Currently, the Texas statutory law is that if one refuses a breath or blood test for blood alcohol content (BAC). However, some counties are attempting to implement a system where this is allowable. The justification is that this would reduce the number of trials for DWIs. An underlying reason may be a desire for more convictions for those that are intoxicated behind the wheel.
What needs to be addressed however is that such local rules are not only against Texas law, but also against the Constitutional rights of every American against unlawful searches and seizures. If reaching into a pocket or bag can be an unlawful search, what would courts say about piercing the skin and withdrawing blood? Moreover, with that question remaining, wouldn’t this increase litigation in the interim while lawyers fight the constitutionality of mandatory blood tests?
Ultimately, mandatory blood withdrawal for DWI suspicions will most likely fail in Texas.