A problem law enforcement personnel face is receiving a timely warrant to obtain a blood draw from a suspected drunk or drugged driver. This problem is exacerbated with drivers suspected of being on marijuana as the drug can start to dissipate within 90 minutes of intake. Because it can take four hours or more to obtain a warrant, a blood draw may be almost worthless in such situations. As a result, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission is developing a database that may be accessed by the police, prosecutors, and judges that can speed up considerably the process to obtain a warrant, reports King 5 News.

Right now, an officer can get a warrant to obtain a blood draw by first manually filling out a form, then calling a judge and reading the probable cause for the blood draw, and finally having the judge approve or disapprove the warrant. It can be difficult to immediately reach a judge and have a decision. Consequently, a lot of suspected drugged drivers are back on the streets as there is not enough evidence to support a conviction.

The electronic blood warrant system would help solve this problem as the arresting officer would simply have to go on the web and enter the relevant data. The officer would no longer have to manually create a form and place a phone call. A judge would then access the database and review the evidence supporting the warrant. By cutting down on the process, the creators of the database named "Elias" estimate that the time to receive a warrant would go from four hours to only 30 minutes. Once complete this fall, the database will go through a pilot phase.

Contact a Seattle DUI Attorney

If you have any questions about blood draws and the evidence brought against you in a DUI case, you will want to contact an experienced DUI defense attorney. Learn more by contacting an attorney at Wolff Criminal Defense by calling 425-284-2000.