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Picture this: You are driving home when police pull you over. They think you were slurring your words, so they arrest you on suspicion of driving drunk. It’s late, so you fall asleep in the back of the squad car. Next thing you know, you wake up with a needle in your arm. Without your consent—or a warrant—the police drew your blood to test your BAC and charged you with drunk driving.

This nightmare isn’t fiction: Gerald Mitchell of Wisconsin lived through it. He asked the Supreme Court of Wisconsin to throw out this evidence. And he had a good case: There’s legal precedent that drawing blood for a BAC test is so invasive, police officers need to get a warrant first. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court of the U.S., and the justices there ruled that the police were within their rights.

Wait, how? The Supreme Court based its decision on a previous ruling that police don’t need to get a warrant for this blood draw if they are too busy to get the warrant. In the old case, they were in the middle of dealing with a car wreck. So how is this relevant? The Supreme Court ruled that the police were once again too busy to bother with a warrant. This time, it was because they were busy dealing with Mitchell’s unconscious body.

Whatever you think of this ruling, it’s now a precedent-setting case. So if you pass out during a traffic stop and the officers already have evidence that supports investigating drunk driving, they could pull blood from your unconscious body.

The good news is that it’s a medical procedure, usually completed at a hospital. In Mitchell’s case, he was pulled over and completed a breathalyzer test. When the results showed 0.24, policy required the police to confirm the BAC with a blood draw. They were already driving to the hospital when he passed out.

Think this couldn’t happen to you? Think again. If you’re suspected of drunk driving, passing out won’t stop officers from drawing your blood without a warrant. This Supreme Court ruling sets a precedent that pushes the boundaries of your Fourth Amendment rights. The best way to avoid all this? Don’t drink and drive—ever.

Curious if you can get a DUI just for sleeping in your vehicle while drunk? Watch the video embedded below:

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari is a MotorBiscuit Staff Writer who brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Henry covers Ford models daily, including the F-150. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. He’s an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts. Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont.