McDonald v. Justice Court

REGAN, J.

Police officers, responding to a call at approximately 2:09 a.m., found petitioner unconscious behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle stopped partly on the

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lawn and sidewalk of a private residence—not her own. They called for an ambulance at 2:11 a.m. She appeared injured, with blood issuing from her head, nose and mouth. The officers detected a strong smell of an unknown alcoholic beverage about the person of petitioner and her vehicle. The physical evidence at the scene indicated petitioner’s vehicle had struck a legally parked, unoccupied vehicle prior to coming to rest on the lawn. Petitioner was taken by ambulance to a hospital, her injuries were treated, and at the request of a police officer a doctor took a blood sample from the still unconscious petitioner. No warrant was obtained either for her arrest or for a search of her person. Later petitioner was charged with violating section 23102, subdivision (a), of the Vehicle Code (misdemeanor drunk driving).

Petitioner sought a writ of habeas corpus and prohibition in the Sutter County Superior Court, contending that the police in this case were not authorized to arrest her

without a warrant

since they had no reasonable cause to believe she had committed a felony, nor did she commit a public offense in their presence. (See Pen. Code, § 836.) Since there was no probable cause to arrest without a warrant, petitioner contends there was no probable cause to search without a warrant.

The court ordered that a writ of prohibition issue restraining the Justice Court of the Yuba City Judicial District from taking any further action to prosecute or try petitioner for a violation of California Vehicle Code section 23102, subdivision (a).

The People of the State of California appeal,

alleging: “A.

The extraction of a sample of the defendant’s blood was reasonable, and, therefore, lawful because of the emergency and exceptional circumstances presented.

“B. The arguments urged by defense counsel below do not require that the evidence obtained by the blood test be excluded as the product of an unlawful search.