Section 6.27 Search Warrants to Take a Blood Test

• Library: DWI 2014

In a DWI investigation, a key piece of evidence is the level of alcohol in the suspect’s blood. Under Missouri law, a BAC level of .08% is prima facieevidence that the operator was intoxicated at the time the test was performed. See § 577.037, RSMo Supp. 2012. In any prosecution for DWI, evidence of the defendant’s BAC is of immense importance. This section focuses on the requirement and the exception to the warrant requirement for taking blood from a nonconsenting person suspected of committing an intoxication-related driving offense for the purpose of testing the suspect’s blood for its alcohol content and using the results of the test as evidence in a criminal prosecution.

A nonconsensual blood draw for the purpose of determining the BAC in a criminal DWI investigation is a search for Fourth Amendment purposes. State v. McNeely,358 S.W.3d 65 (Mo. banc 2012). A warrant for a blood draw must be obtained absent consent from the driver, or absent exigent circumstances based on special facts. Id. at 74. The U.S. Supreme Court first dealt with the intrusion into the human body as an intrusion protected by the Fourth Amendment in Schmerber v. California,384 U.S. 757...