Collin County District Attorney Press Release 06/27/2011 Page

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 27, 2011

Contact: JimSkinner, (972) 548-4362

RE: JULY 4TH NO-REFUSAL WEEKEND

(McKinney, Texas) –Over 12,000 Texans are killed by impaired drivers every year. In an effort to make the roadways in our communities safer, law enforcement agencies from across Texas have come together to implement a statewide “No-Refusal” campaign over the upcoming 4th of July weekend. The Collin County District Attorney’s Office joins state and local law enforcement organizations throughout Collin County to implement this enforcement effort, which is designed to reduce incidents of drunk driving and the related death and alcohol related injuries that accompany intoxication crashes.

No-Refusal programs are a growing trend in DWI enforcement throughout the United States. Search warrants will be sought to obtain blood samples for those drivers being investigated for suspicion of DWI who refuse to provide a blood or breath specimen. The blood samples will be used for analysis to show the blood alcohol content of that driver. Several Judges have volunteered to be on-call to review and approve search warrants. On-call nurses are available to ensure that blood is drawn in a safe and efficient manner.

Collin County Criminal District Attorney Greg Willis utilizes a grant supported by the Texas Department of Transportation that pays on-call nurses specifically for the purpose of complying with court-ordered blood draw warrants. Where in some jurisdictions “No-Refusal” programs are only used periodically, the “No-Refusal” program in CollinCounty is utilized almost every week of the year.

This July 4th weekend, Judge Corinne Mason of County Court at Law 1, Judge Danny Wilson of County Court at Law 5, and Judge Jay Bender of County Court at Law 6 have volunteered to review search warrant affidavits and approve warrants when appropriate. This collaboration of judges, law enforcement officers, nurses and prosecutors will hopefully make this the safest 4th of July weekend ever for our communities throughout CollinCounty.