State v. Morgan

The trial court granted Bobby Morgan’s motion to suppress results of a state-administered blood test. The state appeals. For the reasons which follow, we affirm. Morgan was involved in a two-car collision in which two people were killed and several other people were injured. A state trooper who arrived on the scene saw Morgan walking around and talked to him. The officer looked for signs that Morgan was impaired, but saw none. Morgan sustained a head injury in the collision and was transported to the hospital. He was treated and released from the hospital a few hours later.

As Morgan’s wife was preparing to drive Morgan away from the hospital, the officer approached the parked car in the parking lot. The officer was accompanied by a second uniformed officer. Without advising Morgan of any of his rights, the officer asked Morgan “if he would mind giving me a blood test.” Morgan agreed to do so. The officer handed Morgan a pre-printed form entitled “BLOOD/URINE SAMPLE CONSENT FORM.” The form did not inform Morgan of any of his constitutional or implied consent rights, or indicate that he was waiving any rights by consenting to a test. Morgan signed the form, went back into the hospital with the officers, and submitted to a blood test. The test results showed the presence of marijuana. Morgan was subsequently charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle driving while under the influence of drugs/marijuana, two counts of homicide by vehicle reckless driving, four counts of serious injury by vehicle driving under the influence of drugs/marijuana, four counts of serious injury by vehicle reckless driving, one count of driving under the influence of drugs marijuana, and one count of reckless driving.