Friday 29th March 2024

Kentucky court rules on warrantless blood tests in DUI cases

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Supreme Court says the refusal of a person accused of drunken driving to submit to a warrantless blood test cannot be used as evidence to help prove guilt or to seek stiffer punishment.

The court says prosecutors also can’t introduce such refusals at trial to explain away the lack of evidence regarding a suspect’s blood-alcohol level. The ruling was issued Thursday and drew a partial dissent from two justices. The long-running case stems from a DUI arrest by Owensboro police.

Kentucky’s justices weighed in on multiple issues in a decision shaped by a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

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