On April 16th, Illinois put its' foot down. Police are now no longer allowed to force DUI suspects to comply with having their blood drawn. Sometimes, when a person is pulled over for drunk driving, the policemen will ask the suspect to offer their arm and take a sample of their blood with a syringe. This is used in place of a breathalyzer test, which is less painful, but can also be less accurate. Yet some drivers are terrified of needles, or don't trust police to complete the blood drawing procedure correctly. The level of resistance among drivers has caused a debate among states- are police allowed to force the driver's compliance for this practice?
In all states it is illegal to refuse a police officer when he requests a blood or breath test. This will result in prosecution and punishments like fines or a longer license revocation. This Illinois case concerns whether or not it is legal to force a DUI suspect down after he or she refuses the request. In Ohio and Texas, the state law commands that drivers submit or they will be forced. Police are legally authorized to force a blood sample from anyone that they suspect of driving while intoxicated. If the man or woman does not comply with the request, they will be held down while their blood is drawn. Being squeamish about needles is not a valid excuse in these states. In Washington, the State Supreme Court sanctioned blood drawing on its own authority, so that residents of that state must also comply with getting their blood drawn for a DUI investigation.
In Illinois, the Court of Appeals refused to sanction the practice or forcing suspects down to take their blood. While it is still illegal to refuse the officer, those that do refuse will not be held down and have blood extracted from their arm. This issue was raised when a driver with the initials J.F. was forcefully held down at a hospital so that an authority could take her blood sample for a DUI conviction. The woman was outraged and brought the situation before a judge. While lab results showed that J.F.'s blood count was at about 0.285, a lower court threw out the evidence as inadmissible.
The Illinois Court's determined that the forcible blood extractions are only legal and authorized when the driver caused the death or serious injury of another motorist in an accident. Also, if the driver hits a pedestrian then his or her blood can be drawn in the same way. In the J.F. case, the officers had a reasonable cause to suspect that J.F. was drink, and explained that there was no time to get a warrant before the alcohol in her system would dissipate. Yet the appellate court showed that in a 2005 State Supreme Court precedent testing is only allowed in cases of death or injury. There is no mention of cases or even crashed where no one is hurt.
The judge on this case concluded by stating that there is no need for physical force to obtain blood in a DUI accident because the Vehicle Code of the state eliminates any advantage the DUI arrestee might gain from refusing a blood sample test. Essentially, the judge said that Illinois residents who refuse to have their blood drawn may receive a more severe punishment, but the police should not push the issue by forcing a blood drawing. Instead they should honor the person's wishes by record the refusal as one of the criminal's charges.
While J.F.'s situation happened in the hospital after a car accident, this is not always the case. Instead of having a nurse or medical technician on hand, a lot of police do the blood extraction themselves. In Utah, highway patrol officers often work hard to become medically certified so that they can draw blood from motorists. Without the medical certification, the police are supposed to take the suspect to a hospital or call in a certified technician. Some police complain that it is a simple procedure that they can do themselves and they don't want to take the time or spend the money to call a certified technician to the scene.
Police are taking a short crash course which gives them the title of a certified phlebotomist, so that they are able to draw blood without being prosecuted. Yet some people think it's dangerous that a police man, who took a class- not a certified nurse, is taking your blood. When it comes to blood and breath tests, every state is different. If you have concerns about having your blood drawn or believe that a policeman practiced the process wrong, then contact a DUI lawyer and it may help you to avoid punishments in your case.