DUI Refusal in Anaheim
Summary: This page covers How it Works, Implied consent.
DUI laws in the state of California can sometimes be confusing and difficult to understand. For example, if an officer who suspects you of DUI asks you for a blood or breath sample, can you refuse to submit the sample?
The simple answer is that it depends on which point you are asked for the sample. While you can refuse to submit a sample for the same breathalyzer test, you may have to submit a blood test in its place.
How it Works
If you are in Anaheim and are a part of a random and legal DUI stop, the officer may request that you take a field sobriety test if he/she suspects that you are driving under the influence. The important thing to note here is that this is before you are arrested for DUI.
An important distinction should be made between refusing a DUI test before getting arrested but after getting pulled over, and refusing a test after getting arrested. Unless you are under the age to be able to drink in Anaheim and California, and you are not on probation, then there may not be any legal consequences for refusing to take a PAS test after getting pulled over, for example. However, if you do take a test before getting arrested, then the results of that test may be used as evidence that you are guilty of a DUI. On the contrary, after a lawful arrest, you do not have the ability to refuse a DUI breath test without penalty under implied consent. On another note, the officer may take other measures if they receive an indication that you are clearly under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Indications include the smell of drugs in your car, evidence of drug paraphernalia, statements you may have made, of behavioral clues.
The field sobriety tests requested at this point are the 3 standard test including the HGN test, the one-leg stand test, and the walk-and-turn test. The officer may, however, also request that you take a breathalyzer test. This breathalyzer test is part of the field sobriety test, meaning that the officer has to make it clear to you that the test is optional and you can decline to take the test.
If you do refuse to take a DUI test and are later found to be guilty of the crime, then you may face heavier consequences due to your refusal.
Implied consent
If through the field sobriety tests or through any other lawfully accepted information, the officer has the necessary probable cause to make a DUI arrest, the California Implied Consent Laws then apply.
In essence, as a driver in Anaheim and California, you are deemed to have consented to submit to chemical testing (blood and/or breath) if you are arrested for a lawful DUI.
The sooner that you can call an experienced DUI attorney during this process, the higher the chances that you will have a positive outcome. Call Johnson Criminal Law Group about your refusal case today.
