Roberts upset after Court passes on Va. DUI case

WASHINGTON -- Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. spoke out in vain yesterday against a lower-court ruling he says will "grant drunk drivers 'one free swerve'" that potentially could end someone's life.

Roberts wanted the Supreme Court to review the lower-court ruling, but he failed to persuade enough of his colleagues. The court declined to hear an appeal from Virginia officials who had their felony drunken-driving conviction of Joseph A. Moses Harris Jr. thrown out by the Virginia Supreme Court.

Richmond police were called on the morning of Dec. 31, 2005, and told that an intoxicated Harris was driving down the street. Harris failed field-sobriety tests, but the police officer did not see him break any traffic laws. The court said since the police officer did not see erratic driving behavior such as swerving, there was not a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to warrant the stop.

Tracy Thorne-Begland, Richmond's chief deputy commonwealth's attorney, said police "don't have the luxury of a scholarly analysis. They have to respond immediately to evolving situations, and when they do, I think it's prudent for them to err on the side of public safety."

The majority of the justices did not say why they did not take the case, but Roberts in a written dissent, joined by Justice Antonin Scalia, said the Virginia court's decision will put people in danger.

"The decision below commands that police officers following a driver reported to be drunk do nothing until they see the driver actually do something unsafe on the road -- by which time it may be too late," he wrote.

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The court agreed yesterday over the objections of the Obama administration to hear a new appeal from Guantanamo Bay prisoners and decide whether a judge has the power to order the release of a detainee who is not a dangerous "enemy combatant."

Until now, the government and some lower courts have maintained that a judge cannot force the release of a Guantanamo prisoner, even one who has won his legal appeal in a court hearing. The Bush administration and now the Obama administration have balked at releasing into the U.S. several Uighurs -- Muslims mainly from a region in northeastern China -- who had been held at Guantanamo. Several trial judges have ruled that they are being held wrongly, but a U.S. appeals court has blocked their release.

The court will hear the case next year.

Staff writer Reed Williams contributed to this report.