What are your thoughts of obtaining a urine specimen from a defendant to determine the alcohol concentration? Suppose that the sample was taken from the catch pan in the intox. room. I don't see any privacy issues since the defendant was abandoning his urine, like putting the trash out. If this is a problem what about a search warrant for urine? This does not seem to run afoul with ?724 of the transportation code. You would not be able to use either to suspend a drivers license but what is more important the conviction or the ALR suspension?

Is his "deposit" voluntary if he is under arrest in the room? I dunno.

Are any of his "deposits" voluntary during his stay at the county jail? Does it matter where he is staying he still has to go. I would say that he has to go no matter where it is and the sample is voluntary. The next issue is how to store and test the samples.

Dunno. Seems weird somehow, Keith. I'm sure your officers will love collecting the evidence.

Wouldn't this be covered by Transportation Code section 724.011(b) which states that a person arrested for an offense listed in subsection (a) "may consent to the taking of any other type of speciment to determine the person't alcohol concentration." It would seem from this language that consent is required.

By that you mean affirmative consent, rather than mere voluntary deposition in a container, right?

Right, John. Voluntary consent to the collection of the urine for testing purposes. Not just the fact the person voluntarily performed a natural bodily function. (What a topic!)

Janette Ansolabehere

Law school was never this much fun, was it, Janette?