Supreme Court: Officer wrongly detained student in MIP case

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana Supreme Court says a University of Montana campus police officer was wrong to continue to detain and question a student suspected of underage drinking without advising her of her right against self-incrimination.

The court sent the case back to Missoula Municipal Court saying the judge wrongly denied Marcy Kroschel's motion to suppress evidence of her age and date of birth, ruling the officer violated her Miranda rights.

An attorney for the Associated Students of the University of Montana has said they sought clarity on the law after handling similar MIP cases.

The state argued the officer was only seeking Kroschel's name and date of birth, information that is not inherently incriminating.