People v. Simpson

Citations

• 2017 CO 25
• 392 P.3d 1207
• 2017 WL 1377342

Syllabus

Searches and Seizures—Warrantless Blood Draw—Consent to Search. Colorado's Expressed Consent Statute, CRS § 42-4-1301.1, provides that any motorist who drives on the roads of the state has consented to take a blood or breath test when requested to do so by a law enforcement officer with probable cause to suspect the motorist of driving under the influence. In this interlocutory appeal, the Court reviewed the trial court's ruling that an advisement accurately informing defendant of the statute amounted to coercion that rendered his consent to a blood test involuntary and required suppression of the test result. The Court explained that by driving in Colorado, defendant consented to the terms of the statute, including its requirement that he submit to a blood draw under the circumstances present in this case. The Court concluded that defendant's prior statutory consent satisfied the consent exception to the warrant requirement under the Fourth Amendment therefore, the blood test conducted in this case was constitutional. Consequently, the Court reversed the trial court's suppression of the test result.