Mandated Breathalyzer Tests Don't Violate Fourth Amendment, Supreme Court Says

Requiring drivers to undergo a warrantless breathalyzer test does not violate their Fourth Amendment rights, but similar requirements for blood test do, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-3 decision today in the case of Birchfield v. North Dakota.

At issue in the case were laws in 13 states that impose criminal penalties on people who refuse to take a blood alcohol test when police arrest drivers for operating under the influence when no warrant has been issued.

Lower courts had split on the question of whether such laws violated the constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizures.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented from the majority opinion, arguing that a breath test does constitute an unreasonable search. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the majority opinion by arguing that forcing both breath tests and blood tests could be permitted.

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