Opinion ID: 1918253
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Forcible Seizure of a Suspect's Blood

Text: We are equally satisfied that, in addition to the prohibition contained in § 31-27-2.1, there are sound public policy reasons behind the requirement that a defendant consent to a test before one may be undertaken. In State v. Locke, 418 A.2d 843 (R.I.1980), a DUI case, the defendant alleged that, notwithstanding his consent to a breath test, the police subjected him to an unreasonable search and seizure. In reliance on Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966), the justices of this Court concluded that the test was reasonable and we declared our belief that the Legislature created the consent requirement of § 31-27-2.1 to prevent a violent confrontation between an arresting officer and a suspect unwilling to submit to a test of this sort. Locke, 418 A.2d at 849. These policy considerations obtain today. In this case, the state was unable to explain how medical personnel at Kent County Hospital came to agree to draw defendant's blood without her authorization and consent. Moreover, as will be discussed infra, there is no statutory authorization for the issuance of a search warrant for the seizure of bodily fluids, and the state's suggestion that there can be a valid judicially authorized warrant  is without merit. Importantly, in the majority of states that admit evidence of a defendant's BAC when the blood or urine was drawn without compliance with implied consent procedures, there exists a statute that either requires or permits the withdrawal of blood in felony DUI cases. In State v. Robarge, 35 Conn.Supp. 511, 391 A.2d 184 (1977), a case relied upon by the state in the case at bar, the Superior Court of Connecticut, Appellate Session, held that the State of Connecticut's failure to establish that the defendant-motorist consented to the taking of a blood sample that was seized at the direction of the state's medical examiner after the death of her passenger was irrelevant because consent applied only to prosecutions for DUI, not to those for vehicular homicide cases. However, Connecticut's implied consent statutedoes not prohibit the seizure of blood after a refusal, and in fact, it authorizes a test of a motorist's blood by or at the direction of the state's medical examiner after a fatal accident. [10] In addition to Connecticut, several states have amended their respective implied consent statutes in response to judicial pronouncements that the prohibition against a test in the face of a refusal applies to felony, as well as misdemeanor, offenses. Indeed, many of these jurisdictions faced issues similar to those facing us today. In State v. Bellino, 390 A.2d 1014, 1020 (Me.1978), the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, citing the great concern over the right of the State to take blood or breath samples of the motoring public, interpreted Maine's then-existing implied consent statute, and concluded that an arrest and the actual consent of the offending motorist were conditions precedent to the admissibility in both misdemeanor and felony cases, and suppressed the results of a blood test in a DUI, death resulting, case in which the blood was drawn by a nurse at the direction of a police officer. Maine's implied consent statute has since been amended, and carves out an exception for those who drink, drive, and kill. Maine's present statute [11] not only requires the withdrawal of blood from a DUI suspectinvolved in an accident resulting in death, it provides immunity for any medical technician who performs the test. [12] Likewise, Vermont's current implied consent law specifically authorizes a law enforcement officer, upon the refusal of a motorist to submit to a test, to secure a search warrant to obtain a blood sample in any DUI case resulting in serious bodily injury or death. [13] Moreover, the history of the State of New Hampshire concerning the applicability of that state's implied consent law to DUI death cases also is instructive. In State v. Berry, 121 N.H. 324, 428 A.2d 1250, 1251 (1981), the Supreme Court of New Hampshire held that the provision in that state's implied consent statute providing that, `if a person under arrest refuses    to submit to a chemical test    none shall be given, ' was applicable in DUI cases and in cases of negligent homicide, and found there to be nothing in the legislative history of the implied consent statute, to indicate that the words `none shall be given' were intended by the legislature to mean other than that no chemical test shall be administered without the accused's consent. The New Hampshire legislature amended the statute with the specific intent to eliminate the prohibition against the taking of a chemical test to determine intoxication where a person is under arrest for any offense other than a violation or misdemeanor   . State v. Wong, 125 N.H. 610, 486 A.2d 262, 273 (1984) (quoting N.H.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 563:3 (1981)). New Hampshire now has a statute requiring the testing for evidence of alcohol or drug consumption for all persons involved in a collision that results in death or serious bodily injury to any person, including all deceased vehicle occupants and any pedestrian involved in the collision, but in the case of a living driver, the officer must have probable cause to believe that the driver caused the collision. [14] Additionally, the State of Maryland's experience is almost identical to the case at bar. Prior to 1982, Maryland's implied consent statute required that certain procedural steps be taken before a chemical test was administered. In Loscomb v. State, 45 Md.App. 598, 416 A.2d 1276 (1980), the Court of Special Appeals declared the implied consent statute applicable to all DUI death offenses, including the prohibition against a compulsory test. Thereafter, the Legislature amended Maryland's implied consent statute to require a driver to submit to a chemical test in all accident cases resulting in death or serious injury to another person. It also provided immunity from liability to any medical personnel who perform the test. [15] Similarly, a survey of many other jurisdictions throughout the United States with statutes that provide that none shall be given when a driver refuses to consent to a test demonstrates that statutory authorization of some kind is necessary for the compulsory withdrawal of blood upon a refusal. Included in this survey is the State of New Mexico, where that state's Court of Appeals found that, [t]he act of obtaining a search warrant to circumvent the statutory prohibition [against the giving of a test upon a refusal]    is unavailing, and held that the implied consent statute under consideration contained no exception for a search for a driver's blood alcohol content. State v. Steele, 93 N.M. 470, 601 P.2d 440, 441 (Ct.App.1979). The court invited the Legislature to write an exception into the law and refused to encroach upon the legislative prerogatives by judicial fiat or, even, by applying constitutional exceptions to statutes specifically denying such exceptions. Id. The Legislature reacted. New Mexico's present refusal statute contains a specific exception for the issuance of a search warrantauthorizing chemical tests upon a finding of probable cause that a person was driving under the influence and caused the death or great bodily injury of another. [16] Although this Court believes it unnecessary to continue to canvass the remaining states, we find the experience of the State of Tennessee particularly relevant. That state's implied consent statute prohibits the admission of test results taken after a refusal, but contains a specific exception for the admissibility of evidence in criminal prosecutions for aggravated assault or homicide by the use of a motor vehicle for blood drawn by any means lawful, [17] including the warrantless seizure of blood based upon probable cause. Moreover, the states of Alaska, [18] Arizona, [19] Iowa, [20] Florida, [21] Indiana, [22] Michigan, [23] and Texas [24] all have statutes specifically authorizing the forcible seizure of blood in DUI cases. Further, in three states, these statutes specifically were revised in response to judicial decisions barring the forcible seizure of blood. See Pena v. State, 684 P.2d 864 (Alaska 1984); Collins v. Superior Court, 158 Ariz. 145, 761 P.2d 1049 (1988); State v. Hitchens, 294 N.W.2d 686 (Iowa 1980). Accordingly, a majority of this Court holds that under the existing statutory framework, consent is a condition precedent to admissibility. Further, the Chief Justice and I conclude that our holding in Timms furnishes direct authority for the requirement that a defendant give his or her consent in DUI, death resulting, cases before the results of blood tests may be admitted. The Chief Justice and I are not persuaded that we should revisit this holding to sustain the admissibility of blood evidence drawn pursuant to a search warrant. We are of the opinion that any changes to this mandate must emanate from the General Assembly. Further, we answer question two in the affirmative, and hold that in cases in which a motorist has refused consent, members of law enforcement are precluded from obtaining a search warrant to seize blood for alcohol or drug testing.