In my Verdict column for this week, I examine the case of Missouri v. McNeely, in which the U.S. Supreme Court recently refused to recognize an exception to the warrant requirement for blood-testing people arrested for DWI. The stated rationale for the exception -- which the Court rejected -- was that a person's blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) steadily diminshes over time and that therefore, any delay in a blood test (for purposes of obtaining a warrant) will result in the loss of potentially critical evidence of intoxication. The column considers the compelling nature of the argument for an exigency exception here as well as the Chief Justice's alternative compromise approach.
In this post, I want to consider a different argument, separate from the apparent exigency, for recognizing an exception to the warrant requirement for DWI blood tests: the relative clarity and uniformity of what it takes to make out "probable cause" in drunk driving cases, the determination that a magistrate would be making in reviewing a police officer's warrant application.
Note first that in order to arrest a suspect for DWI, a police officer needs the same probable cause that she would need to order a blood-alcohol-concentration test of the arrested suspect. That is, the question for both the seizure of the suspect (arrest) and the search of the suspect (blood test) case is whether the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect was driving while intoxicated.
In many non-DWI situations, the determination of probable cause is a subtle matter that can accordingly benefit substantially from the neutral input of an objective magistrate. For example, an anonymous informant might say something
incriminating about a suspect, and there might also be some limited but
potentially innocent corroboration of the anonymous informant's story from subseqent surveillance, as in Illinois v. Gates. Magistrates will have an active role to play in such cases in determining whether the facts do or do not amount to probable cause, and their judgment is likely to be less invested in a particular outcome than that of a police officer who receives an anonymous tip.
Drunk driving cases, however, are different. Police develop probable cause to believe that a suspect has been operating a vehicle while intoxicated because, typically, a driver has been weaving in traffic and, once stopped, smells of alcohol, slurs his words, has bloodshot eyes, and is perhaps unable to perform basic manual tasks that would demonstrate sobriety. He may also be unwilling to breathe into a breathalyzer.
With minor variations, these are the facts that amount to probable cause for a DWI arrest and for a BAC test. The role of the magistrate is accordingly quite limited – she will look at the list of these sorts of facts and then issue a search warrant authorizing a blood test for BAC. It will be the rare case, in other words, that has a police officer concluding that there is probable cause to believe that a suspect is DWI, but a magistrate reviewing what the police officer says concludes that there is no probable cause. By now, there is practically a script for what amounts to probable cause for DWI.
Drunk driving cases, however, are different. Police develop probable cause to believe that a suspect has been operating a vehicle while intoxicated because, typically, a driver has been weaving in traffic and, once stopped, smells of alcohol, slurs his words, has bloodshot eyes, and is perhaps unable to perform basic manual tasks that would demonstrate sobriety. He may also be unwilling to breathe into a breathalyzer.
With minor variations, these are the facts that amount to probable cause for a DWI arrest and for a BAC test. The role of the magistrate is accordingly quite limited – she will look at the list of these sorts of facts and then issue a search warrant authorizing a blood test for BAC. It will be the rare case, in other words, that has a police officer concluding that there is probable cause to believe that a suspect is DWI, but a magistrate reviewing what the police officer says concludes that there is no probable cause. By now, there is practically a script for what amounts to probable cause for DWI.
There is, then, very little place for a neutral and detached magistrate to resolve ambiguity in a DWI case. Are there situations in which a DWI suspect
shows most or all of the above signs of intoxication but is in fact not
under the influence of alcohol? Of
course. The suspect may be thoroughly
exhausted (which, incidentally, can seriously impair driving capacity but does not
presently preclude technically lawful driving) or ill or may have suffered a temporary seizure or other
medical event. But that simply means
that there is sometimes probable cause to believe that a person is driving while intoxicated
when in reality he is not doing so.
Probable cause is entirely consistent with innocence; unlike guilt
beyond a reasonable doubt, it leaves in place a significant possibility of
innocence, in the interests of gathering evidence and suspects when there is a
substantial basis for concluding that a crime has actually taken place.
Notwithstanding my skepticism about the utility of a magistrate's review of probable cause in DWI blood test cases, I am prepared to acknowledge that all other things being equal, obtaining a warrant makes sense. For one thing, suspects may feel less violated by a nonconsensual blood test if a judge has authorized it, and some police officers may benefit from the supervision entailed in having to articulate probable cause to a magistrate. This is why I ultimately side with Chief Justice Roberts, who would create a limited exigency for occasions when getting a warrant would delay the blood test, rather than siding with Justice Thomas, who believes that a magistrate's review of probable cause to take a DWI blood test should never be required.
Chief Justice Roberts's opinion deserves praise and respect, I think, because he is not simply pursuing an ideological agenda (whether right- or left-wing) but is instead thinking creatively about how best to accommodate the competing interests at stake in the case. He has done this before, and his inclination to find viable solutions that parties may not have identified on their own is enormously reassuring, despite the fact that taking a firm stand on one side or the other may be more glamorous or rhetorically satisfying. I hope he will extend this inclination to other issues on which the Court will be ruling this term.
Notwithstanding my skepticism about the utility of a magistrate's review of probable cause in DWI blood test cases, I am prepared to acknowledge that all other things being equal, obtaining a warrant makes sense. For one thing, suspects may feel less violated by a nonconsensual blood test if a judge has authorized it, and some police officers may benefit from the supervision entailed in having to articulate probable cause to a magistrate. This is why I ultimately side with Chief Justice Roberts, who would create a limited exigency for occasions when getting a warrant would delay the blood test, rather than siding with Justice Thomas, who believes that a magistrate's review of probable cause to take a DWI blood test should never be required.
Chief Justice Roberts's opinion deserves praise and respect, I think, because he is not simply pursuing an ideological agenda (whether right- or left-wing) but is instead thinking creatively about how best to accommodate the competing interests at stake in the case. He has done this before, and his inclination to find viable solutions that parties may not have identified on their own is enormously reassuring, despite the fact that taking a firm stand on one side or the other may be more glamorous or rhetorically satisfying. I hope he will extend this inclination to other issues on which the Court will be ruling this term.
9 comments:
What about implied consent?
PA law says that refusing a breathalyzer test can result in a 12 month suspension.
Prof. Kolb,
Thank you, once again, for your a written Verdict column and Dorf on Law post.
A few points that you may want to consider:
1. In your Verdict column, you state: "As everyone acknowledges, a person's blood-alcohol-concentration steadily diminishes over time as soon as the person stops drinking." This is not accurate. Depending upon their drinking history (that day) and their physiology, after a person stops drinking their BAC will continue to rise for a period of time. For example. Most people who have been drinking for several hours who consume a few shots "for the road," will have a rising BAC for a period of time, before their BAC begins to fall. So, if they are stopped by an officer shortly after consuming the shots their BAC will still be rising. And, depending upon how quickly their blood is drawn, might also be rising at the time of the blood draw.
2. The McNeely case will have very little impact on the day-to-day work of DWI cops for the following reasons:
A) Many states (perhaps a majority?) do not permit nonconsentual blood draws.
B) Every (or almost every) state has implied consent laws requiring a DWI suspect's licence be suspended for a significant period of time if they refuse to consent to a blood draw. Those states also permit prosecutors to present evidence of the refusal to the jury, and argue that such refusal is powerful evidence of guilt. Thus, DWI suspects have strong incentives to agree to a blood draw.
C) In routine DWI cases, virtually every reasonable officer will be unwilling to use (or authorize the use of) reasonable force to extract blood from an unwilling DWI suspect. Lest they subject themselves to potential civil liability in a federal or state court. And medical personnel, for many of the same reasons, will also be unwilling to participate in a blood draw from an unwilling person.
D) Because of the majority's loosely worded standard, an officer who wants to engage in nonconsentual blood draws will come up with some justification (from the totality-of-the-circumstances) why obtaining a warrant would have "significantly undermined the efficacy of the search." Most judges will assume that the officer was acting in good-faith and, thus, will affirm the officer's decision.
Prof. Colb,
I'd be interested in your analysis of the Majority's approving reference to standard form warrant applications versus its insistence on an individual circumstances test.
A standard form, box checking, application would imply that every non-incompetent (in its colloquial, not legal, sense) warrant application would be granted - doesn't that undermine the purported intent behind individual scrutiny by an impartial authority?
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But that simply means that there is sometimes probable cause to believe that a person is driving while intoxicated when in reality he is not doing so. Probable cause is entirely consistent with innocence; unlike guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, it leaves in place a significant possibility of innocence, in the interests of gathering evidence and suspects when there is a substantial basis for concluding that a crime has actually taken place.buy fifa 14 coins lol elo boost fifa coins online league of legends boost
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