Los Angeles DUI Attorney BlogCould Hawaii DUI Ruling Signal Changes in Other States’ DUI Laws?
Have you been convicted of a Los Angeles DUI based on a breathalyzer test that you took only because you didn’t want to lose your license? You may be particularly interested in a recent decision by the Hawaii Supreme Court, which ruled that the state’s “implied consent” laws regarding BAC tests are unconstitutional.
In the case of the State of Hawaii vs. Yong Shik Won, the justices found that officers had coerced Won into taking the test. He originally refused but changed his mind when police had him sign an implied consent form that stated under Hawaii law he must take a breathalyzer test or face 30 days in prison and a $1,000 fine. Won took the test, which resulted in his DUI conviction.
Won appealed his conviction based on the fact that officers had not read him his rights before administering the BAC. His attorneys argued that this was a warrantless search, and that under Hawaii’s constitution the state cannot compel someone to submit to a search when consent was gained “by explicit or implicit coercion, implied threat or covert force.”