TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 27, 2019
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer joined with conservatives Thursday in a decision that allows police in most circumstances to obtain a blood draw from an unconscious motorist without getting a warrant, the ABA Journal reports. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the plurality opinion, saying the blood draw is generally permitted under the “exigent circumstances” exception to the Fourth Amendment’s general requirement of a warrant. The exception allows warrantless searches to prevent the dissipation of evidence, which consists of the dissipation of blood alcohol from metabolic processes in drunken-driving cases.