Legal Question in DUI Law in California

dui

If I am arrested for DUI and choose not to take any tests, and there was no accident or injury, do the authorities have the right to forceably hold me down and take a blood test after specifically stating that it is against my will?


Asked on 8/27/00, 10:51 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Taylor Law Offices of Lawrence Taylor, Inc.

Re: dui

This has been a legal battleground in California for some time now. The U.S. Supreme Court in Schmerber vs. California said police could not use methods to withdraw blood that "shocked the conscience". California's very conservative courts have said that pinning someone down and jamming needles into them did not "shock the conscience". Recently, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Nelson vs. City of Irvine said that if breath was available, there was no good reason for the police to force a blood test. So that's where we stand for now.

Lawrence Taylor

Practice limited to DUI defense

562-989-4774; 949-752-1550; 310-860-9515

Read more
Answered on 10/02/00, 10:39 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Drunk Driving & DUI Law questions and answers in California