How to Fight a DWI Blood Test Case - Intro
With all of the recent publicity surrounding DWI Blood test cases, a few months back, I decided to write a paper on how to fight DWI blood test cases.
Well, the paper was coming along very slowly, and I quickly realized my topic was too broad. I decided to narrow it down to remove all "constitutional/"are the warrants illegal" areas, and leave that area to another legal scholar. In general, I think the Transportation Code is so clear, I didn't want to get on my soapbox about it any more. Plus, I have read (but don't buy into) the Beemon case which is where most prosecutors point to.
If anyone is interested in working on a paper with me, let me know. Maybe a law student out there??
My future topics will include:
I hope you enjoy (and help contribute) to the upcoming series "How to Fight a DWI Blood Test Case"
Well, the paper was coming along very slowly, and I quickly realized my topic was too broad. I decided to narrow it down to remove all "constitutional/"are the warrants illegal" areas, and leave that area to another legal scholar. In general, I think the Transportation Code is so clear, I didn't want to get on my soapbox about it any more. Plus, I have read (but don't buy into) the Beemon case which is where most prosecutors point to.
If anyone is interested in working on a paper with me, let me know. Maybe a law student out there??
My future topics will include:
- Retrograde Extrapolation
- Attacking the Probable Cause in the Warrant Itself
- Breath Test Coercion
- Chain of Custody Issues
- Keeping the Blood Out
- Creating Doubt
- Fighting the blood drawer as a "Qualified Technician: (Fight going on today.. read about it here!)
- Whole Blood vs. Serum Blood
- Retesting Independently
- 38.22/38.23
- Presentation of the Warrant (already covered quite well by Sarah Roland in this article)
- Poor Lab / Testing Procedures
- Gas Chromatography / Enzymatic Method
- Gas Chromatography / Enzymatic Method
I hope you enjoy (and help contribute) to the upcoming series "How to Fight a DWI Blood Test Case"
I had an accident,thrown from vehicle.blood sample taken,and hospital found 69.8 mmol= .003% alcohol.
police lab test two months later was almost 4 times legal amount . witnesses will testify that i had not drank
I'm getting charged with a DUI and a refusal. The problem is that none of the breath tests worked so they took me to the station to take a blood test and I have a phobia of needles so I said no. DMV dropped the whole DUI charge but nailed me with a refusal of a chemical test. I am a full time student and I have a full time job and I at least need my restricted. IS there even a way to fight a refusal?
It is absolutely possible. However, I'm not sure what state you are in. In Texas, you must contest the hearing on a refusal or sample of over .08 within 15 days of being given the notice of suspension. That is why it is important to contact a DWI attorney immediately!
My daughter was involved in an single accident in Brazos County (College Station, Tx). She was taken to the hospital and blood was drawn and they are stating she was over the limit 3x. Our atty is saying that they are offering to drop her false report to a peace officer but not the DWI. The accident occurred on Sept 1, 2005 and she was never arrested but 2 years later received a letter about the arraignment. She has since graduated from college with honors and because she is going into education this is hurting her due to the background check. I am not convinced this is the best offer but the attorney is saying that in this case he'd rather be the prosecutor than the defense atty. She has no priors and other than this incident has never been in trouble with the law. We are worried about how this will effect her future.
hey , i was stoped fpr tailgating a car , when the police officer came to my window , he said he smell the odor of burned marijuana, and i told him that some times i smoke in the car, he tooke me out of the car and performance a cople of test outside the car, he culdnt proof that i was hight , so he arrested me for a dwai, and in the station gave my a blood test, what is the best thikng to do??
Best thing to do is contact an attorney immediately! There are lots of ways to potentially fight an illegal stop, or an illegal search and seizure. If you are in the DFW area, give us a call at 469-252-4018
I had driven through the night to get to my AFROTC commissioning physical. We couldn't leave until after midnight because one of the other cadets had job obligations.
So, the plan was to drive, and meet the other cadets at Billeting. We'd get only a couple hours sleep in the room, but who cares at $6 per night. Plus, some sleep in the car.
Well, a 3 to 3 1/3 hour drive turned into driving All Night Long.
I'm driving through Des Moines. Just operating on auto-pilot. About 40 minutes out of town, someone thinks to ask: Did we miss our turn? Sure enough, I was SUPPOSE to take I-80W!!! (My girlfriend has taken this route lots of times. You'd think she'da said something!! *#%$&@()#$)
So we turn around and go back. Need gas now, or we won't make it to Omaha. (And, back then, if you didn't get gas in the big cities, you didn't get gas. (The small town stations don't stay open late. And, there were getting to be a LOT FEWER of the gas stations that were find-able; due to underground fuel tank regulations shit. BOTTOM LINE: Don't run out of gas in the Middle of Nowhere. Stealing gas from the farmer's tank ain't a good idea either...but that's another story...)
To make a long story short....
Between my girlfirend and me, we got to Offutt.
Didn't want to bother her folks at O Dark EArly in the god-damn morning. So, we stopped at the base Gym for the SSS thing.
Then went to the hosptial. We were the first to arrive. Go figure. The rest of the cad-idiots snoozed in. We had quite the crowd at the hospital that day. Generally raising fun with the nurses, and getting through all the blasted paperwork.
Oh, yeah, what's this got to do with DUI? You asked about blook tests.
My girlfriend was this anal retentive, paperwork NAzi type. She put her SSN and her cadet number on every blood vial (since Offut is her regular hospital/doctor as well as for the commissioning). Then, about a week later, she gets called into the Colonel's office!!
"So, I heard you got all fired up the night of the physical!" He says!
She -- being a naive Iowan like she is -- just looked at him dumbfounded. (I know this because the Sgt told me so. He was there watching the fireworks. The whole records staff knew SOMETHING was stupid when my tea-totalling, "won't drink, won't have sex, what DO you do?" girlfriend's blood tests came back soused. BTW, I was a rabble rouser. We were quite the pair, back in ROTC)
To make a long story short, it took about 20 seconds, and two or three comments by the Col... then FINALLY she caught on to what he was asking/testing her with. Her EYES just got REAL BIG Like. And her jaw dropped like WHAT, OMG, OMFG, ...no, sir, it wasn't me, what are you talking about....stammer, sputter...)
So the Col just chuckles, and says to her...Move Along. Obviously, someone at the hospital needs to fix their frack up.
She was still just dumb-founded. And, too stunned to know what to do, went the few steps to SSgt P's desk to ask what was that about. He thought she was going to cry or something. (THinks she's ready to be an officer, and she cries at the littlest things. Even at the movie theatre, no less.) So P explained to her that there's been a mix-up at the hospital with her blood test. Someone probably tried to switch their buddies DUI test with her cadet test. They sure picked the WRONG blood vial to pull that on. Our COl fixed everything with a phone call. And my girlfirend and I got commissioned together. :-) The rest is history.
By the way, good guy that SgtP. He saved my neck lots of times, with paperwork headaches. (Now, my girlfirend-turned-wife saves me on paperwork. HAte the time-wasted crap-ola. Wonder what he's doing now? )
P.S. AND, in case you're curious, Yes, we got commissioned together...so who out-ranks who? I always say: "She does. She's the wife, of course". She uses a bit more diplomatic line: "It's alphabetical". hehhh.
Alright, hope you like that story.