Suppression of Evidence – Exclusionary Rule

By: Derek Hawkins//January 27, 2021//

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Philip J. Hawley

Case No.: 2015AP1113-CR

Officials: Blanchard, Kloppenburg, and Nashold, JJ.

Focus: Suppression of Evidence – Exclusionary Rule

This appeal arises from a 2013 warrantless blood draw from Philip Hawley that police ordered while Hawley was unconscious in the hospital following a motorcycle crash. Hawley argues that the blood draw was an unlawful search in violation of the Fourth Amendment and that the evidence obtained from the blood draw should be suppressed under the exclusionary rule. He also argues that provisions in Wisconsin’s implied consent law that permit warrantless blood draws from an unconscious suspect are unconstitutional. We agree with Hawley regarding the unconstitutionality of the implied consent provision at issue in this case, but conclude that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule precludes suppression of the evidence. We therefore affirm.

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Derek A Hawkins is Associate Corporate Counsel, IP at Amazon.

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