Proving That Blood Was Drawn by a Qualified Person

Earlier posts (here, here, and here) discuss the statutory and constitutional requirements for obtaining a sample of a defendant’s blood for analysis in an implied-consent case.  This post likewise addresses blood draws in such cases but addresses two narrower issues.  First, must the State establish that the blood was drawn by a qualified person before the results of such an analysis may be admitted into evidence?  Second, does the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment bar testimony from a law enforcement officer regarding the blood-extractor’s qualifications? The provisions of G.S. 20-139.1 governing the withdrawal of blood for chemical analysis and the admission of the results of such a chemical analysis were among those amended by the Motor Vehicle Driver Protection Act of 2006, effective for offenses committed on or after December 1, 2006. Before these amendments, G.S. 20-139.1(c) specified that “[w]hen a blood test is specified as the type of chemical analysis by the charging officer, only a physician, registered nurse, or other qualified person may withdraw the blood sample.”  This subsection further provided that “[e]vidence regarding the qualifications of the person who withdrew the blood sample may be provided at trial by testimony of the charging officer or by an affidavit of the person who withdrew the blood sample and shall be sufficient to constitute prima facie evidence regarding the person’s qualifications.” While current G.S. 20-139.1(c) still refers to the withdrawal of blood by a “qualified person,” the reworded subsection directs qualified persons to withdraw blood rather than explicitly restricting [...]