Tag: blood draw

Can I be FORCED to provide a breath sample to law enforcement if I am suspected of OWI?

Can I be FORCED to provide a breath sample to law enforcement if I am suspected of OWI? As criminal defense attorneys specializing in OWI defense, we often get questions about what to do if arrested for an OWI.  Many of the questions surround what to do if asked for a sample from your body: If I am suspected of OWI, can the cops require me to give them a breath test? What about a urine or blood test? Can’t I just refuse? I thought I could refuse a test and they just take my license for longer, right? Can […]

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THC Metabolite Concentration is Inconsistent Predictor of Impairment

Are blood or saliva concentrations of delta-9 THC metabolites predictive of impairment? That’s what a recent article in the Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews journal sought to determine. The article published data from a meta-regression analysis of 28 studies involving 824 participants. The biggest takeaway is that neither THC nor THC metabolite concentrations are consistent predictors of impairment.  Surprisingly, THC levels in blood, which is the bodily specimen of choice in OWI search warrants in Iowa, showed the weakest correlation. Iowa law equates the mere presence of inactive metabolites of THC with being under the influence of cannabis.  However, the science […]

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Should Hospitals Refuse to Comply with Blood Draw Warrants?

There is a growing trend in Iowa when it comes to OWI investigations, particularly those involving drugs other than alcohol. Peace officers are bypassing the standard implied consent procedures and seeking search warrants for blood instead. It’s not just for situations involving deaths or potentially fatal injuries.  Yes, there’s a law authorizing search warrants in those specific situations.  We’re talking here about regular, vanilla OWI traffic stops.  The run of the mill variety that happen every day across the state. Police have the discretion to apply for general search warrants even for ordinary cases if they want a blood sample […]

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Expired Blood Testing Kit Results in Inadmissible Evidence

Calhoun County, Iowa- A GRL Law client was involved in a single vehicle accident and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.  Officers believed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol. Because the client was in the hospital and strapped to a bed, the client was asked by officers to submit a sample of his blood.  He consented.  The officers gave the nurse a testing kit to sample the blood that was expired by almost two years.  GRL attorney Grant Gangestad filed a motion to exclude the blood test results based upon the fact that the kit used […]

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Search Warrant for Blood? Call GRL Law

There was a time when the impaired driving defense lawyers at GRL Law only encountered search warrants for blood in felony OWI cases.  Especially those involving serious injuries. Those were the days.  The police no longer reserve search warrants for just serious injury accidents.  Now, it seems they pursue blood warrants for all types of cases.  Refuse a preliminary breath test with a prior OWI conviction on your record?  Transported to the hospital where breath testing is not available?  What about the odor of marijuana or the discovery of medication not prescribed to you? It’s common practice today for the […]

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