AFP PODCAST & ARTICLE: Your Breath or Your Blood
July 17,
2013 AFP
AFP PODCAST
What
happens if you’re suspected of driving under the influence, but refuse the
breath test?
Well, in
certain counties in Georgia, you can be strapped down to a gurney and be
subject to a forced, warrantless blood draw.
David
Boyle, “an attorney in Georgia for 15 years,” with “most of that time…spent as
a prosecutor,” discusses this issue in this disturbing interview (16:45).
Dave Gahary, a former submariner in the U.S.
Navy, is the host of AFP’s ‘Underground Interview’ series.
Be sure to check out all of AFP’s free podcasts.
You’ll find them on the HOME PAGE, in the ARCHIVES
& in the PODCAST section.
Four Georgia Counties Now Forcibly Taking Suspects’ Blood
• Motorists who refuse breath test for drunk
driving given mandatory “blood draw”
By Dave Gahary
Although
the United States Supreme Court ruled in April that “police officers must
‘usually’ obtain a warrant before conducting blood draws on suspected impaired
drivers” in DUI (Driving Under the Influence) cases, the opinion stated that
obtaining a warrant “must be determined on a case by case basis,” which has
given several states wide latitude to conduct this controversial procedure.
Video of
the so-called ‘warrantless blood draws’ being done in Georgia was recently
aired on an Atlanta TV station thanks to David Boyle, a Georgia
attorney-at-law, who had requested the videos when he was told they existed.
Mr. Boyle has “been an attorney in Georgia for 15 years,” “most of that
time…spent as a prosecutor.” He “started out in Gwinnett County being a
prosecutor in traffic court and did a lot of work with DUI cases,” and “used to
train the police officers on DUIs and detection.” After continuing “to practice
as a prosecutor in several different district attorney’s offices,” he “went
into private practice in 2010, and a good portion of [his] practice is
defending folks who are charged with DUI.”
AMERICAN
FREE PRESS conducted an exclusive interview with Mr. Boyle to gain a fuller
understanding of this issue, which is being practiced in four of Georgia’s 159
counties, and started by asking how he came upon the videos.
“I
basically had a couple of clients who came to me and they told me, ‘Hey, I
refused to take the test, and then they forced me down and took my blood.’ I
heard rumors about that but I never actually had a case where they did it. So I
started digging around and did an open records request, because they said there
was a video camera, so I did a request to get the video of my client and
discovered that.”
Mr. Boyle
explained this was possible “because Gwinnett County’s tactical team at the
jail who deal with unruly inmates, for liability purposes they videotape all of
their encounters.”
AFP asked
him to explain the procedure, which has been “happening in Gwinnett County as
of January 1st of this year.”
“They
take the person into a separate room and essentially put them into a restraint
chair. It actually looks like the same bed they put you in before they give you
a lethal injection. And they strap you in across your ankles, across your
knees, across your thighs, across your waist, across your chest and arms, and
then forcibly turn your head to the side so you can’t look at the person or
spit or bite at the person that’s gonna take it. And then they bring in a
contract person to draw blood. And…then they go ahead and do this forced blood
draw, and depending upon how the person reacts to that, it can really become a
very volatile situation.”
Mr. Boyle
believes “they’ve done about 120 this year,” and explained his opposition to
this practice.
“I just
think that’s wrong to be forcing people to be held down to stick a needle in
their arm for investigating a misdemeanor. I think that that level of intrusion
into the human body is just so far beyond what the law should allow. There are
instances where folks have to give substances, pursuant to a search warrant, in
murder cases and rape cases, in which they’re getting DNA. That involves
sticking a Q-Tip in their mouth and getting a swab, not holding somebody down
against their will and jabbing a needle in their arm. I just don’t think that
is a road we don’t want to go down. I think that is unreasonable under the
Fourth Amendment as an unreasonable search of somebody.”
Mr. Boyle
explained one of the conflicts of interest associated with this practice.
“There’s
actually an agency called Ten-Eight [Forensic] Services [Inc.],” he said,
“created by law-enforcement officers…who are getting the contracts to do this.
It’s a whole growth industry for some former police officers.”
AFP asked
where he saw this going and was asked to explain the inherent inequality with
this practice.
“It’s
tough to say. There are several cases in the pipeline right now working its way
up the Georgia Court of Appeals. The problem is it’s also difficult to
challenge because the penalty for refusing to take the test is much harsher
than the actual DUI conviction. So for example, if it’s your first lifetime
DUI, your license will be suspended for a year if you’re convicted. However, if
you’re eligible for a work permit immediately, you can get your full license
back within four months if you do certain conditions. If you refuse to take the
test, you lose your license for a year, 12 months no driving at all; no work
permit available. And in Gwinnett County where they’re doing this, there’s not
public transportation for folks to get around. Sometimes just taking the DUI is
easier.”
“It is
not illegal to have something to drink and then drive…if you’re still below
.08. But that doesn’t mean a police officer is not going to arrest you, take
you in front of a judge and try to get a warrant to draw your blood.”
- See more
at: http://americanfreepress.net/?p=11623#sthash.4dmMoCsT.dpuf
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