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Superior Court uses 2-hour rule to throw out DUI |
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The Pennsylvania Superior Court issued a decision on October 24, 2006 illustrating the 2-hour rule as it relates to DUI in Pennsylvania.
In the case of Comm. v. Paul A. Segida, an officer saw a defendant in the brush by the side of the road. There was a strong smell of alcohol. The defendant took and failed field sobriety tests. His BAC following chemical testing was .326. The officer did not provide testimony related to when the defendant was last in control of the vehicle. Because the DUI statute requires that a defendant must be intoxicated within two hours of exercising control of a motor vehicle and since there was essentially no evidence that the defendant was in control of the vehicle within two hours of his chemical test and field tests, the charges were thrown out. The full text of the opinion can be found here.
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