Wisconsin DUI probable cause case
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is set to rule on whether there can be probable cause for a DUI arrest without an odor of alcohol, or, as the attorney arguing for the defense put it, any indication of drinking at all.
Wisconsin supreme court takes on drunk driving evidence - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports -: "'If you're going to drive drunk, make sure you really go big, because you need to have an accident, if it's really bad and there's a gasoline smell and someone's almost died, that you're not going to be able to arrest unless they can smell alcohol or see beer cans, or something like that in the car,' Ziegler said.
'That's the standard you're asking this court to accept.'
Cohen demurred. 'I'm not saying you need an odor of alcohol, I'm not saying you need a beer can, I'm just saying you need something that would indicate the use of intoxicants.
Justices pointed out state law assumes permission to test blood for alcohol, even if a driver is unconscious, if there's an odor of booze, or probable cause.
'The inference to me is that you can have probable cause to believe a violation, without detecting any presence of alcohol,' Justice Ann Walsh-Bradley said.
Another standard that determines whether a drunk driving investigation can happen is the totality of the circumstances.
Mitchell Lange's arrest and blood draw took place at a Madison hospital. It was his second drunk driving arrest."
This case could mark a shift in Wisconsin DUI law, and has the potential to reach the US Supreme Court.
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