Com. v. Hlubin, M., 951 WDA 2015

On Sept. 28–29, 2013 a West Hills DUI Task Force sobriety checkpoint was conducted on Steubenville Pike in Robinson Township, Allegheny County.
The Task Force is made up of officers from 15 municipalities; Sergeant Douglas Ogden (Moon Twp.) coordinated checkpoints and was present; Robinson Township passed a 2003 resolution authorizing participation.
Appellant Molly Hlubin was stopped at the checkpoint, smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, admitted to drinking, performed poorly on standardized field sobriety tests, and consented to a blood draw that yielded a .152% BAC.
Hlubin was charged with two counts of DUI (75 Pa.C.S. §§ 3802(a)(1), (b)). She moved to suppress; the motion was denied. At a non‑jury trial the court admitted the suppression hearing testimony and lab results and convicted her.
On appeal Hlubin challenged (1) legality of the Task Force under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act (ICA), (2) Sergeant Ogden’s jurisdiction under the Municipal Police Jurisdiction Act (MPJA), and (3) whether Officer Sicilia had probable cause to arrest or request a chemical test.
The trial court and Superior Court held the Task Force’s creation was not proved under the ICA (resolution ≠ ordinance), but Ogden lawfully acted at the checkpoint based on Robinson Township’s request for assistance (MPJA §8953(a)(3)); probable cause for arrest existed under the totality of circumstances.

Issue	Appellant's Argument	Commonwealth's Argument	Held
1. Legality of Task Force under ICA	Task Force lacked a valid intergovernmental agreement because municipalities did not adopt required ordinances (only resolutions/unsigned agreements).	Task Force form/operation irrelevant; MPJA authorizes officers to act outside home jurisdiction.	Trial court erred in finding Task Force lawfully created; record lacked ordinances adopting a joint cooperation agreement.
2. Ogden's jurisdiction to stop/detain at checkpoint (MPJA)	Ogden, a Moon Twp. officer, had no authority to detain persons in Robinson Twp. absent an MPJA exception.	Ogden was present at checkpoint at Robinson Twp.’s request to assist; MPJA §8953(a)(3) applies.	Ogden had authority under MPJA §8953(a)(3); even if technical violation, suppression not warranted under totality/good-faith analysis.
3. Probable cause for arrest and chemical test	Officer Sicilia’s observations/tests were insufficient/unreliable to establish probable cause.	Officer Sicilia observed odor, glassy eyes, poor HGN and other FST performance; plus admission to drinking and BAC .152%.	Officer Sicilia had probable cause based on totality of circumstances; trial court’s credibility findings upheld; chemical test issue waived on appeal.

Commonwealth v. West, 937 A.2d 516 (Pa. Super. 2007) (standard of review for suppression denials)
Commonwealth v. Worthy, 957 A.2d 720 (Pa. 2008) (sobriety checkpoint constitutionality and limits)
Commonwealth v. Bradley, 724 A.2d 351 (Pa. Super. 1999) (exclusionary rule applied to MPJA violations)
Commonwealth v. Chernosky, 874 A.2d 123 (Pa. Super. 2005) (case-by-case test for suppression after MPJA violation)
Commonwealth v. O’Shea, 567 A.2d 1023 (Pa. 1989) (approach adopted for assessing exclusionary rule application)
Commonwealth v. Lehman, 870 A.2d 818 (Pa. 2005) (MPJA grants limited extraterritorial police authority)
Commonwealth v. Salter, 121 A.3d 987 (Pa. Super. 2015) (probable cause for DUI from odor, glassy eyes, admissions, and poor FST performance)