Just two days after posting here about Kane County State’s Attorney John Barsanti’s plan for more “No Refusal” DUI stops surrounding the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, a ruling in Kane County puts the practice in question. 

According to a recent article, Barsanti suggests, “[his office] may be a step ahead of the legislation on [the matter].”  We wonder if, perhaps, a more fitting description might be that his office has suffered a setback in its attempt to rewrite the laws and Constitution of both Illinois and the United States. 

Read Reporter Matt Hanley’s full story in the Aurora Beacon News….

The importance of the ruling hinges on the search warrant.  In this case, Bradford Stehlik wasn’t compelled by the search warrant to provide his blood.  In fact, he wasn’t compelled to provide anything, as the search warrant allowed the officers to take blood, not for Stehlik to provide it.  As Stehlik wasn’t compelled by the search warrant to do anything, Judge Busch ruled that he couldn’t be found in contempt.

Compare this with a typical search warrant case – let’s say for a home.  If the defendant or owner/occupier whose property is subject to the search resists, i.e. interferes with the officers or tries to otherwise prevent the search, then the person can be detained, held in contempt, charged with obstruction of justice, etc.  An analogous situation with a warrant to draw blood would be if the person interfered with the officers attempting to draw blood from someone else.  In this case, that didn’t happen, as Stehlik simply refused to allow his own blood to be drawn.

Could a warrant be issued that compels a defendant to provide his own blood?  Well, that would invite other legal challenges, likely including one under the 5th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects against self-incrimination, including requiring one to furnish evidence against himself.

It will be interesting to see what Barsanti and his team decide, and whether their decision will stand up to the law.