Posted on 07/02/2008 7:00:52 PM PDT by buccaneer81
Holiday DUI suspects risk forced blood test Court's OK likely if breath exam is refused Wednesday, July 2, 2008 9:35 PM By Kathy Lynn Gray THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Suspected drunken drivers won't be able to "just say no" to blood-alcohol tests in Columbus over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Police have set up a "no-refusal weekend," meaning that anyone who refuses to take a breath-analysis test will face a blood test instead, courtesy of two local judges on call to sign warrants.
Officers will take suspects to a local hospital to await the warrant and the blood draw.
Ohio law requires blood to be drawn within three hours of the alleged violation. Without some kind of blood-alcohol reading, the court has only the officer's word that the driver was drunk.
"The ability to refuse being tested is a serious problem in enforcement," said Lt. Edward DeVennish, head of the traffic bureau.
"The objective of the weekend is to get awareness of the problems of drunk driving out there and maybe influence someone who would otherwise drive drunk. We lose too many people to drunk drivers."
The summer holiday weekends of July Fourth, Memorial Day and Labor Day are among the worst for drunken-driving crashes. Last year in Ohio, 10 people died over the Fourth of July holiday, said Sgt. Anne Ralston of the State Highway Patrol. Six of the deaths were alcohol-related.
Sgt. Jeff Sowards, who's in charge of Columbus' push this weekend, said extra officers will be on patrol. Franklin County Municipal Judges Carrie Glaeden and Ted Barrows have volunteered to sign the warrants.
Both signed warrants over Memorial Day weekend, the first time Columbus tried a no-refusal effort. Three warrants forcing people to submit to blood tests were signed that weekend, Sowards said.
Police departments in other cities in Ohio and across the nation have conducted no-refusal weekends.
Carl Booth, coordinator of the Franklin County DUI Task Force, said Columbus' efforts are part of a countywide push to reduce alcohol-related crashes. He said 24 agencies will increase patrols and put in about 600 overtime hours this weekend.
Patrols will start earlier in the day because drunken drivers appear earlier on the Fourth. Normally, 80 percent of drunken-driving arrests are made after midnight and 17 percent between 4 p.m. and midnight. But last year on the Fourth, 45percent of arrests were in the earlier period and 50 percent after midnight, Booth said
The task force will have a sobriety checkpoint from 9 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday at Norton Road and W. Broad Street in Prairie Township, west of I-270.
Columbus police are encouraging people to call 614-645-4545 if they see a driver who appears to be drunk, or to call 911 if they see a driver seriously endangering others, such as driving the wrong way on a freeway.
Those were out of uniform when I served the military.
“The constitution may be flawed but its a whole lot better than what we have now”.
That's the way it is here in Ohio. I had a friend who was acquitted in a jury trial. He still lost his license for a year.
The SCOTUS has decided that the fact that someone was arbitrarily selected at a "random" DUI checkpoint is adequate probable cause for the stop.
Just as bad, and now add removal of bodily fluids for inspection to the list.
I've had enough of these idiot drinkers who can take life and limb from others, but don't have it taken from them in return.
Give the drunks what they chose to give others, three-fold back.
Right...trust the machine and to hell with the Bill of Rights.
No, thanks.
Then do the blood work.
You have nothing to worry about, right?
All Public Servants Shall every Monday Morning at 9:00 AM Sign a Declaration under Penalty of Perjury, punishable by a mandatory 1 year in jail that they have not used ANY Mood Altering, or Psychoactive drug, Controlled Substance, or consumed any Alcohol within 24 hours of handling or carrying a Firearm. Immediately thereafter said Public Servant Shall submit to a blood test for any and all Drugs. Should the Applicant Test Positive he or she Shall be Guilty of Perjury, and remanded into custody. If said person is authorized to carry a firearm, he or she shall be guilty of a separate Felony Charge of Using a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime.Punishable by nhot less than 20 years in a Maximum Security Prison.
That is My Constitutional Amendment
A good cop like you probably never lost a refusal DUI trial . Isn’t the fact the suspect refused admissible in your jurisdiction . Doesn’t your state law provide for per se suspension of driving privileges after the arrest and before trial ? Doesn’t your state provide for a lengthy revocation of the license for refusal . Does your state not already provide for the mandatory , by force if necessary , taking of blood sample if the driver was involved in an accident resulting in death or serious bodily injury ? Are there any other Constitutional rights you don’t think the citizens of this country should have ?
On second thought, I shouldn't say citizen. Citizens have rights.
Maybe asking how much longer the slaves will ignore their chains would be more appropriate.
You mention the 4th and 5th, all of the amendments are dead if you attempt to exercise them at an inconvenient time or under unapproved circumstances. 2ND Amendment, look to Louisiana during Katrina, 1ST Amendment, McLoon-Feingold... As for the rest, they are only dusty relics of a more civilized age long gone from the face of the earth.
We have no more recognized rights guaranteed protection under The Constitution, only state granted indulgences to be given out or withheld as the state sees fit.
“As long as it comes in under the limit, no drinker needs to worry.”
It’s impossible to know exactly what one’s BAC is without a blood test. In addition, the .08 limit is analogous to the 55mph speed limit. Police departments and municipalities profit greatly from DUI and speeding tickets.
It’s really just backdoor prohibition. If you have any alcohol content in your blood at all, even if below the .08, you can still be charged with DUI, depending on the state of course. The police just have to say that you were “impaired.”
Oh, and you can lose your license for being an alcoholic, even if you don’t drive drunk.
See “Court upholds suspension of beer drinker’s license”
MARTHA RAFFAELE: Associated Press, Aug 17, 2004
I really fail to see how this can be legal. Judges stating they sign warrants before even hearing the particulars of a case.
Having said that, drunken driver’s cars should immediately go to the compactor upon conviction.
(SARCasm ON) Damn, I feel so much safer now.
Extremely conservative Georgetown, TX is doing the same thing.
Drunk drivers? Threat to others’ lives. Hang them on the first offense — you’ll get no repeat offenses. Guaranteed.
Nope.
Nothing except the chain of custody of the sample, or the apathetic (or worse, agenda-driven) lab technician.
The Fifth Amendment is in the Bill of Rights for the same reason as the Second Amendment. To protect you.
Sure thing. We'll trust a person's life to a machine and LEOs with an agenda.
Hitler would have been proud.
Ooops. Sorry. My sarcasm filter was temporarily blinded after responding to ConservativeMind. That boy has a screw loose.
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