CLARKE CO, Ga. – The Georgia Supreme Court on delivered a blow on Monday to DUI prosecutions, saying a driver’s refusal to have their breath tested for alcohol cannot be used against them at trial.

AJC reported the court unanimously found that part of the state’s DUI law violates the Georgia Constitution’s protections against self-incrimination.

This ruling could mean a rewrite of the law by the state legislators.

“We acknowledge that the State has a considerable interest in prosecuting DUI offenses (and thereby deterring others), and that our decision today may make that task more difficult,” Justice Nels S.D. Peterson wrote in the opinion released Monday morning.

But, “the right to be free from compelled self-incrimination does not wax or wane based on the severity of a defendant’s alleged crimes,” Peterson added.

The decision comes after a driver challenged a DUI case in Clarke County.