Supreme Court Ruling and DUI Cases in PA

2016 Supreme Court Ruling on DUI Law

Arresting Officers Need Search Warrant for DUI Blood or Chemical Testing 

A 2016 ruling by the United States Supreme Court in Birchfield v. North Dakota changed Pennsylvania DUI law in a major way.

Prior to this decision, police officers investigating a DUI case were not required to obtain a search warrant to extract blood from an individual under suspicion of DUI for purposes of chemical testing.

The law now says a warrant is required to obtain blood from an individual.

If a warrant was not obtained in your DUI case, the possible penalties you face may have changed. Call the Ketchel Law today for a free consultation at 412.456.1221.

How does this ruling affect DUI cases in Pennsylvania?

  • If no warrant was obtained for a blood draw, an individual charged with a first offense DUI with a blood alcohol level (“BAC”) of .16 or higher may now receive NO JAIL time and NO LICENSE suspension as opposed to 72 hours in jail and a one year driver’s license suspension.
  • Prior to Birchfeild, a person facing a second offense DUI with a BAC of .16 or higher faced a mandatory 90 days—5 years imprisonment with a license suspension of 18 months. Now, assuming no warrant was obtained to collect the blood evidence, an individual faces only 5 days—6 months incarceration and a one year license suspension.
  • For a third offense DUI with a BAC of .16 or higher, an accused faces a mandatory state prison sentence of 1-5 years with a license suspension of 18 months followed by an Ignition Interlock for 1 year. If no warrant was obtained for the blood draw, an individual now faces only 10 days—2 years in jail and a license suspension of 12 months followed by an Ignition Interlock for 1 year.

Contact a Pittsburgh DUI Lawyer at Ketchel Law today at 412-456-1221 to find out whether this new law will affect your Pennsylvania DUI charges.


PITTSBURGH DUI LAWYERS

KETCHEL LAW 

Call 412-456-1221 for a free consultation

If you have been charged with a DUI in Pennsylvania, contact Ketchel Law today.

Our number one goal is to have your charges dismissed and your record clean.


Learn more about DUI Laws in Pennsylvania

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