Breath & Blood Test Refusals
San Luis Obispo DUI Attorney – (805) 288-7078
When you are pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI), you may eventually be asked to take a breath or blood test to determine
your current blood alcohol content (BAC) level. Are these tests something
you should allow? Or should you refuse them?
Our
San Luis Obispo criminal defense lawyer can help you determine the right response for your situation. If you have
run into trouble with the law,
contact The Law Office of Trace Milan right away.
Refusing Roadside Breath Tests
Whether or not you should refuse a BAC test depends largely on whether
or not it is mandatory. Most breath tests conducted roadside using pocket
breathalyzers are not mandatory. If you are worried about submitting to
a breath test and yielding any result over 0.00%, ask the police officer
if the test is mandatory. If it is not, refusing might be your best option.
Disadvantages of taking an optional breath test include:
- You hand investigators evidence they otherwise would not be able to get.
- Submission can be twisted to look like an admission of guilt.
- You can get arrested for a DUI for any BAC level above 0%, depending on
officer discretion.
If you do refuse to take a roadside breath test that is not mandatory,
there should be no immediate legal consequences. However, do not be surprised
if the officer wants to bring you into the station for blood or chemical testing.
Remember: Never resist arrest or become outwardly uncooperative with a member of
law enforcement.
Submitting to Blood Tests
When you are back at the police station, any sort of breath, blood, or
urine testing conducted there will most likely be deemed mandatory. This
is due to California’s “implied consent” law that states
you will submit to mandatory BAC testing following a DUI arrest, or else
accept the consequences. In California, refusing to take a mandatory test
will suspend your license automatically for one to three years, depending
on how many other refusals you have in the past. This is an administrative
punishment, not a criminal one, so you cannot contest it in DUI court;
it may be challenged in a hearing with the DMV.
You can always contest the results of a BAC test, though, by arguing:
- Machine was incorrectly calibrated at the time of testing.
- Chemical sample was disturbed, mishandled, or otherwise tainted.
- Test administrator was not properly trained.
- Chemical sample was taken without proper authority or warrant.
In a typical DUI case, it is not in your best interest to refuse a mandatory
chemical test. In addition to the immediate consequence of losing your
license, the implied consent law also allows any future prosecutions to
use your second refusal as evidence against you in court.
Contact Our Firm for Hard-Hitting DUI Defense Anywhere on the Central Coast
The Law Office of Trace Milan and our DUI lawyer in San Luis Obispo are
known throughout the region for providing our clients unwavering, tenacious
criminal defense representation in all manners of DUI cases. We do it
all with your pocketbook in mind, offering flat-fees for many of our services
that have been heralded as reasonable and fair. Let us know what happened
to you during an
initial consultation and we can tell you what you can expect and what you should do next.
