Source: https://www.rflaw.net/still-no-witness-required-for-blood-draw-pursuant-to-search-warrant/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 18:40:22+00:00

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The past two days, we have discussed the North Carolina Court of Appeals opinion in the case State v. Roberts, issued Tuesday. But Roberts was not the only DWI case to come out of the court of appeals on Tuesday. In the case State v. Chavez, the defendant argued that he had a right to have a witness present when his blood was taken pursuant to a search warrant under G.S. 20-16.2.
Someone who closely follows the North Carolina Court of Appeals decisions (or someone who closely follows the posts on our website) might think that this sounds very familiar. Just last month, the court of appeals issued an opinion in the case State v. Shepley, which looked at whether a blood test taken from a defendant pursuant to a search warrant after the defendant refused the breath test had to comply with the requirements of G.S. 20-16.2 (namely, the requirement of having a witness present). In that case, the court of appeals held that the blood test did not have to comply with the requirements of G.S. 20-16.2 because the results were admissible under a separate statutory provision, G.S. 20-139.1.
The defendant in Chavez again argued that G.S. 20-16.2 required a witness to be present for the defendant’s blood draw although the court had previously rejected this argument. In addition, the defendant argued that the failure to be permitted to have a witness present was a constitutional violation. The court rejected this argument, holding that the blood draw did not violate the defendant’s constitutional rights.
In Chavez, the defendant was involved in a car accident. After being involved in the accident at 2:46 a.m., the defendant called his wife, who was an attorney, but she was out of state. An officer arrived at the scene of the accident, and after investigating, arrested the defendant for impaired driving. At this time, 3:10 a.m., the passenger in the defendant’s car made another call to the defendant’s wife letting her know that he had been arrested. The defendant’s wife called around, trying to obtain a witness for the defendant. At 3:20 a.m., the defendant was informed of his rights regarding the breathalyzer. He again called his wife. At 4:02 a.m., the defendant’s wife spoke with another lawyer and asked her to be the defendant’s witness. Just minutes after this, the defendant twice refused to submit to a breathalyzer. At 4:14 a.m., a warrant was issued to obtain a blood sample from the defendant. Six minutes later, the lawyer contacted by the defendant’s wife arrived at the jail and was informed she was too late to witness the breath test. The defendant’s blood was drawn at 4:34 a.m.
On appeal, the defendant argued that he “had his rights violated when his attorney witness was not allowed to observe the blood draw and his condition even though she arrived before the blood draw had occurred.” The defendant based his argument both on a statutory violation and a violation of his constitutional rights. The defendant’s argument relied on the fact that his witness was present prior to the time of the testing, so the testing would not have been delayed for a witness to be present.
In any implied-consent offense under G.S. 20-16.2, a person's alcohol concentration or the presence of any other impairing substance in the person's body as shown by a chemical analysis is admissible in evidence. This section does not limit the introduction of other competent evidence as to a person's alcohol concentration or results of other tests showing the presence of an impairing substance, including other chemical tests.
Basically, the defendant’s constitutional arguments must fail because of defendant’s flawed contention that the State is limited to evidence of blood alcohol concentration which was procured in accordance with the procedures of N.C.G.S. §20–16.2. This defective argument results from the failure of the defendant to recognize the other competent evidence clause provided in N.C.G.S. § 20–139.1(a). We hold that none of the constitutional rights of the defendant have been violated.
because defendant’s blood was drawn pursuant to a search warrant obtained after he refused a breath test of his blood alcohol level, [defendant] did not have a right under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-16.2 to have a witness present.
As defendant’s blood draw was performed pursuant to a valid search warrant, we conclude that the trial court properly denied defendant’s motion to suppress the blood evidence and to dismiss the impaired driving charge.
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