US Supreme Court Considers Forced Blood Draw From Motorists (TheNewspaper)
Monday January 14th, 2013
The nation's highest court on Wednesday considered whether police should be able to forcibly draw the blood of a motorist without a warrant. Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments in the case of Missouri v. McNeely to decide whether Tyler McNeely's constitutional rights were violated when he was taken to a hospital for a blood draw after a state patrolman accused him of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) in October 2010.
"The issue in this case is whether the state may stick a needle in the arm of everyone arrested on suspicion of drunk driving without a warrant and without consent," McNeely's lawyer, Steven R. Shapiro, argued. "Missouri's answer to that question is yes, even in routine DWI cases like this and regardless of how quickly and easily a warrant could be obtained."