Commonwealth v. Leet

*91 OPINION OF THE COURT

FLAHERTY1, Justice.

The issue is whether a deputy sheriff has authority in Pennsylvania to make a warrantless arrest for motor vehicle violations committed in his presence. The trial court held that he does not have such power to arrest, and suppressed evidence seized pursuant to what the court considered to be an illegal arrest. A divided Superior Court affirmed, 401 Pa.Super. 490, 585 A.2d 1033.

On May 17, 1988, while driving a marked sheriffs vehicle in Armstrong County, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Gibbons observed the vehicle driven by Marshall Leet pass a line of traffic…