Senate Judiciary committee agrees to narrow bill language on court-ordered blood draws, replacing 'refuses' with 'hinders'

The Senate Judiciary Committee on April 3 discussed amendments to a DUI-related bill that would make certain conduct around court-ordered blood draws a criminal offense, directing staff to revise language to require submission when a warrant is issued and to replace the word "refuses" with "hinders" in the criminal-refusal provision.

Committee members and a testifying judge emphasized that blood draws raise different legal issues than breath tests, and they discussed how the proposed language should distinguish passive noncompliance from active obstruction so as not to criminalize a person who is merely hesitant or nonresponsive after a warrant is obtained.

Judge Sonia, a testifier during the hearing, told the committee that under Fourth Amendment analysis the warrant requirement is the baseline and consent is a separate inquiry; she noted that implied-consent doctrines commonly…