LAW: Another Crushing Strike Against Our Constitution

While I've researched the fallibility's of alcohol detecting devices, law enforcement is not usually my topic of study. It was once said that our legal system was designed to be 85% effective. While some innocent may get caught in unusual circumstances leading to a conviction, a guilty man may be dismissed on charges where the investigators failed to gather/present direct evidence, the latter being the greater number. Today, as prosecuters use the plea bargain as a weapon and our Constitution fading to memory, in my opinion the legal community has lost sight of protecting the innocent and gained an interest in cashing in on guilt.

California Police may enter a house without warrants to arrest suspected drunk drivers, ruled by the California Supreme Court. The decision follows similar rulings in nearly a dozen other states. Justice Marvin Baxter wrote that the loss of evidence at issue was obtaining a measurement of the suspect's BAC. Critics fear that this will give carte blanche to the police to assume one was drinking and enter their home while they are sleeping to arrest them. With the anonymous phone tip, it introduces a host of negative possibility's such as: swerve to miss an animal, get invaded and arrested. Not to mention the angered ex, neighbor or officer! What about the restaurant employee who's vehicle was parked outside an establishment that serves liquor? Don't be alarmed if your an attractive person, the genius Baxter wrote, "In holding that exigent circumstances justified the warrantless entry here, we need not decide, and do not hold, that the police may enter a home without a warrant to effect an arrest of a DUI suspect in every case,".
The case that set the precedent was one where a neighbor claims to have seen the defendant driving, one who may have had an ax to grind? Apparently the ACLU took a case where the police found the wallet of a girl who had attended a party where there was underage drinking. They found her driver's license, showed up at her parents' home, got her out of bed, and gave her a breath test to see if she'd been drinking (not even driving -- just underage drinking). All without a warrant. The girl hadn't had a drop. But she took the test anyway, passed it, then sued.
A good read:
http://www.duiblog.com/2005/05/09#a162

Reference:
http://www.theagitator.com/archives/2006_06.php
http://cbs13.com/topstories/local_story_152182332.html