Dallas DUI Blood-Draw Cases

The Texas Court of Criminal appeals has ruled a Texas law that allowed the police to draw blood from a suspected drunk driver without a warrant to be unconstitutional. The law had allowed police to draw blood without a suspects consent based on the mandatory blood-draw and implied-consent provisions in the Transportation Code. Now officers will be required to obtain a search warrant from a judge before they can obtain a blood sample from a suspect who refuses to consent to a blood-draw.

Will this new ruling have much of an effect on Dallas DUI cases? Not really. Almost all the Dallas area police departments will obtain a search warrant before drawing blood from a non-consenting suspect. Dallas County Police Departments will usually have judges on call who can sign search warrants in DUI cases. This is particularly true in non-refusal weekends which occur during the holiday season.

If the police obtain a search warrant for a blood sample the case is not over. There are still many defences in Dallas DUI cases which have blood-draw evidence. Any person arrested for Dallas DUI charges should contact a Dallas DUI Attorney as soon as possible. A Dallas DUI Attorney can determine if there are problems with the search warrant and can use that information in negotiations or in preparing for trial.