On March 1, it was reported that the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that police are legally allowed to take blood samples without a warrant from drivers who are found to be unconscious. However, there are only certain circumstances where this can be done.
Blood samples are only allowed to be taken without a warrant or consent if a delay in collecting the blood could lead to the destruction of evidence. For example, a person’s blood alcohol content does change, so authorities need to collect this evidence as quickly as possible. The case resulted from an incident where authorities took an unconscious man who had crashed his motorcycle into a deer to a hospital where his blood was drawn without consent and without a warrant.
If a person is accused of drunk driving, they can face a wide variety of punishments if they are convicted. Depending on the circumstances, they could face a prison sentence, fines and lose their driving privileges. If there are aggravating factors, such as being involved in a crash, they could face punishments that are even more severe, including a longer jail sentence and more expensive fines. They could also lose their job or scholarships if they are still in school.
When authorities charge a person with drunk driving, there are a specific set of protocols that they must follow. If, for example, the authorities have a person’s blood drawn without a warrant or without the person’s consent, a criminal law attorney may argue that the accused person’s rights were violated. This could potentially lead to the results being thrown out, weakening the prosecution’s case.
