Attorney says blood analysis ruling fractured

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — An attorney who unsuccessfully tried to persuade Wisconsin’s Supreme Court into ruling that drunken drivers can block blood tests by withdrawing their consent says the court’s decision isn’t clear.

Jessica Randall was arrested in 2016 for driving under the influence. She agreed to a blood draw but before the sample could be analyzed she revoked her consent and demanded the sample be returned to her or destroyed. The Supreme Court ruled 5-1 on Tuesday that drunken drivers lose their privacy interest in the amount of alcohol in their blood when they’re arrested and said Randall’s test results could be entered into evidence.

Tracey Wood, one of Randall’s attorneys, says she’s disappointed but noted the Supreme Court’s decision was fractured, with two justices joining in a lead opinion, three concurring with that opinion on different grounds and one dissenting. She says the decision doesn’t clarify state law.