Kansas Supreme Court holds that DUI test refusal statute is unconstitutional

The Kansas Supreme Court held in State v. David Lee Ryceheld that DUI tests are a search, and therefore a police officer is required to have a warrant if the driver does not consent to a test. Kansans can no longer be criminally prosecuted for refusal to take a breathalyzer or blood test without a warrant. The ruling also held that implied consent is not irrevocable and that withdrawal of consent cannot be criminally punished. Under Kansas law, anyone who operates a motor vehicle is considered to have given implied consent to DUI testing. The statute is facially unconstitutional, the court said, because it punishes the defendant for exercising his or her constitutional right to refuse the test.

The 4^th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States starts with “the right of the people to be secure in their persons…” and cannot be searched without a warrant. Breathalyzers and blood tests are a search that invades a person’s privacy in the way that they are intrusive to what is actually going on within a person. Drivers who refuse a DUI test may still be required to submit to one of a warrant is obtained, but their Constitutional right to be secure in their persons will now be upheld.

However, even though drivers who refuse to take a DUI test may not be criminally charged, there are still civil punishments in place for refusal. Drivers are still in danger of fines or losing their licenses. While a few extra steps may be involved, following constitutional requirements still leaves the state with significant weapons to deal with those who refuse DUI tests.“While not all drivers without licenses will refrain from driving, the state may theoretically seek a warrant for an alcohol test and enact criminal penalties, including jail time, for refusing to submit to a valid Fourth Amendment search,” the court writes.

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