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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho court affirms ruling throwing out warrantless blood draw

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Supreme Court has affirmed a northern Idaho judge's decision to toss out blood draw test results in a fatal crash case because police failed to get a search warrant. The court in a decision released Tuesday ruled that Kyle Rios withdrew his implied consent to blood alcohol testing by refusing to sign a consent form. Rios was charged with vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal crash and drunk driving following the Dec. 1, 2013, crash that killed Paul W. Stuk of Peck. The blood draw found that Rios had a blood alcohol content of 0.263 percent, three times the legal limit. Rios has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

You can read the court’s full opinion online here; it’s a unanimous opinion, authored by Chief Justice Jim Jones. Here's some background on the case.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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