Blood Alcohol Content Test Results Inadmissible if Taken Without Defendant’s Consent
By: Robert Graves
Published: August 9, 2022
In the case of Com. v. Eric Moreau, the police obtained a warrant to seize blood drawn from the defendant by hospital personnel and then tested it in the State Police Crime Lab without the defendant’s consent. On September 29, 2020, a police officer responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident. On arrival at the scene, the officer observed a pickup truck that had collided with a tree off the side of the road, suffering extensive front-end damage. The officer observed the driver to be unsteady on his feet, slurring his speech, and glassy-eyed; a strong odor of alcohol emanated from the driver’s person. The driver was transported to a nearby hospital. Police told hospital personnel that they would be seeking the preservation of any blood that might be drawn during medical treatment. Police then obtained and executed a search warrant for the defendant’s blood. Police never requested or obtained the defendant’s consent to test his blood for BAC.
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