Show Me The Warrant In (some) DUI Blood Cases

U.S. Supreme Court filed Missouri v. McNeely today, refusing to recognize a categorical exception to the warrant requirement in DUI cases where the police order a person's blood drawn against his or her will. Drawing a person's blood is a search described by the Court as a compelled physical intrusion beneath one's skin into one's veins to obtain a sample of blood for use in a criminal investigation. While the natural dissipation of alcohol may allow blood to be drawn without a warrant in a specific case, whether a warrantless blood test of a drunk driving suspect is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment must be determined case by case on the totality of the circumstances.The court explained the importance of requiring authorization from a "neutral and detached magistrate" before allowing a cop to invade another's body in search of evidence is indisputable and great. In those drunk driving investigations where police officers can reasonably obtain a warrant before a blood sample can be drawn without significantly undermining the efficacy of the search, the Fourth Amendment mandates that they do.