Court: Drawing DWI suspect blood without warrant unconstitutional
It’s unconstitutional for police officers to draw the blood of drunken driving suspects without a warrant, an appeals court has found.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals concluded Wednesday that the nonconsensual search of a DWI suspect’s blood without a warrant violates the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Police officials did not immediately respond to questions about the ruling Wednesday, but during past no-refusal weekends, a magistrate judge has been available to sign warrants for officers wanting to draw blood from a suspect.
The decision comes after the state filed an appeal challenging a decision by the trial court and another appeals court to suppress the analysis of a blood sample taken from David Villarreal when he was arrested and charged with DWI in 2012 in Nueces County.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/court-drawing-dwi-suspect-blood-without-warrant-un/njGYD/
