The Austin Police Department had one of their No Refusal Weekends this weekend –you aren’t allowed to refuse taking a breath test or blood test if a cop pulls you over for suspected DUI, because they’ll just take your blood anyway– and they arrested 24 people for DUI.
That’s not the really interesting story. The really interesting story is that ten people refused the breath test and blood test and were forced to give blood by a search warrant order from a judge. Of those ten, how many do you think were arrested (i.e. were actually driving while intoxicated)? One.
Therefore, there were nine people who knew full well they were not intoxicated and driving illegally and decided to press the issue and force the APD to get the search warrant to force a blood draw. One of these days, one of these people is going to press the issue all the way into the court system.
I assure you, if I ever get pulled over and know I am not over the legal alcohol limit (which is all the time, seeing as I barely drink and don’t do so when driving), I will be pressing the issue. Want my blood? Take it by force, and it won’t be the last you’ve heard from me either.
Orb,
How would you know if you were under or over the legal alcohol limits?
There are a number of factors that affect that reading. The amount alcohol you have consumed,
the amount of time you consumed that alcohol, and how that alcohol was served: straight,
with water, with a fruit juice mix, combination, if it was a mixture of different alcohols.
The food you ate, your body weight, your fat content, etc..
Has to refusing to take the breath analyzer test. You are perfectly in your legal rights to
decline to part take in one, but by declining to take one will in most cases result in you losing
your driving privileges. Please not Ms Orb that when you refuse the breath analyzer test you have
provided the police officer PC to go to the courts and get a search warrant for a medical facility to
withdraw your blood.
If you drink don’t drive, if you drive don’t drink.
Refusing to give a breath sample is just common sense. The amount of alcohol in your blood falls by a unit if they take an hour of faffing about to get to take the blood sample.
At the age of 45 and decades of drinking alcohol, I can be reasonably certain that one glass of wine an hour isn’t going to put me over the limit, especially if I am eating at the same time. But then, I also don’t tend to drink outside my own home (and rarely even do it there).
Ekim, as Jocko pointed out, refusing the breath test means handing over your license at least until you are found not guilty at your trial (though if you aren’t found not guilty, you still haven’t lost anything you weren’t going to lose anyway, so not taking or taking the test won’t really matter much either way).
If I ever find myself in the position of having to refuse to take the breath test, I will merely on principle. If I’m over, I might improve my lot by making them take more time to get their proof. If I am not over the limit, I get to be cranky about them forcibly taking a blood sample, which I am 100% against. Take it or don’t take it, same amount of hassle either way, so might as well press the issue of not approving of the forced blood draws.
And we don’t bother with medical facilities for the blood draws. The local hospitals have told the cops to take a hike, because they want no part of forcibly taking blood samples. Therefore, the cops have a judge on hand and their own phlebotomists sitting around in buses around town during their No Refusal weekends. There’s even been talk recently of training cops to do it and having it done on the side of the road, something I can assure you would lead directly to me being arrested for getting in a physical altercation with a police officer (’cause NO WAY am I letting a cop take blood on the side of the road … NO).
Just remember, refusal in Texas is an automatic suspension of one year. Just by saying no. Doesn’t matter whether or not you were drinking. Driving is a privilege not a right. If you feel you need more time… Just tell them you will be happy to cooperate in the presence of your lawyer. They take you downtown. You call your lawyer. Then take the test. If you agree to take the test and pass… No problem. If you take the test and fail… six month suspension. The DWI/DUI is a completely separate charge. Remember: Kenny lost his license for a year even though he won his DWI Case. Still… If they take the right of refusal away then would you still lose your license? I wonder.
LMFAO.
First off, cops on their own, can not withdraw your blood. Such actions would result in major law suits. That is why they obtain a court order, for individuals who they suspect may be driving under the influence of alcohol. BTW, this court order is obtained while you are in their custody. Once they have a signed court order, you will be physically transported to facility licensed by the state where your blood will be drawn. That facility is given a copy of the court order, and unless they want to be in contempt of a sign court order they will comply, and draw your blood. Now you can stupidly physically fight the police etc., but this foolish decision on your part will only add to your charges, and you may incur some physical damages while the police are restraining you so you won’t injure yourself, the police officers, hospital employees or some other innocent bystander. In matters little to the police as they are only doing their job, they have a court order, and your blood is going to be taken with or without your cooperation. :thumb:
Do you live in Texas? No. Do you live in Austin? No. Do you keep up with Texas legislation? Doesn’t appear so.
If you are suspected of having a prior DWI or have a child in the car … no warrant necessary, and they have been wanting to expand that to no warrant necessary period. And no, you are not transported to any state licensed facility, at least not in Dallas or Austin. In Dallas, it’s a room at the station containing a phlebotomist hired by the police. In Austin, it’s usually the buses they’ve set up for the task. As I said, the hospitals in some places want nothing to do with these No Refusal Weekends. And yes, every major city in Texas that’s doing them is toying with the idea of training officers to do the blood draws … and the district attorneys are agreeing with that idea.
Maybe the laws are different where you live, but I know the laws here, and they are as I have stated, and they want to increase the ability of the police to take blood themselves, whenever they damn well please without a warrant, and eventually –with the help of MADD– they will likely be successful, because people (and legislators) are stupid.
So pretty much, until you read up on the situation in Texas, Jocko, you can STFU.