Have You Been Made to Take a Breathalyzer, Blood, Urine, and Field Sobriety Tests?

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

A DUI charge or conviction can stand or fall on the reliability and accuracy of a breathalyzer, blood, urine, or field sobriety test. Since a field sobriety test is used to establish probable cause for making an arrest, if conducted improperly, the DUI charge against you may be thrown out of court. Alternatively, if a breathalyzer wasn’t calibrated properly or blood drawn and tested according to proper procedure, their results may be deemed unreliable and inadmissible in court. At the Law Office of Jonathan Franklin, we understand the technical and forensic issues involved in breathalyzer, blood, urine, and field sobriety tests.

If you’ve been arrested for DUI, don’t assume you’re automatically guilty because a DUI test came back positive. To schedule a free, confidential consultation to discuss your case, contact Beverly Hills DUI Lawyer Jonathan Franklin today.

Administering the Field Sobriety Test
The vast majority of police departments use the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Student Manual when administering field sobriety tests. There are, however, multiple instructions regarding where and how a test should be given, what to do if a suspect tries to balance momentarily on one leg, raises his arms more than 8 inches, or stops for a second or two. The manual also states a field sobriety test should be given on dry, flat pavement. As your attorney, Jonathan Franklin inspects the area where a test was administered and reviews dashboard video camera footage if available. In reviewing how a test was given, Mr. Franklin identifies departures from instructions and protocols as outlined in the student testing manual in order to ask the court to dismiss the charges against our clients.

Breathalyzers and Blood Alcohol Content
Like any other piece of equipment, breathalyzers must be regularly maintained to ensure they function properly. If a breathalyzer isn’t calibrated correctly, its results may not be accurate. Additionally, how a breathalyzer test is given can affect the results. For example, did a police officer wait 20 minutes before administering the test? Did he or she change the mouthpiece between tests? Were you asked if you had used mouthwash recently? Were told to take multiple deep breaths and blow as hard as possible into the device? As your attorney, Mr. Franklin can inspect the maintenance record of the breathalyzer used in your arrest and can check to see if it has ever registered a false positive in another DUI case.

Blood Tests and DUI Charges
While blood tests may provide a more accurate measure of blood alcohol content (BAC), a number of factors can taint or compromise the sample taken. For example, did the person who took your blood swab your arm with alcohol first? Secondly, in order to prevent a blood sample from coagulating, tubes with preservatives inside are often used. These kits almost always have an expiration date. If a kit was used in your blood test, is there any proof that it was not expired? On a more technical note, whether or not the blood sample taken was mostly plasma or whole blood can also affect the results of a blood test. As your attorney, Jonathan Franklin raises these and other issues when there are grounds for questioning blood test results.

Urine Tests and DUI Charges
Urine tests are not as accurate as blood or breathalyzer tests because water can stay in a person’s body over a long period of time. This is a concern in cases where a person’s BAC is measured near or slightly over .08%. Additionally, like blood tests, urine tests can detect drugs in a person’s body. As a result, even if you don’t test positive for drunk driving, if trace amounts of illegal drugs are found in your system, you could still face criminal charges on driving under the influence. The fact that you last used one or two weeks ago doesn’t matter — you’ll still be charged with a crime.

Contact Beverly Hills DUI Attorney Jonathan Franklin
Just because you tested positive for drunk driving doesn’t mean you were drunk or that the officer had probable cause to arrest you. To schedule a free consultation to discuss your case, contact Beverly Hills DUI Attorney Jonathan Franklin today.

For a free consultation with the Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin regarding a first offense DUI, contact us at 310.273.9600.  Our phones are answered 24 hours a day.

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Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
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