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Schmidt To Court: Put DUI Decision On Hold

By Submitted

03/06/2016

Former KS Atty General Derek Schmidt

(MSC News)--Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has asked the state Supreme Court to put on hold recent decisions that declare state DUI-related statutes unconstitutional until the U.S. Supreme Court decides a similar case later this spring.

In a series of four cases announced February 26th, the Kansas Supreme Court overturned state statutes related to DUI, most notably a statute making it a crime for a person suspected of DUI to refuse to submit to a breath test to determine blood-alcohol levels. The state court held that the statute as currently written violates constitutional rights.

But the U.S. Supreme Court already has agreed to hear cases from other states that present similar constitutional questions. Those cases are scheduled for argument later this spring with a decision expected by the end of June.

Schmidt Friday filed motions asking the Kansas Supreme Court to delay formally issuing its decisions, pending the outcome of the federal case.

Schmidt acknowledged the request is unusual but argued it is a reasonable approach given the timing of the state and federal cases.

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