Mitchell v. Wisconsin case

Description You recently accepted a position as a paralegal working in your local prosecutor’s office. Today is your first day on the job, and your supervisor has handed you your first case on which to work. The case involves Caitlin Jones, who has been charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI). Facts Officers arrived on the scene of a two-car accident where one driver of a car (Caitlin Jones) was found unconscious at the wheel of her vehicle. Another car was in the ditch, and the driver of this car and a passenger were badly injured, but both were conscious. After speaking with the driver of the car in the ditch and observing Caitlin Jones unconscious in her car and the contents of Caitlin's, one of the officers, Officer Green, suspected that Caitlin had been drinking. There were several empty beer bottles on the floor of the passenger side of Caitlin's vehicle, and the officers smelled alcohol on Caitlin's breath. Officer Green and the other officer who were first on the scene prioritized getting medical assistance for the injured drivers and passenger and directing traffic on the narrow two-lane road so that another accident would not occur. The two drivers and passenger were taken to the hospital. When Caitlin Jones arrived at the hospital, Caitlin was still unconscious, so Officer Green requested that her blood be taken to determine her alcohol content. No warrant was obtained. Officer Green was concerned that by the time that she obtained a warrant, Jones’s alcohol blood level would have dissipated. Officer Green and the second officer also had been occupied at the scene directing traffic on the narrow two-lane road. Caitlin Jones's blood test revealed that Jones’s blood alcohol content was 0.29. Jones was charged with violating the state’s DWI statute. Her attorney has filed a motion to suppress the blood test result and exclude the result, alleging that Officer Green should have obtained a warrant prior to the blood draw. Jones’s attorney argued that there was plenty of time to obtain the warrant on the way to the hospital and that the warrantless blood draw violated Jones’s Fourth Amendment rights. Therefore, the results should be suppressed pursuant to the exclusionary rule. After reading the Mitchell v. Wisconsin case and the supplemental materials below, analyze whether Officer Green acted lawfully or whether her actions were unconstitutional by answering the following questions in a 4–5-page paper. You are not required to conduct any outside research and can rely on the Mitchell v. Wisconsin case along with the other resources that are listed in the assignment to write your paper. Mitchell v. Wisconsin Mitchell v. Wisconsin article Mitchell v. Wisconsin Exempts BAC Tests as Exigent Circumstances Drawing Blood From an Unconscious OWI Suspect Allowed Mitchell v. Wisconsin How did the Supreme Court rule in the Mitchell v Wisconsin case? What was the Court’s reasoning in Mitchell v. Wisconsin? Caitlin Jones’s case Discuss whether Caitlin Jones’s case has any similarities with the Mitchell v. Wisconsin case. Are the two cases dissimilar in any way? Under the doctrine of stare decisis, does the Mitchell v. Wisconsin case apply to Caitlin Jones’s case? According to Mitchell v. Wisconsin, did Officer Green need a warrant prior to ordering the blood draw at the hospital? Why or why not? Your Opinion After reading the two law review articles and the dissenting opinion in Mitchell v. Wisconsin, discuss some of the criticism that the majority opinion in Mitchell v. Wisconsin has received for its reasoning. Discuss in detail whether you agree with the Court’s reasoning in the Mitchell v. Wisconsin case or whether you agree with the dissenting opinion and the authors of the two law review articles. APA Formatting of Possible References and In-text Citations Because you are discussing the Mitchell v. Wisconsin case, please make sure that you include the case citation as one of your references and in-text citations, which are listed in bold below. (All references are double-spaced, in alphabetical order, and include a hanging indent.)