South Dakota Judges Upholding Blood Tests in DUI Cases

State Attorney General Marty Jackley says South Dakota judges are generally upholding a state law that says anyone driving a vehicle is considered to have given consent to the testing of the amount of alcohol in that person’s blood.

The U.S. Supreme Court in April ruled that police usually must try to obtain a search warrant from a judge before ordering blood tests for drunken-driving suspects.

Jackley says that ruling has prompted many people suspected of drunken driving to seek to suppress blood tests. But he says trial judges have generally upheld the legality of taking blood samples under the state law that presumes drivers have consented to the withdrawal and testing of their blood.

Jackley says the South Dakota Supreme Court will likely weigh in on the issue eventually.