NJ Justices Weigh Applying DWI Warrant Rule Retroactively

Earlier this month, New Jersey’s highest court began deliberation over the Missouri v. McNeely ruling from 2013 made by the U.S. Supreme Court which had mandated that law enforcement would need a search warrant before drawing a blood or urine sample from drunk driving suspects. There is no word on how many past cases the decision would effect as the courts would apply the law retroactively.

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NJ Justices Weigh Applying DWI Warrant Rule Retroactively

Source: NJ Law Journal

New Jersey’s highest court is considering whether to retroactively apply a 2013 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that said police generally must get a search warrant before obtaining blood samples or demanding urine samples from suspected intoxicated drivers.

The state Supreme Court on Dec. 3 heard arguments in a pair of cases—State v. Adkins and State v. Verpent—and is set to determine whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Missouri v. McNeely means that past police practices in the state, where warrants were rarely obtained, violated defendants’ constitutional rights if those defendants did not consent to providing the samples.

Justice Anne M. Patterson asked how many cases could be affected if McNeely were to be applied retroactively. Susswein said he had no hard figures but added that he suspected there were not that many cases involving blood samples to begin with.

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