Posted on 09/14/2005 3:42:43 PM PDT by elkfersupper
Dalworthington Gardens, Texas police will draw the blood of drunk driving suspects.
After completing a training course, Dalworthington Gardens police officers have been certified to draw blood from any motorist whom they suspect of driving under the influence of alcohol. The small North Texas city joins three counties -- Montague, Archer and Clay -- which have recently adopted similar policies.
These jurisdictions are seeking to make drunk driving convictions less vulnerable to court challenge as mounting evidence shows breathalyzer machines can be inaccurate. Under the new policy, a suspect will be brought to a police station and asked in a videotaped interrogation to submit voluntarily to a blood test. If the request is refused, police will call one of the judges who have agreed to remain on-call to obtain a warrant. If approved, police will draw the blood, by force if necessary. Anyone who refuses a blood test, even if not convicted or formally accused of a crime, will surrender his license to drive on the spot and will not see it again for at least six months.
"It's kind of eerie," Frank Colosi, an attorney who works with the Fort Worth chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union told the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. "It's kind of grotesque that the government can come and take your blood."
Section 724.017 of the Texas code requires that, "Only a physician, qualified technician, chemist, registered professional nurse, or licensed vocational nurse may take a blood specimen at the request or order of a peace officer....'qualified technician' does not include emergency medical services personnel." Dalworthington Gardens believes their twenty-hour course meets this standard.
Mam,please step to the back of the car.Officer Dracula will need to take a blood sample.
We even have an Octoberfest is my town where the government closes off the downtown area to vehicles so they can set up beer vendors tents. For a $10 "TAX", you are allowed to enter and drink as much beer as you want. No need to worry about getting caught leaving drunk because the entire police force is there for crowd control.
I have to laugh, at one time it was illegal to drive without shoes but it was legal to have an open container in your vehicle. Welcome to the nanny state.
Better watch out, I might hijack my own thread here.
Me too. It is astounding.
1000 posts, here we come!
Tell you what, let me know when you plan to go to court and use this lame defense. I want a front row seat to watch!!
You plan to cite Miller ( a firearms case) in defense of DWI?
You anso plan to cite Miranda in defense of DWI?
This I gotta see. . . I need a good laugh.
This issue was at the heart of the civil rights movement in the 1960's. Some would say that it was an element in the War Between the States (or the civil war, or the war of northern agression, or the war of southern secession, whatever your stance).
DWI was "at the heart of the civil rights movement in the 1960's"???
DWI was an element in the War Between the States????
LOL! I have said my peace. Agree or disagree with me, I'm gonna have another beer. I may even watch a little online porn after I run some spyware to see if the nanny state is trying to protect me some more. :-)
What about the victims of accidents involving impaired drivers? I don't agree with prohibition because it'd be a waste of time & taxpayer money, but around 40% of all accidents with fatalities is caused by a driver that has been drinking.
You want to get plastered at home & play games or watch a movie, who cares?
Because I care, I say: "You drink. You drive. You pay hell."
Odds are he will still be charged with DWI. Happens all the time.
What do you mean by that? People pass the breathalyzer test but are still charged with DWI?
There's nothing in that heap o' stuff saying that YOU have to be allowed to be the driver. If it were hugely impractical to obtain a qualified driver this would be a different story. Would you really want acne-faces taking Mack trucks onto the roads on a whim, no lessons?
No, the right to peaceably travel on public highways in or on any manner of contemporary conveyance of one's choice without being interfered with, impeded by, or harassed by government agents or anyone else for that matter.
Yes. Even the blood test.
DWI....it's not just about booze anymore. I'll post a link from NM MVD shortly, if I get a chance, but it's the same in all the States now.
DWI means whatever the LEO on the side of the road wants it to mean.
Upon further re-reading, it appears that all that is changed is the police will be drawing the blood, instead of waiting for a doctor to be called. No new law, 180 day suspension still applies. Old trick, request the blood sample to allow extra time for the alcohol to pass through the system.
I Wonder HOW MANY 'Cops could pass the very "Drug Test" they are Demanding of the Civilians??
At VERY LEAST, the "Playing Field" should be "Level!!"
If the 'Cops are Intoxicated,--they've got NO Business Harassing the "Citizens!"
The "Playing Field" should be LEVEL!!
Doc
Correct. However, that heap of stuff says that nobody has the right or authority to deny me the RIGHT to be the driver.
What is "allowed" is between parent and child, not between citizen and government, at least as regards travel.
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