Peters Law Firm

BIRCHFIELD vs. NORTH DAKOTA New U.S. Supreme Court case out of North Dakota that can have implications on DUI's in PA. Contrary to long standing principles that essentially allowed blood tests without first obtaining a warrant because those of us who have driver's licenses impliedly consent to allowing a blood test, urine test or breath test where probable cause exists to suspect that a person is DUI. Now, the Court in Birchfield held that police are required to obtain a se...arch warrant in order to draw a blood sample for a person suspected of DUI. Of course there's exceptions. In fact, the Court said that there's no search warrant requirement in order to obtain a breath sample from a DUI suspect. The simple answer is that States cannot prosecute a DUI suspects for refusing to submit to a warrantless blood test. The ramifications of this will be interesting. One big question is what, if anything, will happen to those cases in which a person is already serving a sentence based on a warrantless blood test. Stay tuned. See more