DWI
Refusing test is not self-incrimination
“[A] refusal to take a blood-alcohol test, after a police officer has lawfully requested it, is not an act coerced by the officer, and thus is not protected by the privilege against self-incrimination [,]” so using “evidence of a refusal against a defendant comports with the ‘fundamental fairness required by due process.’” That evidence was therefore not subject to suppression, and the circuit court erred in granting the State’s motion to suppress that evidence, so the Court of Appeals reverses that ruling. But the privilege against self-incrimination bars responses to pre-Miranda questions, and statements likely to evoke a response, beyond those ordinarily accompanying an arrest warning. That evidence was subject to suppression, and the circuit court did not err in granting the State’s motion to suppress that evidence, so the Court of Appeals affirms that ruling.
State of Missouri vs. Kimberly E. Vandervort
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District – WD85748 and WD85752