Kansas DUI law that makes test refusal a crime is ruled unconstitutional

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: intrptr

This went on till he had to exhale and they got their reading. I was dumbfounded witnessing that.

The story doesn't make sense. Are you claiming they held his nose?

A breathalizer requires a sustained, steady exhalation through the mouth.

I didn't realize what they were doing to him until they were done and the one fireman, yes fireman, held up the meter. I thought he was having seizures or something and they were trying to help him, only realizing after they confirmed the alcohol reading on the instrument they held up that they were encouraging him to hold his breath as long as possible, knowing he would have to exhale sooner or later.

It wasn't a normal looking breathalyzer, it was a mask 'like' an oxygen mask that covers the nose and mouth with a breathalyzer attached. He was obviously refusing to breathe as long as possible , they weren't harming him, just getting their test results. Maybe he had an accident and refused to test so they brought him to the police station and held him till they could arrange it. I don't know anymore about his circumstances except what I just related. I don't know why he was there, I knew where I was and why I was there… to give a blood test.

a reply to: Vector99

If that actually happened it should have been recorded, and sent to court as a lawsuit.

None of my business. Especially in that particular precincts holding area. You'll understand if I say I mind my own business at a time like that in the bowels of the local PD.

I was the only other subject being held at the time. It was just me, him and the PD, nurse and fireman…

a reply to: Snarl

I am with you, OP.

No victim, no crime.

a reply to: intrptr

They did it to mess with the person then. A simple breath into a breathalyzer won't produce results. You have to blow constantly and hard into the tube for it to work.

originally posted by: Vector99
a reply to: intrptr

They did it to mess with the person then. A simple breath into a breathalyzer won't produce results. You have to blow constantly and hard into the tube for it to work.

I'm trying to figure how they were 'messing' with him other than what, getting a confession?

Why was a fireman there?

They did claim to get a reading, why they stopped restraining him, presumably.

originally posted by: Snarl

On Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the state’s DUI testing refusal law unconstitutional, setting a remarkable precedent concerning forced testing of those suspected of driving under the influence.

In a 6-1 ruling, the court decided the state’s law, which had made it a crime to refuse breathalyzer or blood alcohol tests without a court-ordered warrant, is excessive punishment
Maryland alcohol education program. Those tests, the court found, amounted to searches, and the Kansas law “punishes people for exercising their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures,”

Might be a bit of controversy in this. I won't take a drink and drive. I try to not even have my car keys in my pocket if alcohol is part of the equation. The worst thing I ever got a ticket for was speeding and I've never even been pulled for suspicion of DUI.

I don't 'act like this' because I've ever worried about becoming a hazardous road condition. I 'act like this' because the penalties for Driving Under the Influence are so draconian. Anyone else here remember the time when DUI wasn't an acronym anyone had ever heard of before? People have been arrested for Drunk Driving for a really long time, but it was that little push by an organization calling itself MADD that gave the movement legs ... and ensured a mostly permanent loss of Liberty for people in this country.

There's nothing at all wrong with having a couple of drinks and driving home. The problem was we gave 'em and inch ... and they took a mile.

Anyway, I see this as a step back in the right direction. I personally hope to see this spread from state to state.

Hi
Driving under the influence (DUI), or driving while intoxicated (DWI), is the crime of driving a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or other drugs (including recreational drugs and those prescribed by physicians), to a level that renders the driver incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Phage

In my state it is not a criminal offense to refuse a sobriety test but you will have your license suspended.

I personally witnessed someone begin held down and a breathalyzer held to their mouth. The subject refused to breathe and they kept saying, "its okay, you're okay, you're doing fine, keep holding your breath as long as possible…"

This went on till he had to exhale and they got their reading. I was dumbfounded witnessing that.

I bet you didn't.

For a start, just about every machine on the market requires a minimum amount of breath before it presents a reading. "Keep blowing until you hear the beep", as they say. Just exhaling is rarely enough.

Also, I refuse to believe that a human being exists who is too stupid to realise they could just breathe through their nose in that situation.

a reply to: EvillerBob

Like I said, I witnessed it. They were pinning this guy down and holding a mask over his mouth and nose wth a tube leading to a device. I assumed from the personnel that he was involved in an accident and they were gong to get their sample. Field sobriety machines are different than what I saw them using.

a reply to: Snarl

Doesn't refusing a breathalyzer just result in you being taken to the police station where they do a full test there anyways? That's what happens in Maryland at least. You aren't technically under arrest, but are detained. Sure I guess that is time to sober up a bit, but most aren't. I see that law as excessive if that was how it works in Kansas.

Edit: wow this is an old thread.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Snarl

Doesn't refusing a breathalyzer just result in you being taken to the police station where they do a full test there anyways? That's what happens in Maryland at least. You aren't technically under arrest, but are detained. Sure I guess that is time to sober up a bit, but most aren't. I see that law as excessive if that was how it works in Kansas.

Edit: wow this is an old thread.

LOL @ your edit. Same thing rolled through my mind.

But ... yes ... I think most states are the same. Refusing a breathalyzer = a ride down to the station.