Schmerber v. California

Schmerber v. California
Supreme Court of United States (1966)

Petitioner/Defendant:- Schmerber; the defendant got in an accident and a police officer too the defendant to the hospital. The officer noticed that the defendant had blood shot eyes and he smelled like alcohol. The officer asked the medical staff to take defendant's blood test, but the defendant refused. The blood test was taken without defendant's consent and it was used to convict the defendant. The defendant brought this complaint under due process clause and other laws but for the purposes of this brief, only 4th Amendment question will be discussed.

Issue: Did the warrantless blood sample violated defendant's 4th Amendment rights?

Holding: No

Legal Reasoning: The court ruled that the defendant had physical fetures which gave the police officer the probable cause to believe that the defendant was intoxicated. The court further stated that the officer did not have the time to obtain a warrant because the level of blood alcohol goes down with the passage of time. So the officer had exigent circumstances. The court further reasoned that the blood test was taken under safe and professional conditions and it was incident to defendant's arrest. So the conviction was affirmed.

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