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05Apr 2019

Implied Consent Law Comes Before Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is currently deciding a case involving implied consent. It is not your traditional implied consent case, but it ends up addressing the entire issue of implied consent. For those readers who are not familiar with implied consent it is a law in some states that, if you have a driver's license in that state, you imply consent to have law enforcement take blood, breath and/or saliva samples from you when requested.

In Wisconsin, a man was brought to the hospital in a state of extreme inebriation following his arrest on suspicion of DUI. However, when he arrived at the hospital, the rest of the alcohol he had consumed before his arrest caught up with him - and he passed out. The arresting officer then proceeded to have blood drawn from the man even though he had not been read his Miranda rights.

The judge in the case upheld the blood test as valid, legal evidence. The Wisconsin State Supreme Court followed suit and also declared the test legal. The man has appealed the decision up to the Supreme Court, where we are all waiting to hear what the justices decide, once and for all, about implied consent laws. Of course, not necessarily taking into consideration the suspect's state of consciousness!

If you live in Burlington, Essex, Colchester, Winooski, Williston, Shelburne or anywhere in the State of Vermont, and have been arrested or charged with DUI or any crime, call Handy Law for aggressive and experienced legal defense.