Q: My son was pulled over for traffic stop. Then the police cited him for DUI. They took him to the hospital to do a blood test which he consented to. They also tested his blood for other drugs which he didn’t know at the time. He was clean of all drugs just the alcohol came back as he was over the limit. Do they still need a warrant for this under the new US Supreme Court law of the 4th Amendment and the state of PA to draw a blood test? (Meadville, PA)

A: Yes, after Birchfield v. North Dakota which ruled that police need a warrant to obtain blood, the PA Department of Transportation changed its O’Connell warning form. As the law currently stands post-Birchfiled, police need consent from a DUI suspect. If not, they must get a warrant. Given the fact that PA has such a strict penalty for refusing to consent to chemical testing (one-year license suspension) most driver’s consent to blood or breath testing. I know I would.