Minors in Michigan not required to submit random breath tests

Kalamazoo is joining the growing list of Michigan cities that is aiming to strike down required random breath testing for minors.

Currently, any person under the age of 21 in the city may be required to submit a test just because a safety officer suspects the person may have been drinking. The initiative to change the rule is coming from City Attorney Clyde Robinson. Robinson is hoping the law will change from a required test to a requested test. Officers would have to give minors the opportunity to say "no;" of course, this is only if the person has not been driving.

Officers would have to inform minors of their rights to refuse a test if they requested one under the proposed policy. Troy and Bay City, Michigan, have had to adopt a similar procedure because courts determined the required breath test did not hold up to personal liberty laws. In Troy, a court determined mandatory breath tests for minors not driving a car constituted unreasonable search & seizure and were a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

The recommended change has passed a first reading last week. The Commissioners for the city should make a decision by early November. The decision will not have a significant impact on the city's officials, but safety officers will have to be retrained on the proper way to request a test from a minor.


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