Texas Man Allegedly Had Blood Forcibly Drawn without Consent After DUI Arrest

Los Angeles DUI laws are very particular about what can and cannot be used as evidence during a DUI case. The following Texas case depicts what can happen if police officers don’t follow appropriate protocol.

According to news reports, in early January, an allegedly DUI driver, Joel Garcia, slammed into another car after speeding through a red light. The crash killed three people. Garcia’s own injuries were severe enough to warrant pain medication. Police had been afraid that the medications would lead to a false positive for DUI on his blood test, so they withdrew blood without his consent.

Garcia’s lawyer later protested that forcible removal of blood violated his rights. Texas, alongside many other states, allows police officers to engage in certain probing investigative activities without needing warrants following grievous injury or death. Due to Garcia’s alleged actions, three people were dead. The police believed that the seriousness of the situation allowed them to exercise their right to remove his blood for testing.

The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that pressing or exigent circumstances do not provide officers with a reason to forego consent, except under some circumstances. In every case, this “exigency” must be carefully reviewed and validated by the court.

The DUI was not Garcia’s first offense. Police arrested him for another DUI earlier in the year. On the night of the fatal crash, he allegedly had several beers and three shots of spirits before getting in his car.

This case is important for two reasons.

1. Every state law is different. Had Garcia been driving in a different state, he might have had grounds to sue the police department for obtaining his blood without his consent.

2. The attention of an experienced Los Angeles DUI lawyer can be critical.

Designing and executing an effective defense against DUI charges (even simple ones) is not intuitive. Fortunately, you can trust the seasoned, highly successful Michael Kraut. Call a DUI lawyer in Los Angeles with nearly two decades of experience.

Call attorney Michael Kraut at (323) 464-6453 for help if you’ve been stopped for DUI in Los Angeles. Or Contact our team online. We’re located at 6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1480, Los Angeles, California 90028.

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New Jersey man charged for allegedly driving impaired

Hopatcong police say that they took three people into custody on Jan. 5 after receiving a call at around 10:40 p.m. concerning a vehicle on Harvard Trail and Divito Trail. The caller noted that a light inside the car was being turned on and off.

The driver of the vehicle reportedly drove off when one of the officers arrived, but the officer stopped the car on Crescent Road. After approaching the vehicle, the officer claims that he smelled burnt cannabis coming from inside it.

The officer told the 19-year-old male driver to step out of the vehicle. Meanwhile, another officer asked the 19-year-old male passenger to step out from the back seat. He allegedly had a clear bag containing marijuana, a glass pipe that reportedly had the residue of burnt marijuana inside it and a grinder. The rear passenger and a 19-year-old woman who was riding in the front passenger seat reportedly told the officers that all three of them were smoking cannabis in the car.

Police took all three into custody, and a drug recognition expert was called to test the driver. The detective determined that the driver was under the influence of cannabis, and all three people face charges for being under the influence. The driver faces additional reckless driving and DWI charges as well as a probationary driving violation. The back-seat passenger also faces charges for marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession.

Being convicted of DWI could carry heavy penalties, including fines, community service and jail time. It may also cause problems when a defendant seeks employment while an employed person might lose his or her job. A lawyer might possibly be able to negotiate reduced charges and penalties if the defendant agrees to complete a substance abuse program.

Source: NJ.com, "Report of suspicious vehicle leads to DWI, pot arrests in Hopatcong", Warren Reporter, Jan. 9, 2015

Tags: DWI charges, fines, penalties

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Man Allegedly Passes Out at Drive Through and Then Tries to Order Food From Police

Normally a DUI stop involves the police pulling over a driver who is swerving, weaving, or driving in some way that suggests the driver might be under the influence. In some cases, civilians will call the police when they are concerned that someone is driving drunk.

According to a recent news article from the News Tribune, workers at a fast food restaurant called the police after a man who appeared to be drunk came up to the drive through window and passed out. The man must have woken up at some point, because police arrived to find his car straddling two parking spaces designated for disabled persons.

When the officers approached the man’s car, the backup lights turned on, and the car started moving. The officer moved out of the way to avoid a collision and approached the car on foot. Officers alleged that they saw the man throw his car keys into the back seat. When they attempted to speak to him, he allegedly tried to order food from the police.

The driver, who is 23 years old, said that he did not trust police and asked to speak with an attorney. He supposedly spoke with a public defender and then agreed to take a breath test, where it was determined that his blood-alcohol content (BAC) was approximately .18 which is more than twice the legal limit of .08 grams per 100 milliliters of blood.

A public defender on the phone told the police that the suspect wanted a blood test from an independent lab. The officers asked if he still wanted this, and he supposedly told the officer that he did not and would rather have a glass of water. He was then charged with driving under the influence (DUI) alcohol.

As our Birmingham DUI attorneys can explain, the observation that the officers claim to have made, where they saw the man throw his keys into the back seat, is often important in cases where the police find a sleeping driver. Drunk driving essentially has two elements. The police prove that the suspect was intoxicated and that the suspect was driving.

When the officers don’t witness the suspect driving, the officers will try to use other evidence to establish that the alleged drunk driver recently drove the car. Throwing the keys into the backseat can demonstrate what they call the exercise of dominion and control over the vehicle.

This can be a significant issue where the police arrested a person who knew he or she was too drunk to drive and decided to the right thing and sleep in the car rather than driving. The problem is that if an officer finds a person sleeping in the car, the officer will claim they are doing a wellness check and ask the person why they are sleeping in the car. The officer will then allege that the person was operating the car and place him or her under arrest for driving under the influence, even if the suspect had no intention of driving anywhere.

Additional Resources:

Police Beat: A drive-thru DUI, a meat cleaver, and an interrupted weed party, October 11, 2014,News Tribune

More Blog Entries:

Interlock Ignition Law Goes Into Effect: But Do They Work? August 3, 2014, Birmingham Underage DUI Defense Lawyer Blog

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