Appeals Court Says Urine Tests Without Warrant Unconstitutional

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Court of Appeals says a state law making it a crime for someone arrested for drunken driving to refuse a urine test without a warrant is unconstitutional.

The appeals court on Monday reversed the conviction of a driver who refused to submit to a blood or urine test.

While Minnesota Supreme Court has said warrantless breath tests are constitutional, the Court of Appeals ruled in October that warrantless blood tests are not. Monday's ruling applied similar logic to warrantless urine tests.

The U.S. Supreme Court this month agreed to decide whether states can criminalize a driver's refusal to take an alcohol test even if police have not obtained a search warrant. It will review the Minnesota Supreme Court decision on breath tests and two North Dakota cases.

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