A decision handed down last week by the U.S. Supreme Court requiring law enforcement officers to obtain search warrants before taking blood samples from suspected drunk drivers will not affect Warren County prosecutors’ approach in such cases. “We will continue to aggressively prosecute drunken driving suspects,” said Mike Wright, Warren County prosecuting attorney. A proponent of so-called warrantless blood draws, Wright expressed disappointment with the high court’s decision, but stressed that his office will abide by it. Wright currently serves as president of the National District Attorney’s Association (NDAA). While the case was before the U.S. Supreme Court, the NDAA filed an amicus brief in support of taking blood samples in DWI cases without a search warrant. “The court’s opinion was that just the dissipation of alcohol within a person’s blood was not enough for exigent circumstances,” Wright remarked. “It’s disappointing, but they’re still leaving the door open. The court didn’t rule out additional circumstances that would warrant a warrantless blood draw. “We obtained search warrants for blood samples for eight or nine years, and then we went through a brief period where we didn’t,” Wright added. “Now we’re back to requiring warrants before blood is drawn in DWI cases.”

Original Case In making its ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Tyler McNeely, who was stopped by the Missouri Highway Patrol in Cape Girardeau County for speeding. According to the Associated Press, McNeely, who had two previous convictions for drunk driving, refused to submit to a breath test. However, McNeely failed several field sobriety tests and the highway patrol stated that the man’s speech was slurred and he was unsteady on his feet. The state trooper, Cpl. Mark Winder, took McNeely to a hospital where a technician took a blood sample, the AP reported. McNeely was handcuffed throughout the process. An analysis of McNeely’s blood sample showed his blood alcohol content was .154 percent, almost twice the legal limit of .08. The Missouri Supreme Court eventually ruled that the blood test violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. The state appealed that ruling and the case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court which upheld it.

Electronic Warrants Warren County has implemented an electronic system through which law enforcement officers may apply for search warrants using the Internet, but Wright said the system is too new to know if it will significantly speed up the process of obtaining a search warrant when needed. “Our hope is that it will (speed up the process), but we have not had enough situations to know if it’s more or less efficient,” Wright said. Previously, law enforcement officers had to bring paperwork in person first to Wright and then to a judge in order to obtain search warrants after regular business hours. Prosecutor Mike Wright