Commonwealth v. Savage

We are asked to determine whether a Vermont State trooper’s stop of a motorist in Massachusetts for driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor was lawful. Because we conclude that the stop was an unlawful extraterritorial stop, we reverse the defendant’s conviction.

The facts are not in dispute. It was a rainy evening on August 16, 1997, and Trooper David Gerard of the Vermont State police was on duty patrolling Interstate 91 in Vermont. At approximately 8:35 p.m., the dispatcher advised Trooper Gerard of *342a telephone call reporting a brown vehicle with Massachusetts registration…