A Batesville man convicted of negligent homicide in a vehicle crash during a Chevrolet Camaro test drive will receive a new trial after the Arkansas Supreme Court tossed his conviction Thursday.
An Independence County jury found Sammy Dortch Jr. of Batesville guilty of negligent homicide, driving while intoxicated and reckless driving in the September 2015 death of his friend Matthew Anderson.
In a split decision, the high court ruled that the law under which Dortch's blood sample was obtained was unconstitutional and that the blood draw should not be admitted as evidence if he's retried.
The U.S. Supreme Court held in 2016 that blood tests collected without warrants violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling upended so-called implied consent laws, which subjected suspected drunken drivers to penalties if they refuse to submit to blood testing.
In Arkansas, law enforcement agencies adjusted their policies to comply with U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in 2016, and the General Assembly amended Arkansas Code Annotated 5-65-202 in 2017 to require that a warrant be obtained to test a suspect's blood.
Implied consent laws still apply for urine, saliva and breath tests. The nation's high court drew a distinction between the intrusiveness of those tests versus blood tests, saying that blood tests rise to a higher level of intrusion that constitutes an unreasonable search or seizure.
Dortch's wreck occurred after sharing lunch and alcoholic drinks with Anderson, according to court documents. The pair left a Batesville restaurant and checked out a 2011 Camaro from Stanley Wood Chevrolet to test drive.
Dortch lost control of the vehicle, and it flipped upside down, court records show.
First responders reported finding Dortch standing outside the vehicle when they arrived. Anderson was found upside down in the vehicle, restrained with a seatbelt, and he had no pulse.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dortch admitted drinking and agreed to have his blood drawn at White River Medical Center, documents say.
He registered a blood-alcohol level at 0.139, according to court documents.
Metro on 04/27/2018