Just in time for Christmas, the State Supreme Court issued its long awaited (2 years!) decision in the State v. Baird and State v. Adams cases. The prosecution won. At issue were the admissibility of the breath test refusal and breath test result following the US Supremes' decision in Minnesota v. McNeely (4/13/2013).
In a 4-2-3 split, the Baird court reversed the Superior Court's suppression of evidence. Key in the decision was the fact that while our court was considering the issue--the US Supreme Court issued its opinion in North Dakota v. Birchfield. Birchfield rejected the defense arguments under the federal constitution. The Baird court was left with deciding the issue under the state constitution.
The 4-2 plurality opinion is consistent with decisions rejecting similar arguments in other states.
The full opinion may be read here: State v. Baird
Congratulations to Brandy Gevers (King County Prosecutor's Office)!