Missouri v. McNeely: The Destruction of Implied Consent Law?

Orange County DUI lawyers

On April 17, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Missouri v. McNeely (2013) 133 S.Ct. 1552. The decision caught the attention of DUI Attorneys in Orange County because it may be the death knell of California’s implied consent law. In McNeely, the defendant was arrested for DUI and was read implied consent—he was told that by law he must take a breath test or blood test to determine his blood-alcohol level. McNeely refused to take any test and the police conducted a forced blood draw. 

McNeely’s DUI Attorney brought a suppression motion asking the court to suppress the blood test result. The DUI Lawyer argued that, in spite of the implied consent law, there was plenty of time to get a warrant before taking McNeely’s blood and failure to get a warrant was a violation of the 4^th Amendment. The United States Supreme Court reviewed the case Schmerber v. California, (1966) 384 U.S. 757. In Schmerber a defendant was arrested for drunk driving after he was involved in an accident. The police officer on the scene had to transport him to the hospital and investigate the accident. On top of this, the blood-alcohol evidence continued to dissipate while the officer tended to these responsibilities. In this case the Supreme Court said the officer didn’t need a warrant to take the defendant’s blood because of the exigency of the circumstances.

DUI Lawyers in Orange County  know that Schmerber is the foundation of implied consent law everywhere. The idea is that because blood-alcohol evidence dissipates, this creates an “exigency” that justifies getting the evidence without a warrant. However, the Mcneely court essentially reevaluated Schmerber and held that the ruling of exigency in Schmerber was limited to that case because of the unique circumstances involved. Therefore, each case is to be evaluated to determine if there was enough exigency to justify a warrantless search in the DUI investigation. Thus, the police are not justified in making a person arrested for DUI take a blood or breath test unless there were circumstances that created an exigency. The mere fact that the evidence is dissipating is not enough grounds to create an exigency.

Mcneely now gives Orange County DUI Attorneys grounds to suppress blood or breath tests in almost every DUI arrest. The grounds to bring a suppression motion will remain until and unless the police get a warrant before forcing a driver to take a blood or breath test. The case provides a weapon for your Orange County DUI Lawyer to fight your case during court proceedings as well as at the  DMV hearing.

If you are facing prosecution for DUI, DUI with injury, or DUI drugs call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro today at (949) 559-5500 for a free and confidential consultation. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.