1.06.2010

Seattle DUI Attorney | Choosing to Take the Breath Test Just Got Harder

Deciding whether or not to take a breath analysis if you were detained for DUI used to be a big determination (even if you had a Seattle DUI attorney helping). If you were asked to undergo a blood alcohol assessment and refused, you were subjecting yourself to higher punishments for saying no, but had the advantage moving onward of not having to fight blood alcohol examination results.

Well, nowadays it seems more and more possible that the circumstances may surface where you may well say no a blood alcohol examination, face the more stringent consequences for the refusal, and still be subject to giving blood alcohol results.

Nearly all, if not all states, have created DUI laws that include implied consent laws. In brief, these laws state that if you drive on the highway in the state where an implied consent law exists, you are impliedly consenting to a breath assessment if the police have probable cause to suppose you are DUI. Built into these implied consent laws, however, is the capacity to refuse the blood alcohol analysis if you so decide. The downside to refusal, however, is the imposition of worse punishments if found guildy of DUI (and a longer license suspension - for case in point, in Seattle, WA a denial subjects you to a year license suspension as opposed to 90 days).

But, things have changed a little recently, and the Seattle DUI Attorneys Blog is going to let you know how. The police have begun going to judges and asking for search warrants when individuals decline blood alcohol tests. And numerous judges have upheld this practice (the way the courts perceive it, the denial has to do with the implied consent laws, not necessarily your right to be free from searches - that is covered by the fourth amendment, which can be overcome by representing probable cause to a judge and obtaining a search warrant.

One idea is firm. If you have the capability to have a word with an DUI attorney in Seattle before deciding whether or not to endure a blood alcohol examination, you ought to do so. The issues revolving around breath test denial are getting more and more knotty every day, and the only way you can be positive you are doing what is best for you is by speaking with an qualified Seattle DUI defense attorney and learning all of your options.

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