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Kansas Ruling On Unconstitutional DUI Law

A Kansas Court of Appeals recently handed down a significant ruling allowing evidence deemed unconstitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court to be admitted at trial for a man arrested for suspicion of DUI back in September 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently taking up the matter itself, setting the stage for a potentially groundbreaking precedent.

In September, a Salina police officer pulled over the defendant after failing to properly use his turn signal. Upon making contact with the defendant, the officer initiated a field sobriety test on the suspicion the suspect was driving under the influence, who later gave a blood alcohol test at the police station which determined his BAC (blood alcohol concentration) was .139.

Under the now defunct Kansas DUI arrest law, individuals placed into custody on suspicion of the offense must have been informed that their refusal to submit to a BAC test may incur criminal charges. In February 2016, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the practice unconstitutional and the procedure for testing BAC was changed.

Kansas Court of Appeals Hands Down Mixed Rulings on DUI Arrests

The defendant’s attorney asked the court to rule his client’s consent was coerced and therefore inadmissible based on the new DUI laws. However, the justices on the Kansas Court Appeals hearing the case ruled that since the law was struck down after the suspect’s arrest, the evidence may be admitted in this trial under “good faith exceptions.”

The court decided that since the officer did not know the procedure would be ruled unconstitutional, the evidence stands. Recently, the Court of Appeals handed down another pair of rulings pertaining to when officers have reasonable suspicion to initiate BAC tests on DUI suspects.

In April 2016, the appeals court ruled that despite a suspect’s disheveled appeared and possessing an open container of alcohol, the arresting officer did not have reasonable suspicion to order the BAC test. This ruling was based on a precedent set in 2015 when a Kansas DUI arrest was overturned after a suspect was given a BAC after passing a pair of field sobriety tests.

Contact An Olathe DUI Lawyer

Having the right Olathe DUI lawyers on your side can make all the difference between walking free and being hit with a huge fine and possible jail time. As a former Attorney General for the state of Kansas and Johnson County District Attorney, Paul Morrison understands what it takes to get justice for his clients. To Contact the Morrison Law Firm, LLC for a free consultation about your DUI case call (913) 780-6666

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Call Morrison Law Firm, LLC in Olathe at (913) 780-6666 or send an e-mail to schedule a free consultation.