Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer BlogDMN on Vampire Prosecutors
Police officers will fax paperwork for the search warrants to a judge who will
be on call to review the requests, said Greg Davis, Collin County first district
attorney.
“We think it will eliminate many of the DWI trials we have in our misdemeanor courts,” Mr. Davis said. “The scientific evidence for the defendant is difficult to overcome in trial.”
Do you know why prosecutors need this “scientific evidence”? Because in many cases the driver does not look “intoxicated”. She drives like a normal person, talks like a normal person, and takes field sobriety tests like a normal person.
However, Texas has an arbitrary .08 BAC standard in Texas. Even if a driver is not intoxicated by impairment, prosecutors can still convict with a .08.
MADD sold us the lie that this new tougher BAC standard would keep us safe. It hasn’t. What is has done is make prosecutors desperate for blood to get convictions.
More important, he believes it will make roadways safer for all motorists once
the public becomes aware that evidence will be obtained even if suspects
initially refuse to cooperate with police.
Let us trade all of our liberty for the promise of safety. This is what we have come to. If you “refuse to cooperate with police” we will just hold you down and take your blood. Why not just waterboard these defendants until they confess?
“We have the support of these agencies and judges who are willing to assist us,”
Mr. Davis said.
Is anyone troubled when prosecutors, law enforcement, and judges working together to circumvent the Bill of Rights? Probably not, MADD has done their job well.
What is left for a DWI suspect have to protect his rights?
Not the 6th Amendment. Suspects have not right to an attorney to challenge the blood draw warrant or his arrest until the case goes to court. Even though the State has judges, lawyers, and police working against a suspect, the right to counsel has not yet “attached.”
Not the 5th Amendment. The 5th Amendment has been ruled not to apply because blood isn’t “testimony.”
Is DWI such a threat to society that we must abandon our Constitutional protections, circumvent the legislative process, and forcibly remove blood from suspects?