Blood test could be given where driver claimed chest tightness State v. Brennan A-1951-20
Defendant appealed his de novo trial conviction for DWI and reckless driving. An officer responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle observed a vehicle idling its engine in the middle of the road. The officer approached the vehicle and saw defendant in the driver's seat, noting a strong odor of alcohol and defendant's slurred speech and watery eyes. Defendant was ordered out of the vehicle and submitted to field sobriety tests. Although defendant advised the officers that he had a leg injury, he claimed that he could still perform the leg lift test. However, the officers testified that defendant could not remain steady for more than a couple of seconds. The officers also determined that defendant failed the heel-toe walk test. The officers accordingly arrested defendant. Although defendant agreed to submit to an Alcotest, he claimed to be suffering symptoms of an asthma attack. Defendant initially requested his inhaler, but when the officers could not find it in defendant's vehicle and he began claiming chest tightness, defendant was transported to the hospital without having performed the Alcotest. At the hospital, defendant declined to submit to a blood draw, leading officers to apply for a warrant. When officers could not reach a municipal judge, they conducted a warrantless blood draw based on exigency. Testing revealed that defendant had a BAC of 0.19. Defendant moved to suppress the blood draw based on the lack of probable cause or a search warrant. The municipal court denied the motion, finding that there was probable cause to arrest defendant based on his unsatisfactory performance of field sobriety tests. Defendant appealed to the trial court, which ruled that the officers had not unreasonably or deliberately created an exigency when they failed to perform an Alcotest or obtain a search warrant for the blood draw. On appeal, the court affirmed defendant's conviction. The court agreed that exigent circumstances excused the warrant requirement to obtain a blood draw since defendant required medical attention for his asthma symptoms after officers could not locate his inhaler. source NJLJ July 24, 2023
