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Riham Feshir

U.S. Supreme Court to hear Minn. alcohol breath test arguments

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The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments Wednesday in a case against alcohol breath tests in Minnesota.

The case stems from an August 2012 incident where a man named William Bernard Jr. and two others were trying to pull a boat out of the water at a boat launch in South St. Paul when their truck got stuck.

Court documents say Bernard admitted to police he'd been drinking, but denied driving the truck. A witness, however, told police Bernard was the driver.

Police arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence. Minnesota law makes it a crime for a person arrested for driving while impaired to refuse to submit to a chemical test of blood, breath or urine to detect the presence of alcohol.

Officers told Bernard it was a crime to refuse the alcohol test, but he declined anyway.

Bernard was charged with driving while impaired. He argued in trial court that a breath test without a search warrant violates the Fourth Amendment. The district court agreed and dismissed the case.

But the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the state law that makes it a crime to refuse an alcohol breath test without a search warrant.