Published on:

Oregon Supreme Court Decides State v. Machuca

By

State v. Thomas Gregory Machuca (TC 050647097) (CA A133362) (SC S057910):

DE MUNIZ, C. J.

The state seeks review of a Court of Appeals decision that reversed and remanded defendant’s DUII conviction. The Court of Appeals concluded that the trial court had erroneously admitted test results of defendant’s blood alcohol content. The court reasoned that (1) defendant’s consent to have his blood drawn and tested had been unlawfully coerced because he had been read the legal consequences for refusing to consent to those procedures as required by Oregon’s implied consent statutes, ORS 813.095 to 813.136; and (2) the dissipation of alcohol from defendant’s bloodstream over time did not, by itself, provide an alternative justification for a warrantless blood draw conducted to secure evidence of defendant’s blood alcohol content. State v. Machuca, 231 Or App 232, 218 P3d 145 (2009). We allowed the state’s petition for review, and, for the reasons that follow, we now reverse the Court of Appeals decision….” (Read full case.)

Summary can be found in the OJD February 11, 2010, Media Release.

Previous OLR Blog post.

Contact Information