Opinion ID: 2823816
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Heading: The Law of Warrantless Blood Draws

Text: Â¶12Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article II, section 7 of the Colorado Constitution protect a personâs right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const. amend. IV; Colo. Const. art. II, Â§ 7; see, e.g., People v.Â Hopkins, 870 P.2d 478, 480 (Colo. 1994). A blood draw qualifies as a search that is ââsubject to the protections of the Fourth Amendment.ââ Grassi v. People, 2014 CO 12, Â¶ 23, 320 P.3d 332, 338 (quoting People v. Schall, 59 P.3d 848, 851 (Colo. 2002)); see alsoÂ Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 767 (1966) (reasoning that blood draws âplainly constitute searches of âpersons,â and depend antecedently upon seizures of âpersons,â within the meaning of [the Fourth] Amendmentâ). If a blood draw violates the Fourth Amendment, then its results constitute fruit of the poisonous tree and must be suppressed based on the exclusionary rule. Schmerber, 384 U.S. at 766â67; Mapp v.Â Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 660 (1961) (holding that the exclusionary rule must be applied in state courts). Â¶13Â Â Â Â Â Â Â In Schmerber, the United States Supreme Court articulated four criteria for determining when involuntary, warrantless blood draws may satisfy the Fourth Amendment in cases involving alcohol-related driving offenses. 384 U.S. at 770â72. We adopted the criteria in People v. Sutherland, 683 P.2d 1192, 1194 (Colo. 1984), where we described the four criteria as probable cause, relevance, exigent circumstances, and reasonableness: First, there must be probable cause for the arrest of the defendant on an alcohol-related driving offense. Second, there must be a clear indication that the blood sample will provide evidence of the defendant's level ofÂ intoxication. Third, exigent circumstances must exist which make it impractical to obtain a search warrant. Fourth, the test must be a reasonable one and must be conducted in a reasonable manner. The second and fourth criteria are usually established in these cases. Blood draws are âa highly effective means of determining the degree to which a person is under the influence of alcohol.â Schmerber, 384 U.S. at 771. Similarly, blood draws performed by hospital personnel are usually done in a reasonable manner. Id. at 771â72. Thus, these cases often turn on the whether there was probable cause and whether exigent circumstances existed that justified an involuntary, warrantless blood draw. See, e.g., Schall, 59 P.3d at 851â53 (applying the Sutherland test and focusing the majority of the analysis on the probable cause criterion).