New Law Closes DUI Loophole
“Jack Shea’s Law” Named for Former Olympian
On June 14, 2010, Senator Kenneth P. LaValle announced that Governor Patetrson had signed a measure to close a loophole in the state’s DWI (driving while impaired/intoxicated) laws that had allowed drunk drivers to escape justice, even if an innocent person was killed. “Jack Shea’s” law immediately permits certain medical personnel to draw blood at the request of a police officer, without a physician being present.
The bill was named for Jack Shea, a 91-year-old patriarch of a three-generation Olympian family. Shea was a two-time Olympic gold medal-winning skater who was instrumental in bringing the 1980 Winter Olympics back to Lake Placid, NY. Shea’s son was an US Olympic Team skier, and his grandson a gold medal-winning Olympic skeleton (sled) slider. The family was the first to have three generations compete in the Olympics.
Jack Shea was killed by a drunk driver less than a mile from his home on January 21, 2002. The driver’s blood alcohol content measured .15 (.08 or higher is considered intoxicated). Despite that fact, the driver escaped prosecution because the judge ruled that the blood alcohol test was not legally administered as the blood was drawn by a medical technician who was not supervised by a physician.
Prior to “Jack Shea’s” law, trained medical personnel such as Advanced EMTs, phlebotomists, nurse practitioners, and LPNs, were restricted from drawing blood to determine alcohol or drug content without having a physician present. The new law establishes a list of medical personnel authorized to withdraw blood and eliminates this unnecessary restriction in the law.
“It is critical to the safety of motorists that we do our best to ensure that those who would endanger the lives of others are kept off the road,” said Senator LaValle. “This measure will protect the public from drunk drivers by giving law enforcement the evidence it needs to effectively prosecute those charged with driving while intoxicated or doing drugs.”