Recent Posts in Arizona DUI Laws Category

This week, the Arizona Supreme Court made a final ruling regarding blood tests and DUI cases.  The Court ruled that police must have a search warrant in order to require a blood test during a driving under the influence arrest.  The only exception to this ruling is when drivers give police consent.

For weeks, the decision had been much anticipated.  The Arizona Supreme Court needed to make a ruling after several prosecutors used the implied-consent statute to get blood samples from people who were arrested for DUI throughout the state.  Reports indicate that in these cases, if suspects did not refuse testing, they were told to give a blood sample.

In the future, law enforcement officers must inform all DUI suspects of their right to refuse blood testing and must also explain the consequences of refusing testing, which include mandatory license suspension.  If suspects are provided with a warrant, they must submit to blood tests.

If you have been charged with DUI in Phoenix and have questions about your breath or blood test, contact the Knowles Law Firm to speak with a Phoenix DUI lawyer!

Police and sheriff’s deputies may have new protocol to follow when a driver is pulled over on suspicion of DUI.

The Arizona Supreme Court will consider whether law enforcement authorities must obtain a search warrant in order to conduct a blood test of a DUI suspect if the suspect doesn’t give clear consent to have his or her blood withdrawn.

A Court of Appeals ruling found that it wasn’t enough under state law that a man didn’t object when officers moved to take a blood sample while in a police DUI van. The appeals court said the law in question is called the “implied consent” law because drivers must consent to have their blood drawn or they will be subjected to a civil driver’s license suspension for a refusal. The appeals court did say in their ruling that drivers do have the right to withhold consent for a “non-warrant search.”