Appeals ruling in DWI case expected within 30 days

If an appellate court affirms a local judge's ruling, Missouri's suspected drunken drivers could be exempt from further blood-alcohol-level tests -- involving blood and urine samples -- by first refusing to take a breathalyzer test.

Oral arguments in the Cape Girardeau County case of State v. Carol S. Smith were held Wednesday at the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District in St. Louis. The court is expected to issue a ruling within the next 30 days, said Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle.

"This is a very important case because it can have a big impact on prosecuting drunken driving," he said.

Smith, 42, of Jackson was arrested Aug. 12 for allegedly driving while intoxicated. Her attorney, Steve Wilson, successfully kept the evidence of Smith's blood sample out of court in March after Circuit Judge Michael Bullerdieck agreed it should have not been drawn in the first place because Smith refused a breathalyzer. Bullerdieck's written ruling said it was the legislature's intent to limit the state's right to seek a search warrant for such a blood test.

Wilson remains optimistic and said it is possible to take the case higher in the judicial system.

"I think everything went well," he said. "One of the judges asked whether it would be appropriate to send it to the Missouri Supreme Court, so that would be an option to consider."

Prosecutors hoped to convince the appellate court that the testing statute refers only to cases where blood is drawn without a warrant, not the seizure of evidence obtained with a valid search warrant.