Hannoy v. State,
No. 49A05-0206-CR-282 (Ind. Ct. App. June 10, 2003)
A
driver was convicted of operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content
of .10 percent or greater and causing a death. The Court of Appeals of Indiana
reversed the lower court conviction and remanded the case based on its determination
that it was an error to admit the blood alcohol test results from the blood
sample obtained at the request of law enforcement. The court held that implied
consent laws did not justify drawing the driver's blood at the hospital following
a fatal collision because the sheriff's deputy who requested that the hospital
staff draw blood never advised the driver of implied consent laws at all and
never sought his actual consent. The driver's failure to resist the nurse's
drawing of his blood did not constitute actual consent because it was not freely
and voluntarily given. In addition, the deputy's conversation with the driver
implied that the test was mandatory.