Fitzgerald v. People

Summary

The Colorado Supreme Court considers whether admitting a defendant’s refusal to submit to blood- or breath-alcohol testing as evidence of guilt violates the Fourth Amendment. The court holds that Colorado’s Expressed Consent Statute permits use of refusal evidence without impermissibly burdening the defendant’s constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches. The court affirms the district court’s judgment upholding Fitzgerald’s DWAI conviction.

Holdings

1. The prosecution's use of a defendant's refusal to consent to a blood or breath test as evidence of guilt, when authorized by Colorado's Expressed Consent Statute, does not violate the Fourth Amendment.
2. Admission of refusal evidence does not constitute an impermissible penalty on the exercise of a Fourth Amendment privilege because a motorist has no constitutional right to refuse a blood- or breath-alcohol test.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the prosecution violated the Fourth Amendment by introducing a defendant's refusal to consent to a warrantless blood- or breath-alcohol test as evidence of guilt in a DUI or DWAI prosecution.
2. Whether Colorado's Expressed Consent Statute permits refusal evidence without impermissibly penalizing the exercise of a constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches.

Disposition

affirmed