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Tech Could Cut Down On Time Needed For DWI Stops In Travis County

= A new online repor?ng system is being tested in parts of Travis County, Leander and Liberty Hill.

The Law Enforcement Advanced DWI/DUI Repor?ng System allows an officer in the field to send a DWI blood search warrant directly to a judge.

The current setup requires a cop to track down a judge to physically sign the warrant before a suspect can be taken to a hospital for a blood-test.

While Travis County is a bit ahead of the curve, many rural coun?es and municipali?es must some?mes drive several miles and wait several hours before a magistrate will sign a warrant, oQen resul?ng in spolia?on of otherwise viable blood evidence.

This may seem like common sense, but Texas has had internal conflict with implied consent and blood draws for several years. Implied consent law suggests that your ability to drive is a privilege and drivers consent to law enforcements otherwise illegal infringement on our 4th amendment protec?ons from search and seizure the moment we get behind the wheel. OQen ?mes, when individuals refuse to comport to these implied consent searches, such as standard field sobriety tests (think walk and turn or count backwards from 300 while paYng your head and rubbing your belly, just kidding, not really kidding), or providing samples of breath and blood, these refusals have collateral consequences. These consequences include driver’s license suspensions, required installa?ons of interlock devices or home alcohol monitoring devices and a plethora of other restric?ve bond and proba?on condi?ons.

Because so many people refuse to comply with these implied consent searches (called a total refusal), oQen ?mes blood draw warrants are law enforcements only mechanism to secure evidence of intoxica?on. Once the driver refuses these tests, the clock starts to ?ck on law enforcement’s ability to obtain this blood draw.

“The ?me from the stop, to the blood draw, is cut down exponen?ally [with this new soQware],” said Sgt. Ryan Doyle with the Leander Police Department.

It can some?mes take a cop hours to track down a judge depending on the ?me of day and traffic. Unlike Travis County, many coun?es in Texas do not have a judge at the jail around the clock to help expedite this process. If that’s the case the cop may have to track a judge down at their home or wherever they might be located at any given moment.

With the new soQware, an officer will be able to stay at the scene of the DWI stop, send the blood warrant to the judge electronically where the judge can review it, sign it and send it back electronically.

“We can get a blood draw much closer to the ?me of driving, and create a much more effec?ve case for court,” said Sgt. Doyle.

With any new system, there are some concerns regarding the legi?macy and how effec?ve it will be. Currently there are two judges in Liberty Hill and Leander trained on the system. “I believe they will be more thorough just because it’s new technology and I know it will be challenged,” said Sgt. Doyle.

While this may sound like a winning idea, the bacle for blood draw warrants is far from over.

Texas has con?nued to grapple with the legi?macy, scope and consequences of these searches and the laws con?nue to change.

AQer this beta test the system will be made available for judges across Texas. However, some Coun?es, such as Hays, may con?nue not to pursue these warrants even with this ease of access. Interes?ngly, Hays County, with its seat in San Marcos, currently has no judge willing to sign these warrants, easy or not, making DWI cases with total refusals very difficult to li?gate for prosecutors.

In the mean?me, if you find yourself with a DWI charge give us a call.