Police may not charge drivers stopped just to obtain information, Maine court rules

From the Bangor Daily News:

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday unanimously ruled that a police officer may not charge a driver with a crime if the person initially was stopped solely because the officer was seeking information.

The court vacated the drunken driving conviction in Hancock County Superior Court of Ronald A. LaPlante, 53, of Bangor. He was arrested after a Maine State Police trooper stopped him to ask whether he had been passed by a suspected speeder.

Justices heard oral arguments in the case in June when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court convened at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor.