Civil Liberties

Supreme Court to Decide Whether DUI Blood Draws Require Warrants

Chipping away at the fourth amendment

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The U.S. Supreme Court will decide the constitutionality of involuntarily blood draws on drunken-driving suspects without a warrant. This outcome could determine the future of DUI cases in the country and whether certain states are violating a person's Fourth Amendment rights by doing so.

As widely reported, Missouri resident Tyler McNeely refused to consent to a breath or blood test after his DUI arrest, but a state patrolman ordered a phlebotomist to draw his blood anyway. The problem? He did so without first seeking a warrant from a judge.