Gamble not with BAC testing, warns Fairfax DUI lawyer

Gamble not with blood alcohol testing when a DWI suspect, warns Fairfax DUI defense lawyer

Gamble with slot machines, but not with what your blood alcohol test result might be after consuming alcohol. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know that it takes not much beer, wine, or alcohol / liquor to yield a test result on the Intox EC / IR II breathalyzer machine of 0.8 or higher, and certainly for 0.6 or higher, which carries no presumption of innocence in favor of a DUI suspect. As inaccurate as the Intox EC / IR II machine is, the police handheld preliminary / portable breath test (PBT) machine used by police is even less accurate.

Fairfax DUI attorney on the gamble of submitting to field sobriety testing and preliminary breath testing

As I have blogged repeatedly, the gamble of submitting to field sobriety testing (FSTs) can outweigh Virginia’s caselaw permitting the fact finder jury or judge to consider a refusal to submit to FST’s (and I argue that the FST’s voluntary nature makes refusal to take them meaningless). Taking the PBT is risky, and refusal to submit to it cannot be introduced at trial. Even a stone sober person can falter with FSTs. Plenty of people submit to the PBT expecting to pass with flying colors and then seeing the opposite.

Virginia DUI lawyer on the risks of refusing to blow into the Intox EC / IR II

Refusal by Virginia DUI arrestees to blow into the Intox EC / IR II is a different gamble, by risking not only an additional prosecution for refusal, but also being required to submit to a blood test for alcohol content, pursuant to a court-issued search warrant.

Fairfax DUI lawyer Jonathan L. Katz has successfully defended hundreds of people charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which constitutes a substantial portion of Jon’s law practice. To discuss your case with  Jon Katz, please call his staff at 703-383-1100 to schedule a consultation.