Commonwealth v. McCarthy
Annotate this CaseIn this appeal addressing the ramifications of Defendant's refusal to take a blood test when he was stopped for driving under the influence (DUI) the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing and remanding this case to the circuit court, holding (1) the trial court properly held that, under Birchfield v. North Dakota, 136 S. Ct. 2160 (2016), Defendant's refusal to submit to a blood test could not be used to enhance his criminal penalty for DUI and that, under controlling precedent, could not be used as evidence that Defendant was guilty of DUI; but (2) the trial court erred in allowing the Commonwealth to introduce evidence to explain to the jury the lack of scientific evidence as to Defendant's blood alcohol content.
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