CONSTITUTIONAL AND
STATUTORY LIMITATIONS ON:
OBTAINING BLOOD FOR ALCOHOL
TESTING AND ADMISSIBILITY
OF EVIDENCE OF TEST RESULTS
By: Robert G. Walton, Esq.
Revised: May 7, 2012
See below for brief intro/outline. Click through web link to view actual document.
I. OUTLINE
A. WHEN BODILY SUBSTANCE OBTAINED AT REQUEST OR DIRECTION OF POLICE, IT IS A SEARCH AND SEIZURE
• Schmerber v. California (1966), 384 U.S. 757 . . . . .. . . . . . . P. 7
Subject to Fourth Amendments standard’s of reasonableness
B. MEANS BY WHICH SUBSTANCES MAY BE OBTAINED – LIMITATIONS
1. Actual Consent
• City of Fairfield v. Regner, 23 Ohio App.3d 79 (1985) . . . . . . . . . . . P. 8
Police did not seek implied consent under R.C. §4511.191
Actual consent given
Actual consent does not require probable cause or arrest
Consent must be voluntary
Consent involuntary if coerced by threats or force or granted only in submission to
a claim of lawful authority
• City of Cleveland Heights v. Cook, 8th Dist. App. No. 80475, 2002-Ohio-3430 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 10
Consent must be obtained by police
2. Search Warrant
State v. Matus, 6th Dist. No. WD-06-072, 2008-Ohio-377 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 10
No constitutional right to refuse reasonably reliable chemical test for intoxication
If refusal, officer may obtain search warrant based upon affidavit showing probable cause
3. Exigent Circumstances
• Schmerber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 7
Probable cause for OVI arrest required
Exigent circumstances must be proven –delay necessary to obtain a warrant under the circumstances threatens destruction of evidence
Test must be performed in a reasonable manner
Judgment limited to facts of case
