September 09, 2009, 08:29
John GreenwoodAt the time of the arrest?
724.012(b)(3): At the time of the arrest, the officer possesses or receives reliable information from a credible source that the person: (A) has been previously convicted of . . .
Does the language "at the time of the arrest" mean that for a mandatory draw, the officer needed to know about the previous conviction(s) before they handcuffed the suspect or is it enough that they know before they compelled the sample? I could argue it either way, but absent a definitive answer, I am asking our officers to have dispatch run a history anytime they start SFST. Any thoughts on the issue?
September 09, 2009, 08:51
JBThe information can be developed at any time around the arrest but before the mandatory blood draw. Legislators understood that the collection of such information was a fluid event, beginning upon the officer's suspicion that a DWI was afoot and concluding with the mandatory blood draw. Testimony before the committees fleshed out this process.
Don't over-think this thing.
September 09, 2009, 14:10
Clay A.Post arrest determinations by other officers have been allowed under the previous law. Although the issue was source and not timing I agree with John that this is a non-issue. See Mitchell v. State 821 SW2d 420