SOTUS rules cops can take blood without permission if you're unconscious
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  SOTUS rules cops can take blood without permission if you're unconscious
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Author Topic: SOTUS rules cops can take blood without permission if you're unconscious  (Read 4376 times)
dead0man
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« on: June 27, 2019, 01:58:57 PM »

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JUSTICE ALITO announced the judgment of the Court
and delivered an opinion, in which THE CHIEF JUSTICE,
JUSTICE BREYER, and JUSTICE KAVANAUGH join.
In this case, we return to a topic that we have addressed
twice in recent years: the circumstances under which a
police officer may administer a warrantless blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) test to a motorist who appears to
have been driving under the influence of alcohol. We have
previously addressed what officers may do in two broad
categories of cases. First, an officer may conduct a BAC
test if the facts of a particular case bring it within the
exigent-circumstances exception to the Fourth Amendment’s general requirement of a warrant. Second, if an
officer has probable cause to arrest a motorist for drunk
driving, the officer may conduct a breath test (but not a
blood test) under the rule allowing warrantless searches of
a person incident to arrest.
Today, we consider what police officers may do in a
narrow but important category of cases: those in which the
driver is unconscious and therefore cannot be given a
breath test. In such cases, we hold, the exigentcircumstances rule almost always permits a blood test without a warrant. When a breath test is impossible,
enforcement of the drunk-driving laws depends upon the
administration of a blood test. And when a police officer
encounters an unconscious driver, it is very likely that the
driver would be taken to an emergency room and that his
blood would be drawn for diagnostic purposes even if the
police were not seeking BAC information. In addition,
police officers most frequently come upon unconscious
drivers when they report to the scene of an accident, and
under those circumstances, the officers’ many responsibilities—such as attending to other injured drivers or passengers and preventing further accidents—may be incompatible with the procedures that would be required to obtain a
warrant. Thus, when a driver is unconscious, the general
rule is that a warrant is not needed
.
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Just Passion Through
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« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2019, 04:14:02 PM »

Boo, Stephen Breyer!
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ERM64man
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« Reply #2 on: June 28, 2019, 09:39:56 PM »

Odd that Gorsuch was to the left of Breyer.
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Sestak
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« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2019, 10:24:26 PM »


This happens all the time on this specific sort of case.
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ERM64man
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« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2019, 10:50:45 PM »


On a criminal justice case not involving capital punishment?  Not remotely surprising. 

Gorsuch was actually more of a swing vote in 5/4 cases than Roberts was this year, though they clearly have different issues they swing on (perceived abuse of govt power vs. striving not to look overtly political).
In criminal justice cases, Thomas is the most pro-state.
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BRTD
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« Reply #5 on: June 29, 2019, 01:54:46 PM »

Scalia was actually kind of pro-civil liberties too, if he had lived I wouldn't be surprised if he had ruled as Gorsuch did.
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politicallefty
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« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2019, 01:40:18 PM »

Scalia was actually kind of pro-civil liberties too, if he had lived I wouldn't be surprised if he had ruled as Gorsuch did.

I completely agree. Scalia was actually really awesome on cases like these. It's interesting that Gorsuch is somewhat taking up his jurisprudence. That's actually not the disaster we could have had. I wish Breyer had retired when Obama still had the Senate. He's by far the most disappointing of the liberal justices and I have a hard time making sense of some of his reasonings.
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ERM64man
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« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2019, 09:48:57 AM »

Scalia was actually kind of pro-civil liberties too, if he had lived I wouldn't be surprised if he had ruled as Gorsuch did.
Scalia likely would have done the same thing as Gorsuch.
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brucejoel99
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« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2019, 02:14:58 PM »

Great, so how long before the cops can just knock you unconscious & take warrantless blood/DNA?
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dead0man
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« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2019, 02:48:36 PM »

Great, so how long before the cops can just knock you unconscious & take warrantless blood/DNA?
that's the fear....

cop-can I have some blood so I can make sure you get in trouble for something
citizen-no, I'm good
cop- <bonk with baton on head>-I'll ask one more time, can I have some blood?
citizen-<slumps to floor>
cop-sweet, get the syringe Bob!
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CrabCake
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« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2019, 10:32:18 AM »

Didn't a nurse get arrested a few years back for refusing to let her patient to be blood tested without a warrent?

disturbing stuff
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Tintrlvr
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« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2019, 07:07:10 PM »


Breyer's signature judicial philosophy is that he trusts the government and generally doesn't think it's the job of courts to second-guess regulatory decisions (including the police), so this is exactly the type of case where he'd be on "the right".
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