State v. Trahan

After Defendant was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired, officers requested that he submit to a warrantless blood or urine test. Defendant agreed to provide a urine sample, but the officer believed that Defendant tampered with the sample and therefore treated his conduct as a refusal. Defendant refused to submit to a blood test. The State charged Defendant with first-degree refusal. Defendant pleaded guilty. Defendant later argued that his guilty plea was not knowing, voluntary, or intelligent because the test refusal statute was unconstitutional as applied. The postconviction court denied relief. The court of appeals affirmed. After deciding State v. Bernard, the Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals’ decision that the test refusal statute was constitutional and remanded for reconsideration. On remand, the court of appeals reversed Defendant’s conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendant cannot be prosecuted for refusing to submit to an unconstitutional warrantless blood test, and the test refusal statute is unconstitutional as applied. View "State v. Trahan" on Justia Law