November 14, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ --
Blood Draws of Suspected San Antonio Drunk Drivers Have Started
Article provided by Rush & Gransee, L.C.
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www.southtexaslawfirm.com/CM/Custom/TOCCriminalDefense.asp
Texas Senate Bill 328, which became effective September 1, 2009, expands police power in Texas for Mandatory Warrantless Blood Tests. The main thrust of the new DWI legislation is to amend section 724.017 so that a police officer can do a mandatory warrantless blood draw if a person is arrested for DWI and the person refuses to give a voluntary specimen, and:
-Someone was injured in an accident that required transportation to a hospital, or
-There was a child passenger, or
-It is the suspect?s third DWI
Under the law in effect prior to September 1, 2009, mandatory blood draws were only permissible when someone was seriously injured by the suspected drunk driver.
S.B. 328 allows any magistrate who is a state-licensed attorney to sign and issue a blood search warrant. Under the previous law, police could only receive blood search warrants from a judge ? a potentially time-consuming task. With approved magistrates already at police stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week, such search warrants will be much easier to obtain.
This change in the law will have many people being forced to give a blood sample. Blood samples will raise numerous defensive issues that were not normally litigated in DWI cases involving breath samples. For example, if the arm where the blood sample is taken is cleaned with alcohol, it can falsely give an elevated reading. In addition, a trial involving blood draws will likely take one to two extra days as compared to a breath sample case; this will cause a backlog in the San Antonio courts that hear DWI cases.
Reaction to the New Law
Texas has long ranked near the top in alcohol-related accidents and deaths. While government officials and police officers feel that this new law will go a long way toward limiting the number of fatal accidents on Texas roads, some citizens are worried that the law goes a long way toward limiting personal liberties, too.
Online message boards overflow with phrases like "police state" and fear that officers will be undertrained, unsafe and overzealous. Civil rights groups have also joined the swell of opponents, claiming that the new law will violate individuals' right to privacy.
Texas is one of the first states to take such an offensive approach to combating DUI/DWI cases. If it is successful, there is a good chance states across the country will jump onboard with programs like the one in effect in San Antonio.
Article provided by Rush & Gransee, L.C.
Visit us at
www.southtexaslawfirm.com/CM/Custom/TOCCriminalDefense.asp---
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