HELENA, Mont. - Even if you're puking, the potty is private, the Montana Supreme Court has ruled.
The high court says a police officer went too far when he walked in on a young woman while she was vomiting into the toilet during a loud house party.
The 6-1 decision Tuesday said the unconstitutional intrusion into the privy means evidence that Rebekah Smith had been drinking illegally — she was only 18 at the time — could not be used to prosecute her.
Merely hearing someone vomiting behind a closed door was not sufficient reason for Dillon Police Officer Don Guiberson to open the door, the court said. The case arose from a complaint about a loud party at a Dillon apartment in October 2001. A party guest allowed officers to enter the apartment.
When Guiberson heard someone vomiting in the bathroom, he opened the bathroom door without knocking or asking permission and found Smith vomiting in the toilet.
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