Protection from Self-Incrimination

The House took no action on Senate legislation allowing for the forced administration of blood tests on persons involved in vehicular accidents involving death or serious injury. The ACLU has objected that the forced taking of blood from a person for the purpose of using it as evidence against him or her is a gross violation of the privilege against self-incrimination. Proponents of the legislation have been unable to point to any cases where the police’s current lack of authority to take blood has hindered drunk driving convictions. However, another bill that did pass both Houses allows the Attorney General to obtain warrants for samples of bodily fluids or tissues, but only to identity the perpetrator of a crime. The bill was passed in response to a recent R.I. Supreme Court ruling holding that the state law authorizing issuance of warrants for the seizure of “property” did not apply to such samples. As originally introduced, the bill allowed the samples to be used for purposes other than identifying the person, but objections from the ACLU and others led to amendments in that regard.