Are Mandatory Drunk Driving Blood Tests Unconstitutional?

In Dallas Texas a very controversial method of enforcing drunk driving had spawned about a year ago that caused many DWI attorneys to throw their arms up in the air. For all drivers suspected of driving under the influence who refuse to blow into a breathalyzer can automatically have blood drawn to determine if there was any alcohol in the blood stream.

This is done against a drivers will by an on duty judge that is able to sign and execute a warrant instituting the mandatory blood test. This type of approach has had many Texas DWI defense attorneys a bit upset stating that this violates a human beings constitutional rights and violates an unreasonable search and seizure of personal evidence. This has been a very controversial approach to determine if someone has been drunk driving in Dallas Texas. It was only done on select few nights and common drinking holidays because it required an actual judge on duty to actually sign the warrant to allow medical staff to proceed with the blood test. Many questions have been raised with this type of action. Since any blood immediately becomes trial evidence it is important by law that it be handled correctly and not compromised in any way. Compromised blood samples could sway a jury to go in either direction and trigger a less desired outcome for the driver.

You can see how this type of approach would be deemed questionable by many in the community. County prosecutors think differently about this topic. It helps them easily close cases and get convictions without a lot of challenges in the courtroom that could get a case dismissed for whatever reason. County prosecutors are feverishly scrambling to have this legislation approved in order to be executed much more frequently. One of the biggest steps to getting this done will be to have not just a judge that can order the blood test but other high ranking individuals. Having a judge on staff every night is very costly for any city or town. Is it unconstitutional to force and individual to give blood? We will have to wait and see how this type of effort pans out. With more and more states really cracking down on drunken driving laws and drivers we will be sure to see this type of approach spread amongst other cities if it gets approved in Dallas Texas.