Can I Refuse a Blood Test if I Am Arrested For a DUI?
Posted: Thursday, April 11th, 2019 at 6:14 pm
Can I Refuse a Blood Test if I Am Arrested For a DUI?
If you’re arrested for a DUI, it’s likely that you will be tested for your blood alcohol content or your breath alcohol content. Either one of these is a standard measure for the police to use to determine how much alcohol is in your system. However, they are very different tests. One, the blood test, is very invasive. The other, the breath test, is very passive. You cannot refuse a breath test without suffering serious legal ramifications. However, you can refuse the blood test. If you refuse a blood test, here’s what will likely happen.
Opt For a Breath Test
If you’re asked to provide a blood test when you’re arrested for a DUI and you don’t want to provide one, you can opt for a breath test instead. A breath test is far less invasive and still gives a fairly accurate reading. Make sure you haven’t eaten, burped, smoked, chewed gum, or had anything at all to drink within 15 minutes before you take a breath test. Any of these activities can bring alcohol from your stomach into your mouth and create a false positive result. It’s actually in the law in most states that an officer has to observe you for 15 minutes before they can administer a breath test to make sure that you haven’t engaged in any of these activities. This protects you and also protects the officer and it protects the validity of the test. If you say no to a blood test, you cannot refuse a breath test. This is because most states have implied consent laws on the books.
Implied Consent
Implied consent laws exist in almost every state. What that means is that as soon as you go out on the road you consent to be the subject of a breath-alcohol test if an officer pulls you over on suspicion of a DUI. Because of this implied consent, you cannot legally refuse a breath test. However, you can ask for a breath test in lieu of a blood test since a blood test is very invasive and a breath test is not.
Cop Has a Warrant
One of the only situations in which you cannot refuse a blood test is if a cop has a warrant. In most cases, police officers will be fine with giving you a breath test instead of a blood test. However, if for some reason a police officer feels the need to get a warrant for your blood and obtains one, you have to consent. It’s the same situation as a cop obtaining a warrant to search your car or your house. You would not be able to refuse that search.
Protection Against Force
No matter what the case, a cop cannot physically force you by holding you down or restraining you in order to get blood out of you. These laws and protections might be waived slightly if the cop has a warrant, but you still have to be treated in a respectful manner. If you ask for a breath test instead of a blood test in the cop does not have a warrant, the cop cannot man-handle you or try to harass or intimidate you into taking a blood test. If this happens, you can take that to court and challenge the results of the blood test.
It’s very important to hire legal representation any time you’re accused of a crime. If you’ve been arrested for a DUI, go ahead and give them the breath test that you are legally obligated to give them. However, for anything beyond that you should hire a DUI attorney in your state. Hiring a qualified and experienced DUI attorney in your state can protect your future and your freedoms and help you ensure that your rights are not violated. Get a consultation today and make sure that you take the first step down the road of protecting your freedom and your future.
Bookmark This Article:
| del.icio.us: 
|
Digg: |
Technorati:
|
Newsvine: 
|
Reddit: 
|
Furl: 
|
|
| Stumble Upon: 
|
Yahoo!: |
Google:
|