Union County, Iowa. Following a one car accident a GRL client was transported to the hospital and a blood draw was administered at the request of law enforcement to determine his level of intoxication. Pursuant to Iowa Code Section 321J.7, a physician is required to certify that a person is either dead or unconscious in order to draw the person’s blood without a warrant. Despite the constitutional arguments that surround this code section, if the appropriate paperwork is not completed, then the test results are not admissible in the criminal proceedings. In this particular case, the test result were suppressed as a result of incomplete paperwork and the charges were ultimately reduced to reckless driving and public intoxication. This allowed the client to avoid a loss of driver’s license and avoid a criminal conviction for operating while intoxicated.
