Training Wheels to Automobiles: Analyzing Voluntary Consent for Juvenile Drivers after Butler

Abstract

In a recent decision, the Arizona Supreme Court held that the age and parental presence of juvenile drivers are relevant, but not determinative, of whether they voluntarily consent to a blood draw under the state's implied consent law. Though juveniles retain the adult privilege of driver licenses, they must now satisfy only a juvenile standard for measuring the voluntariness of their consent. While courts analyze all drivers' voluntariness by a totality-of-the circumstances standard, this Note argues that considering age and parental presence as factors for juvenile drivers is redundant and overly paternalistic. Such a standard blurs the policy line between public safety and children's rights and provides little practical guidance to law enforcement. Notwithstanding this argument, this Note reviews the decision's primary authority and offers suggestions for implementing the Court's Butler opinion into practice.

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55 Ariz. L. Rev. 835 (2013)

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Authors

Lindsay E. H. Schroeder (University of Arizona)

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