Opinion ID: 2190434
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Tarbert

Text: The police department of York Township, York County, established a roadblock on a county road in the early morning hours of July 30, 1983. The purpose of the roadblock was to check all motorists travelling in either direction on the road to determine if they were driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages. The two police officers assigned to the roadblock were in uniform and had driven to the site in marked police cars. Their procedure was to stop a vehicle, ask to see the operator's license and registration, and attempt to ascertain the existence of any clues that would lead them to believe that the driver might be under the influence of alcohol. When appellee Joseph D. Tarbert was stopped, the police officer who had stopped him noticed the odor of alcohol emanating from Tarbert's vehicle and observed that Tarbert's eyes were slightly bloodshot. The officer also observed that Tarbert appeared confused and that he took several seconds to produce his license and registration. The officer asked Tarbert to pull off the highway and park beside a police car. After Tarbert emerged from his car the officer approached Tarbert's vehicle and noticed an open bottle of beer near the driver's seat. The police officer then asked Tarbert to submit to three field-sobriety tests, two of which he failed. As a result, Tarbert was placed under arrest and taken to the police station where he was advised of his rights and given a breathalyzer test. The breathalyzer reading was .12 percent. Tarbert signed a copy of the test results and was released. After a jury trial before the Court of Common Pleas of York County, Tarbert was convicted of driving with a blood alcohol level of .10 percent or more in violation of section 3731(a)(4) of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731(a)(4) (Supp.1987). He was sentenced to thirty days to twelve months' imprisonment and assessed a fine and the costs of prosecution. On direct appeal a panel of the Superior Court reversed the judgment of sentence, holding that the stop of Tarbert's vehicle pursuant to the roadblock violated Article I, section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Commonwealth v. Tarbert, 348 Pa.Super. 306, 502 A.2d 221 (1985). This Court subsequently granted the Commonwealth's petition for allowance of appeal.