Mitchell v. Wisconsin on Blood Alcohol Tests Under the Fourth Amendment

Abstract

The Fourth Amendment protects individuals against unreasonable searches by the state without a warrant. The Court has long struggled with questions of what constitutes a search and under what circumstances the acquisition of a warrant by police is an unreasonable hurdle to legitimate safety concerns of the public. Mitchell asks these questions in the context of drawing a blood alcohol test from an unconscious driver. One side argues that drivers have provided implied consent when signing up for a license in order to protect the entire public from harm, while the other side argues that such a personal bodily invasion is not allowed under the Fourth Amendment.