What Happens If I Refuse a Breathalyzer in Alabama?
Posted: Friday, August 17th, 2018 at 11:49 pm
What Happens If I Refuse a Breathalyzer in Alabama?
It can be tempting to refuse a breathalyzer test, especially if you’re not confident that you’ll pass. If you think you might fail, you might want to avoid taking it thinking it will limit the evidence against you. However, that’s usually not a good idea. Stiff penalties are in place for whose who refuse a breathalyzer in Alabama because of implied consent laws. Implied consent means that if you drive on the roads in Alabama, you consent to a breathalyzer test if asked to provide one. Here are some of the possible outcomes of refusing a breathalyzer test.
License Suspension
Depending on circumstances, a license suspension of 90 days to one or more years could be waiting for those who refuse to take the test. First-time refusers usually have to serve a minimum of 90 days, or three months. If it’s your second refusal in five years, you’ll have to serve a minimum of a year. It might also be difficult to get a hardship license during that period of time if you refused the test. A hardship license is for those who would face undue hardship, such as the loss of a job, if they weren’t able to drive to certain places, like their place of work. Usually, getting a hardship license is feasible for most people serving out license suspensions. However, that can be a different story if you refused the test.
It Can Be Used as Evidence Against You
Even if your DUI charge is dismissed, you can still have your refusal used against you in a court of law. Refusing a BAC can be entered as evidence in the state of Alabama. In other words, the prosecution can tell the jury that you refused and the judge can allow them to consider it as evidence against you. In Alabama, the jury is actually allowed to consider a refusal as evidence for or proof of guilt. The prosecutor will usually argue that if you didn’t have anything to hide and you honestly thought you weren’t guilty, you would have taken the test. That bias can make your attorney’s job a lot harder.
What to Do If You’re Pulled Over
In Alabama, it’s almost always best to take the test and hire an attorney. If you’ve already refused, you can get an attorney to help defend you anyway, but it’ll make their job a lot harder. Take the test, and if you fail, hire a lawyer who can defend you. The lawyer can look at aspects of the case you might not even be aware of and help you formulate a defense. The fact that you took the test can make you look better to a jury, even if you failed it, because it doesn’t look like you’re trying to hide something.
At Legal Info, we’ve worked for years with drivers just like you. We help pair you with a qualified attorney in your area who is vetted and capable of helping you with your specific case. By entering just a few pieces of information about your case, we can find and email you the information of an attorney near you who is best suited to help you with your case. The initial consultation is free, so what do you have to lose? Get started today, and exercise your right to fight.
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