Law on Driving Under Influence of Drugs Tested
A judge in Reno is expected to rule next week on whether police illegally obtained evidence showing a man had marijuana in his system before a July car crash that killed a 17-year-old mother and her infant.
The ruling could force prosecutors to dismiss charges against Robert McKellips, 20. It also could test the constitutionality of a 1999 law allowing motorists who use drugs and are involved in fatal crashes to be charged with a felony.
McKellips was charged with driving under the influence of drugs causing death. The validity of the law, which brought a conviction in a Las Vegas case, is under review in the state Supreme Court.
Lawyers say a person cannot know whether he is violating the law because trace amounts of drugs can stay in the body for weeks.
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