Post by Origanalist on Jun 27, 2016 4:34:00 GMT -8
Well, I guess we should be grateful. But the fact that this even needs to be ruled on shows the police state is out of control. (my words)
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Supreme Court Rules Warrantless Forced Blood Draws for DUI Unconstitutional
Jay Syrmopoulos June 23, 2016
Washington, D.C. — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that police can’t forcibly draw blood from individuals suspected of drunken driving without a warrant. This is a huge win for advocates of civil liberties. However, they continued to allow breath tests without a warrant — as the court considered them less intrusive.
The ruling stemmed from three cases in Minnesota and North Dakota in which drivers challenged “implied consent” laws as a violation of the Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. The laws had previously withstood challenges in state courts.
Although drivers in all 50 U.S. states can have their licenses revoked for refusing drunk driving tests, today’s ruling specifically affects 11 states that have laws that impose criminal penalties beyond license suspension for such refusals.
According to a report by Associated Press:
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said breath tests do not implicate “significant privacy concerns.” Unlike blood tests, breathing into a breathalyzer doesn’t pierce the skin or leave a biological sample in the government’s possession, he said.
Alito compared blowing into a breath test machine to using “a straw to drink beverages,” which he called “a common practice and one to which few object.” He noted that the high court has previously declined to require a warrant for collecting DNA samples by rubbing a swab on the inside of a person’s cheek or scraping underneath a person’s fingernails to find evidence of a crime.
Six justices agreed with Alito’s opinion on breath tests, though Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately to say he would have found both tests valid without a warrant under the Constitution. Thomas called any distinction between breath and blood tests “an arbitrary line in the sand.”
Other states that have criminalized a driver’s refusal to take alcohol blood or breath tests include Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.
Read more at thefreethoughtproject.com/supreme-court-rules-forced-blood-draws/#0Wkper77OsI7G32y.99
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Supreme Court Rules Warrantless Forced Blood Draws for DUI Unconstitutional
Jay Syrmopoulos June 23, 2016
Washington, D.C. — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that police can’t forcibly draw blood from individuals suspected of drunken driving without a warrant. This is a huge win for advocates of civil liberties. However, they continued to allow breath tests without a warrant — as the court considered them less intrusive.
The ruling stemmed from three cases in Minnesota and North Dakota in which drivers challenged “implied consent” laws as a violation of the Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. The laws had previously withstood challenges in state courts.
Although drivers in all 50 U.S. states can have their licenses revoked for refusing drunk driving tests, today’s ruling specifically affects 11 states that have laws that impose criminal penalties beyond license suspension for such refusals.
According to a report by Associated Press:
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said breath tests do not implicate “significant privacy concerns.” Unlike blood tests, breathing into a breathalyzer doesn’t pierce the skin or leave a biological sample in the government’s possession, he said.
Alito compared blowing into a breath test machine to using “a straw to drink beverages,” which he called “a common practice and one to which few object.” He noted that the high court has previously declined to require a warrant for collecting DNA samples by rubbing a swab on the inside of a person’s cheek or scraping underneath a person’s fingernails to find evidence of a crime.
Six justices agreed with Alito’s opinion on breath tests, though Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately to say he would have found both tests valid without a warrant under the Constitution. Thomas called any distinction between breath and blood tests “an arbitrary line in the sand.”
Other states that have criminalized a driver’s refusal to take alcohol blood or breath tests include Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.
Read more at thefreethoughtproject.com/supreme-court-rules-forced-blood-draws/#0Wkper77OsI7G32y.99
