Schmerber v. California

Citation
,Schmerber v. California,' 384 U.S. 757 (1966) (full-text).

U.S. Supreme Court Proceedings
The Court ruled that there was no Fifth Amendment protection against blood tests, viewed as physical evidence, to determine blood alcohol content following a car accident. The Court distinguished between situations in which a defendant was forced verbally to incriminate himself or herself and situations in which marks or material were taken from him or her for identification purposes (fingerprints, photographs) or for purposes of preventing the dissipation of evidence (blood test).