Court briefs
Court rejects case The state Supreme Court declined to hear a Fayette County drunken driving case in which a lower court ruled that the police checkpoint in which the defendant was caught was unconstitutional.
The Superior Court said that state police did not get the proper clearances to set up the checkpoint that allegedly netted Richard Paes driving under the influence on April 16, 2000.
A blood test taken after the stop showed Paes, 40, had a blood-alcohol content of .21 percent, more than twice the legal driving limit. In a non-jury trial, a Fayette County judge convicted Paes of DUI and sentenced him to nine months to five years in prison.
Paes’ lawyer appealed, challenging the constitutionality of the roadblock, and in a 2-1 ruling in November 2004, the Superior Court reversed the conviction. Since the roadblock was unconstitutional, Paes’ drunken-driving arrest effectively became non-existent.
Prosecutors asked the state Supreme Court to hear the case, but in a ruling handed down Wednesday, the court declined to do so.
District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon could not be reached for comment to determine what the commonwealth will do with the case.
Hearing scheduled
A Brownsville property owner will appear before a Fayette County judge next month to contest more than $17,000 in fines assessed by a district judge for dilapidated properties.
Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty found Ernest Liggett guilty of failing to maintain various properties that he owns throughout the borough.
In December 2004, Haggerty imposed a total fine of $17,119.50 in seven cases. The bulk of the fines came from three allegedly problematic properties along Market Street.
Judge Gerald R. Solomon will hear testimony in the summary appeal March 29 at 8:30 a.m.