Columbus, Kan. ? Several Cherokee County drunken-driving cases are being thrown out after a judge found that sheriff’s deputies illegally detained some of those who had been stopped.

The county attorney’s office says other cases are being dismissed because for several months last year, deputies used equipment that was not certified to measure blood-alcohol content.

Cherokee County Attorney John Bullard said the sheriff’s department has changed its policy, which called for deputies to always detain anyone suspected of driving under the influence. Also, he said, deputies are now using equipment that will stand up in court.

A number of cases have been dismissed, and Bullard said several more will be dropped in the next few months. He said the number of people suspected of driving under the influence who were detained under the old policy is “more than a handful.”

A defense attorney in one drunken-driving case argued for dismissal based on a 2001 Kansas Supreme Court ruling that it was unconstitutional to automatically jail DUI suspects for a fixed period of time after an arrest.

“That’s how it came to everyone’s attention,” Bullard said. “It went like wildfire among the attorneys.”

Bullard said the sheriff’s department has since eliminated the automatic, mandatory detention periods.

He also said the sheriff’s department and other police agencies were notified of the Supreme Court case several years ago. He said he was unsure how the ruling came to be disregarded in subsequent years.

In the ruling, the court found that mandatory detention policies violate the state constitution’s requirement that defendants be allowed to see a judge and make bail “without unnecessary delay.”

The ruling allows officers to continue to make individual determinations about detention based on personal observations, but a blanket policy is not allowed.