New York Court of Appeals
The People of the State of New York v. Robert A. Kates
October 27, 198153 N.Y.2d 591
Summary
The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division, holding that section 1194 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law does not require express consent for a blood alcohol test of an unconscious driver, that the statute’s distinction between conscious and unconscious drivers does not violate equal protection, and that the prosecutor may appeal a suppression order when he certifies the suppressed evidence is essential. Justice Fuchsberg, in a concurring memorandum, reiterated his dissenting view that the statute violates the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition on testimonial compulsion.