If a peace officer�s spouse is a licensed RN, LVN, MLT, etc, can that officer call upon his or her spouse to perform a mandatory blood draw, whether it be via the THP-51 or a blood search warrant? Would it be a conflict of interest?

If that person happens to be the person on duty when the draw is needed (i.e., wreck, officer's spouse is ER nurse handling defendant as a patient in due course of their responsibilities) then it is explainable and a jury might understand. If the officer is just using their spouse because they are convenient and willing to respond, then I predict credibility becoming a defensive issue that juries might be less sympathetic about. Expect significant cross examination either way.

I appreciate the feedback. I know of one county, that does not have a local hospital, so any blood draws have to be transported to a hospital in an adjacent county, but one of the peace officers serving this county has a spouse who is properly licensed. If that county set it up with her to be on call and available for blood draws, you are saying the it might not be advisable due to the defense questions and how a jury may take it, is this correct? What if they have several nurses and or MLT set up on an on-call basis, are you saying that it would ill-advised for the spouse of this peace officer to be on such a "on-call" list?

I am just saying that avoiding an appearance of impropriety will save you a lot of headaches in the long run. If she happens to be on call and other officers are calling on her for draws, they're all just doing their jobs and she is clearly qualified to do that. But if the officer-spouse calls on her, it almost looks like, "Hey, honey, could ya help me out on making this case?" From a cynical juror's (not that there are any of THOSE in Texas) perspective, he has an incentive to use her (she gets paid for the draw; income to her is income to him) and she has an incentive to help him out (she gets more business and he wins cases). If there are other people who could also be used in the county, rotating them so that the officer doesn't ever have to call on his wife is probably the best way to avoid the issue. I'm not saying not to use her, but avoid them being assigned to the same cases to minimize these potential perceived credibility problems.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Clearly, she is not also analyzing the blood, so she is not in a position to alter the outcome of the sample, which I'm sure ultimately is the defense's concern. I am surprised no one else weighed in on this.

I don't think you are reading into it too much. However, if not going to the officer's significant other means it becomes impracticable to do the blooddraws period, the "appearance of impropriety" issue just gives the defense a little more to sink their teeth into on cross, if it even goes to trial. I would weigh the likelyhood of that circumstance vs. the evidentiary value of a blooddraw. I would prefer to have the blood and deal with the cross issues if it doesn't plea. After all, "If it bleeds, it pleads!"