Commonwealth v. Smeaton (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-127-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC‑11208 COMMONWEALTH vs. STEVEN M. SMEATON. Hampshire. March 4, 2013. ‑ July 12, 2013. Present: Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ. Search and Seizure, Motor vehicle, Special police officer. Practice, Criminal, Motion to suppress. Motor Vehicle, Operation, Operating under the influence. Police, Special police officer. Arrest. Probable Cause. Complaint received and sworn to in the Northampton Division of the District Court Department on October 12, 2010. A pretrial motion to suppress evidence was heard by W. Michael Goggins, J., and a motion for reconsideration was heard by Jacklyn M. Connly, J. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Stephen J. Sloan, Assistant District Attorney, (Thomas H. Townsend, Assistant District Attorney, with him) for the Commonwealth. Thomas Lesser for the defendant. John Sofis Scheft for Massachusetts Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, amicus curiae, submitted a brief. CORDY, J. During the early morning hours of October 11, 2010, the defendant, Steven M. Smeaton, was operating a motor vehicle on West Street, a public way in the city of Northampton, in the vicinity of Smith College (college). A campus police officer, appointed as a special State police officer pursuant to G. L. c. 22C, § 63 (§ 63), observed him driving recklessly along the portion of West Street that intersects the college campus. Just beyond the heart of the campus, the officer stopped the defendant’s vehicle. After the stop, the Northampton police arrived, placed the defendant under arrest, and charged him with operating while under the influence of alcohol in violation of G. L. c. 90, § 24 (1) (a) (1); reckless operation of a motor vehicle in violation of G. L. c. 90, § 24 (2) (a); and a marked lanes violation under G. L. c. 89, § 4A. Before trial, the defendant moved to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of the traffic stop on the ground that the campus police officer did not have the authority to effectuate the stop beyond the boundaries of the college campus. The motion was denied, but the defendant’s motion for reconsideration, heard by a different judge, was allowed. In allowing the motion, the judge essentially concluded that the offense and the stop occurred off campus, and because the college buildings abutting West Street were largely […]