Refusal Statute As Applied to Warrantless Blood Test is Unconsitutional

State v. Trahan, Minn.S.Ct., 10/12/2016.  Chief Justice Gildea takes something of a victory lap to celebrate the SCOTUS adoption of the Minnesota Court's pronouncement that a breath test is nothing more than search incident to a lawful arrest.  State v. Bernard, 859 N.W.2d 762 (2015), aff’d sub nom. Birchfield v. North Dakota, ___ U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 2160 (2016).  Somewhat, because the court unanimously throws in the towel to declare Minnesota's refusal statute unconstitutional as applied when what's refused is either a blood or urine test.  This opinion is the blood test refusal.

The state wanted the court to expand its recent limited adoption of the good faith exception to the warrant requirement.  However, the Chief points out that nothing had really been suppressed; after all the cops didn't collect any evidence sought to be introduced at trial.