Top Texas court strikes law allowing warrantless alcohol test, says it violates 4th Amendment
A Texas law that allows law enforcement officers to test drivers for alcohol use without their consent and without a warrant is unconstitutional, the state’s top criminal court said in a Wednesday ruling.
“We hold that a nonconsensual search of a DWI suspect’s blood conducted pursuant to the mandatory-blood-draw and implied-consent provisions in the Transportation Code, when undertaken in the absence of a warrant or any applicable exception to the warrant requirement, violates the Fourth Amendment,” said the Court of Criminal Appeals in its written opinion.
The decision could put an end to so-called no-refusal weekends conducted by some cities, unless they have a judge on hand to issue warrants, KXAN reports.
The Austin American-Statesman and Houston Chronicle also have stories.
