FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MANDATORY BLOOD DRAWS GO INTO EFFECT TONIGHT

San Antonio, Texas: August 31, 2009:

At midnight tonight, mandatory blood draws will go into effect for a wider range of DWI offenses.  The new law, Senate Bill 328, passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor widens the circumstances under which individuals arrested for Driving While Intoxicated will be subject to mandatory blood draws without warrants.  Beginning tonight at midnight, under Chapter 724 of the Transportation Code, persons arrested for the following additional offenses will be required to give a specimen of their breath or blood without a warrant:

1.         Driving While Intoxicated 3rd
2.         Driving While Intoxicated with Child Passenger
3.         Driving While Intoxicated, where the officer reasonably believes an individual other than the suspect suffered bodily injury and was transported to a hospital or similar facility.
4.         Driving While Intoxicated and the person has previously been convicted of:
            a.         Driving While Intoxicated with a Child Passenger
            b.         Intoxication Manslaughter
            c.         Intoxication Assault.

Previously, only persons arrested for Intoxication Manslaughter and Intoxication Assault were required, as they still will be, to give a sample of their breath or blood.

Prior to tonight, prosecutors from the District Attorney’s Office have been meeting with the San Antonio Police Department and the DWI Task Force, which is composed of members from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and various local municipalities, to educate them on the new law and to coordinate its efficient implementation.

“This new law is another example of the movement across the country to use all means available to establish the defendant’s guilt for the jury,” said District Attorney Susan Reed.

For more information, contact District Attorney Susan D. Reed at 335-2342.