Wall v. Stanek, No. 14-2878 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDeputy Russeth stopped Wall for a traffic violation. Exiting her vehicle, Wall smelled of alcohol, exhibited poor balance, failed field sobriety tests, and in a preliminary breath test, produced a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .109—beyond the .08 legal threshold. Russeth arrested Wall. At headquarters, Russeth sought Wall’s consent to conduct a urine or blood test to determine BAC. In compliance with Minn. Stat. 169A.51, Russeth read aloud the “implied consent advisory,” informing Wall that “[r]efusal to take a test [wa]s a crime,” and before making a decision about testing, she had the right to consult an attorney. Affirming her understanding of her rights and disclaiming her right to an attorney, Wall agreed to urinalysis. After 45 minutes, Wall had not produced a urine sample. Russeth transported Wall to a medical center where Wall agreed to blood analysis. A registered nurse took a blood sample. Wall pled guilty to a petty misdemeanor traffic violation; her DWI charge was dismissed. Wall sued, alleging the county had a policy or custom of conducting warrantless, nonconsensual blood-alcohol tests in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Following the reasoning of the Minnesota Supreme Court, the court agreed that Wall’s consent made the blood draw constitutional. The Eighth Circuit affirmed. Wall’s dilemma, alone, does not satisfy her burden of nullifying her otherwise uninhibited consent.
Court Description: Riley, Author, with Bright and Murphy, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. Plaintiff consented to blood draw to test her alcohol level and she failed to show her consent was not voluntary; the choice posed under Minnesota law between consent to a test and punishable refusal did not place plaintiff in an unconstitutional dilemma.
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