Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking the Kansas Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling earlier this year that motorists suspected of drunken driving cannot be punished for refusing to take sobriety tests. The state's high court ruled in February that the law was a violation of the U.S. Constitution's protections against warrantless searches. But Schmidt is citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it is permissible for states to punish DUI suspects for refusing to take the tests.
Kansas law has previously punished refusal to take a breath or blood alcohol with up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,250. A number of Kansas cases are now on hold as a result of the conflicting court rulings. Schmidt's office is asking that those cases be dealt with quickly according to the latest US Supreme Court guidance.
