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Defendant's consent to taking blood and urine was hardly voluntary when he was restrained, weeping, and never signed consent form

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant's consent to taking of blood and urine was not voluntary. His mental condition was obviously vulnerable. He could not read, had to be forcibly restrained while the consent form was initially being read to him, was weeping on his wife's shoulder while the remainder of the form was read to him, and never signed the form. Although his wife signed the form, the trooper admitted that she never indicated that defendant understood it. State v. Stephens, 2008 Ga. App. LEXIS 34 (January 11, 2008).* Facts supported the conclusion that the third party consenter in this case had sufficient common authority to consent. He, too, was a guess of 3-4 weeks, and defendant slept in a common area of the apartment on a mattress on the floor. State v. Smith, 2008 Conn...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 16, 2008 (boomark / email).