The Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld a man's driving while intoxicated conviction, saying his argument that a blood sample was taken illegally was an "absurd" interpretation of state law.
In an opinion released Thursday, the court affirmed the DWI conviction of Ernie Charles Metzner.
Metzner's appeal argued that a circuit court judge was wrong not to suppress a blood-alcohol test taken after the Benton County Sheriff's office obtained a search warrant to take a blood sample from him. Metzner argued that Arkansas' implied-consent law prohibits a search warrant in order to obtain a chemical test of the blood.
The court said it would not interpret the law "as to reach an absurd conclusion" that would afford DWI suspects more protection than other criminal defendants.
