STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. DAWN M. MILKOSKY(15-049, MORRIS COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-3737-15T3

On April 16, 2015, Milkosky was in a single-vehicle crash; her overturned vehicle caught fire and she was rendered unconscious and later transported by helicopter to the hospital.
Kinnelon Detective McDonnell contacted Milkosky at the hospital; she was conscious, answered questions coherently, and provided accurate identifying information and a friend's contact.
McDonnell asked for consent to a blood draw, informed her she could say yes or no, and Milkosky said yes, lifted her arm, and signed a consent form.
Blood was drawn about 8:30 p.m., approximately two hours and fifteen minutes after the crash.
Milkosky moved to suppress the blood test results, arguing the warrantless blood draw violated the Fourth Amendment and that her injuries prevented voluntary consent; the municipal court and then the Law Division denied suppression after a de novo review.
The Appellate Division affirmed, finding the record supports a finding of knowing, voluntary consent and that the delay in drawing blood was not unreasonable given the medical transport and circumstances.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of warrantless blood draw	State: search lawful because Milkosky consented	Milkosky: injuries/short-term memory loss prevented voluntary, knowing consent	Held: Consent was knowing and voluntary; record supports officer's account
Exigent-circumstances alternative	State: even if not consent, blood draw constitutional under exigency	Milkosky: exigency not established to overcome warrant requirement	Held: Court did not need to decide exigency because consent ruling dispositive
Delay between driving and blood draw	State: delay reasonable given medical evacuation and emergency response	Milkosky: two-hour-plus delay violated Tischio "reasonable time" principle	Held: Delay not unreasonable under circumstances; no prejudice shown
Evidentiary weight of medical testimony about memory loss	State: medical evidence did not show incapacity to consent	Milkosky: doctor testified short-term memory loss impacts ability to consent	Held: Doctor gave no opinion that she lacked capacity; trial court reasonably rejected incapacity claim

Birchfield v. North Dakota, 136 S. Ct. 2160 (U.S. 2016) (consent may be inferred from context; searches reasonable when consented to)
Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives’ Ass’n, 489 U.S. 602 (U.S. 1989) (intrusive bodily searches constitute Fourth Amendment searches)
State v. Lamb, 218 N.J. 300 (N.J. 2014) (State bears burden to prove consent was voluntary under New Jersey Constitution)
State v. Adkins, 221 N.J. 300 (N.J. 2015) (blood draw is a Fourth Amendment search)
State v. Tischio, 107 N.J. 504 (N.J. 1987) (chemical alcohol tests must be administered within a reasonable time of operation/arrest)
State v. Dannemiller, 229 N.J. Super. 187 (App. Div. 1988) (assess delays case-by-case; defendant must show prejudice or issues affecting accuracy)
State v. Warmbrun, 277 N.J. Super. 51 (App. Div. 1994) (voluntary waiver of rights can be found despite intoxication when defendant is responsive)
State v. Samarel, 231 N.J. Super. 134 (App. Div. 1989) (several-hour delay in testing after accident not necessarily unreasonable given circumstances)