WALLACE, Idaho – A 2019 Idaho Supreme Court ruling in Idaho v. Clarke is causing some concern for authorities across the State of Idaho, including in Shoshone County.
The precedent focuses around DUI and domestic violence specifically and rules that officers cannot make warrantless arrests for misdemeanors if law enforcement didn’t witness the crime.
In a DUI case, if an officer doesn’t see a drunk driver actually driving a car, then they cannot arrest that person. A recent DUI case in Shoshone County is a good example of this.
“It was reported that it was a single passenger pickup and two horses had been struck by the vehicle,” Shoshone County Lt. Jared Bilaski said, referring to a DUI case a few weeks ago on the Old River Road, northeast of Enaville, ID.
Both horses had to be put down due to their injuries. The driver of the car had reportedly left the scene, but was later found by authorities. The officer didn’t witness the person driving the car, which means they weren’t able to arrest that driver.
The suspect was charged with misdemeanor DUI, leaving the scene, and open container, and the suspect walked away.
This new precedent also impacts domestic violence.
“I’ve responded to multiple calls that have happened from the same residence two to three times in the night and every time I’ve gone, it’s gotten worse each time,” Lt. Bilaski said.
With domestic violence calls right now, authorities are limited to only issuing citations unless law enforcement witnesses the crime or if there’s enough evidence to charge the suspect with a felony domestic violence.
“There’s been days where you come in and the night before you could’ve made a difference and then you find out that it got worse,” Lt. Bilaski said.
If you’re a victim of domestic violence, there are always resources that can help. You can call Safe Page in North Idaho at (208) 664-9303 and you can call the Shoshone County Crisis and Resource Center at (208) 556-0500.
