH OVER SPEED 05/16/2008 BRIDGTON LIMIT Seq 1147 29-A 2074(3) Class E

Docket Events:

09/18/2008 Charge(s): 1 TRANSFER - TRANSFER FOR JURY TRIAL EDI ON 09/18/2008 @ 18:00

TRANSFERRED CASE: SENDING COURT CASEID BRIDCCR200800708 FILING DOCUMENT - CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FILED ON 08/21/2008

Charge(s): 1 HEARING - ARRAIGNMENT SCHEDULED FOR 08/26/2008 @ 8:30

NOTICE TO PARTIES/COUNSEL Charge(s): 1 HEARING - ARRAIGNMENT WAIVED ON 08/26/2008

Party(s) : KEVIN E WORTH ATTORNEY - RETAINED ENTERED ON 08/21/2008

Attorney: BRIAN HAWKINS 09/18/2008 Charge(s): 1 PLEA - NOT GUILTY ENTERED BY COUNSEL ON 08/26/2008

TRIAL - BENCH SCHEDULED FOR 10/07/2008 @ 8:30

NOTICE TO PARTIES/COUNSEL TRIAL - BENCH NOT HELD ON 09/18/2008

TRIAL - BENCH NOTICE SENT ON 09/03/2008

Charge(s): 1 MOTION - MOTION FOR DISCOVERY FILED BY DEFENDANT ON 09/15/2008 Page 1 of 3 Printed on: 03/25/2009 KEVIN E WORTH PORSC-CR-2008-02360 DOCKET RECORD HEARING - MISDEMEANOR PLEA NOTICE SENT ON 01/28/2009

03/20/2009 MOTION - MOTION TO SUPPRESS DENIED ON 03/20/2009 THOMAS D WARREN , JUSTICE COPY TO PARTIES/COUNSEL 03/24/2009 TRIAL - JURY TRIAL SCHEDULED FOR 04/21/2009 @ 8:30 in Room No. 11

NOTICE TO PARTIES/COUNSEL 03/24/2009 TRIAL - JURY TRIAL NOTICE SENT ON 03/24/2009

A TRUE COPY ATTEST: Clerk

Page 3 of 3 Printed on: 03/25/2009