MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court has reinstated a drunken driving conviction against a Sauk County man who argued his blood was illegally drawn.
The court overturned a state appeals court ruling with a 5-2 opinion Friday. The appeals court had ruled that the blood draw was unconstitutional because the emergency medical technician acted under the direction of police, not a doctor.
But the Supreme Court says the blood draw was conducted in a “constitutionally reasonable manner.”
A Sauk County sheriff’s deputy arrested Patrick Kozel in August 2013 after noticing him driving erratically in Greenfield. Kozel agreed to have his blood drawn by a Baraboo District Ambulance Service EMT at the jail.
Justices Shirley Abrahamson and Ann Walsh Bradley dissented, saying there was insufficient evidence the EMT was working under a doctor’s order.
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