Commonwealth v. Quaid

In Commonwealth v. Quaid, 2005 PA Super 100, 871 A.2d 246 (Pa. Super. 2005), the Superior Court held that a railroad officer did not have primary jurisdiction when he stopped the defendant for driving erratically on a state route because the testimony and evidence did not establish the requisite geographical proximity. Specifically, the officer in Quaid provided no testimony or evidence that the violation occurred "in the immediate and adjacent vicinity" of the railroad company's property to support the conclusion that the stop fell within the officer's primary jurisdiction. Quaid, 871 A.2d at 253. The officer testified only that the railroad was visible from the roadway. The officer did not provide any testimony as to the distance from the tracks to where the officer observed the defendant committing the violation, nor did the Commonwealth present any evidence regarding the presence of intervening obstacles or obstructions. The Superior Court held that mere observation of the railroad property from the roadway was not sufficient to impart primary jurisdiction upon the railroad officer and that testimony or evidence is required to show that the defendant's traffic violation occurred in the "immediate and adjacent vicinity" of the railroad property. Id. at 254.