The ruling, released Friday, also limits the power wielded by the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC) in punishing servers and eateries suspected of violating state liquor laws.

From now on, undercover officers may not apply drunken-driving standards, such as a flushed face or unsteadiness, to determine if a waiter has served too many drinks to a customer, Justice Jill Parrish wrote in a decision involving Due South's private club, Southern X-posure in Murray.

Justices said that police must have some circumstantial evidence that a suspected drunk poses a danger to himself or others before a citation for public intoxication may be issued.

The high court provided examples from Texas cases as to what kind of drunken behavior constitutes endangerment: an individual walking down the middle of a street, resisting arrest or sleeping in a car in front of a lounge.

"The ruling affects all new cases and pending cases before the DABC," said Assistant Attorney General Thom Roberts. "From this point forward, officers and the DABC will have to tailor their evidence to make sure they meet the standard defined by the court."

From 2002-2007, the DABC prosecuted 660 liquor-violation cases. Clubs found in violation face fines, suspension of liquor license or closure.

Southern X-posure attorney Glenn Bronson said police and the DABC "have had considerable discretion in applying the law - and they've taken full advantage of that."

The 22-page ruling sends the case, presided over by Judge Dennis Frederick, back to 3rd District Court. Another judge will be assigned because Frederick has retired.

The case involved a single-car rollover in April 2002 that killed Johnny Harris, 50. The club was cited for over-serving Harris and driver Bryan Lynn Korth earlier that same evening. Korth, 32, was sent to prison for three years after pleading guilty to third-degree automobile homicide.

Weeks after the fatal accident, the club was again cited, this time in an undercover sting, for serving alcohol to several patrons police deemed were intoxicated.

The club maintained that two customers had a designated driver and another had called a cab. But the DABC found that the men were served too much alcohol at the club, regardless of whether they got behind the wheel of a car.

The justices, however, rejected the state's contention that laws against public intoxication are akin to state statutes that define driving under the influence as having a blood alcohol level of .08 percent.

"Under this interpretation, every person with a .08 blood alcohol level poses a speculative possibility of harm and satisfies the public intoxication standard," said the ruling. "But this is not what the Legislature intended."