In response to Kansas Supreme Court decisions issued this morning, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt today issued revised consent forms for use by all law enforcement agencies in Kansas involving investigations of suspected driving under the influence (DUI) offenses.
The Supreme Court this morning struck down as unconstitutional a Kansas statute that made it a crime for a driver to refuse to allow his blood alcohol content to be tested when he is suspected of DUI. As a result of the court decisions, parts of a form – called a DC-70 – that law enforcement officers are required by law to read to drivers during certain DUI investigations no longer are legally correct. Without a correct form, any DUI investigation could be legally problematic.
“We are taking swift action today to ensure Kansas law enforcement immediately has available legally correct forms to comply with the law while continuing to keep our state’s streets and highways safe,” Schmidt said. “We are making the modified forms available immediately so DUI enforcement can continue uninterrupted.”
Schmidt said his office is issuing the temporary new forms in cooperation with the Department of Revenue, which is responsible for making permanent revisions to the form that was invalidated by today’s court rulings. The Supreme Court decisions are State v. Ryce, No. 111,698, State v. Nece, No. 111,401, State v. Wilson, No. 112,009 and State v. Wycoff, No. 110,393.
A copy of the law enforcement advisory and revised consent form from the attorney general’s office is available at http://1.usa.gov/1Qm9c9J.