Another Texas County Out For Blood: Lubbock to Begin Mandatory Blood Testing. by Plano DWI attorney Troy Burleson
by Collin County DWI lawyer Troy BurlesonIt appears that Lubbock County, Texas has joined the growing ranks of Texas counties who are instituting the policy of testing blood search warrants. According to a recent report, authorities in Lubbock are testing a new policy that lets them draw your blood without your consent if an officer suspects you have committed the offense of DWI.
This program, like others around Texas, is a response to the growing number of suspected drunk drivers who are refusing to provide officers with either a specimen of his or her blood following an arrest for DWI. Officers, under this program, will begin taking suspects who refuse to take a breathalyzer straight to a hospital where the suspect’s blood will be drawn and tested for alcohol.
An assistant criminal district attorney from Lubbock estimates that the number of suspected drunk drivers refusing a breathalyzer has grown from 25% to 75% from 2002 to 2007. The ada defends the proposed blood draw program as being supported by the 4th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
As reported here before, you have a right to refuse a request for a blood or breath test and even if an officer obtains a blood draw from a DWI suspect, there are many procedures that must be followed before the results of the blood draw may be admitted in a court of law as evidence.
