Implied Consent for Chester County DUI

We previously talked about the rule behind refusing a DUI chemical test in Chester County.  As discussed, an officer or Pennsylvania State trooper must have "reasonable grounds" to request the blood, breath, or urine.  In order for police to have the authority  to request a driver to submit to a chemical test of blood, breath, or urine, they must believe that the person was 1) driving or 2) operating or 3) in actual physical control of the movement of the vehicle and that the person was in violation of either 1) Driving under suspension (1543(b)) DUI related, or 2) DUI (3802), or 3) illegally operating a vehicle not equipped with ignition interlock (3808(a)(2)).  

"Reasonable grounds" is a much lower standard than the criminal concept of "probable cause".  In fact, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Superior Courts have consistently recognized that "reasonable grounds" under the Implied Consent Law is a lesser standard than "probable cause" (see McKinley v. Department of Transportation from 1999).  They don't need the proof for a criminal prosecution to effect a suspension or test under implied consent.  Remember -- Driving is a privilege, not a right as your Chester County DUI lawyer has probably advised.  

Cases on Reasonable Grounds

A very important case in this line of reasoning is in DOT v Dreisbach from 1976, which states that reasonable grounds is determined on a case-by-case basis on whether evidence is sufficient to support such a claim.  The court notes that the police office need no be correct in his belief that the motorist be driving while intoxicated, but that "the only valid inquiry on this issue at the de novo hearing is whether, viewing the facts and circumstances as they appeared at the time, a reasonable person in the position of the police officer could have concluded that the motorist was operating the vehicle and under the influence of intoxicating liquor."  

While the implied consent law has been amended a lot since Dreisbach, the basis for "reasonable grounds" has effectively stayed the same.