Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Fourth Amendment

Criminal Law

: Fourth Amendment

Routine blood draw under a warrant does not require a "clear indication," only probable cause

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Schmerber only requires probable cause for a routine blood draw and not a "clear indication." Here, defendant was linked to a 1973 murder by an AFIS hit on an old fingerprint on a tissue box. A search warrant was obtained for the blood. "Accordingly, we conclude that a search warrant for the taking of a routine blood sample by a medically qualified person satisfies the requirements of the fourth amendment when the warrant is supported by probable cause." State v. Grant, 2008 Conn. LEXIS 135 (April 22, 2008). Defendant relied on a discredited prior case as the reason why defense counsel should have filed a motion to suppress. Since the motion would not have prevailed, no IAC. People v. Echols, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 364 (2d Dist. April 22, 2008)...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 25, 2008 (boomark / email).