Drunken-Driving Suspects Must Be Allowed To Make Call

When a person is arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and is given a blood-alcohol test, the person must be allowed to make a telephone call if he or she requests it, the Idaho Court of Appeals says.

That call will allow the defendant an opportunity to gather his or her own evidence of intoxication that could dispute the state’s charge, the court ruled Thursday.

In a Kootenai County case, Ida Kemmer Carr was charged with drunken driving after blood alcohol tests showed a blood level of 0.20 and 0.21 percent, both at least twice the level considered proof of legal drunkeness in Idaho.

But she testified that the Coeur d’Alene police officer who arrested her refused to allow her to make a telephone call until about five hours after her arrest, despite the fact she asked to make a call.

In a decision written by Chief Judge Jesse Walters, the court said that infringed on Carr’s ability to gather evidence on her behalf.