The Supreme Court recently ruled that police must generally obtain a warrant before subjecting DUI suspects to a blood test. The vote was 8-to-1, with Justice Clarence Thomas the lone dissenter.

The case began in Missouri, where Tyler McNeely, arrested for DUI, refused to submit to a breath test. Police drive him to a nearby hospital and ordered a blood sample to be extracted from him. The arresting officer didn't try to get a warrant for this procedure. The state's position was that since alcohol dissipates quickly, extreme measures must be taken to secure the evidence before it does.

The high court disagreed, noting that in most circumstances there is adequate time to get a warrant. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the majority, said that "...in the modern world of technology, police can often obtain a warrant quickly by using their cellphones or by email, and that in most jurisdictions a magistrate is available at all hours to grant a warrant request..."

The Court also went on to point out that if an emergency requires officers to dispense with the warrant requirement that determination must be made on a "case-by-case" basis and later justified in court. In addition, she noted, because officers must typically take a suspect to a hospital for the blood draw, some delay and some dissipation of alcohol is "inevitable."

In disagreeing with the decision, Chief Justice Roberts wrote “Simply put, when a drunk driving suspect fails field sobriety tests and refuses a breathalyzer, whether a warrant is required for a blood draw should come down to whether there is time to secure one.” No warrant should be required unless a police officer reasonably concludes that there was enough time.

Thirty states use electronic warrant applications, Chief Justice Roberts said. Many allow police officers to call a judge directly. A Kansas county has officers e-mail warrant applications to judges' iPads.

This process is well under way in Georgia's Gwinett County, near Atlanta. Take a look at this video for a report on this breaking topic in DUI law.

Jonathan Blecher is a Miami DUI Lawyer who, for over 30 years and over 3,000 cases has been defending people charged with DUI,  vehicle-based cases and criminal violations. Contact the office at (305) 670-1800 or mobile at (305) 321-3237.