Can Blood Tests Be Challenged In Court When Charged With A DUI?

Posted on: 26 August 2016

When you are suspected of drinking and driving, it's possible that the police will have you take a blood test to determine what your blood alcohol content (BAC) levels are. Fortunately, it's possible for this evidence to be thrown out so it cannot be used in court. With the help of DUI defense attorney, you can get the results of the test dismissed one of three ways.

The Police Didn't Have A Warrant

Did the police get a warrant to indicate that blood testing was mandatory? If not, that could be enough to have the case thrown out. A 2013 Supreme Court case decided that police must receive a warrant before they can make you undergo blood testing. This only applies if there was enough time to get a warrant prior to the test needing to be administered.

Since the time frame for when a warrant is needed can be subjective, it helps to have a lawyer argue your case if this is the method that you decide to use.

The Blood Samples Were Improperly Handled

Blood taken for a blood test need to be properly stored and preserved. If not, the blood could decompose or coagulate, which could cause an inaccurately high reading in the results. There also should be accountability with who is handling the blood samples throughout the entire process. This includes records that are dated and signed by anybody that handles the evidence, which are steps taken to prove that tampering did not happen. There will also need to be documentation about when the blood samples were taken.

If these procedures not followed with your blood samples, the evidence could be inaccurate and thrown out.

The Equipment Was Malfunctioning

It's possible that the equipment used to take the blood test was malfunctioning, giving inaccurate results. This happened in a 2013 case when a potential flaw in the test was discovered, which affected 11 known DUI cases. It caused a judge to throw out those blood tests. Mistakes can happen, and equipment isn't always reliable.

Another 2013 case found calibration errors that affected 2,000 cases where blood was tested for a suspected DUI. This situation resulted in drivers having falsely reported BAC levels higher than the limits.

Due to the serious consequences that come with being convicted of a DUI, it's crucial to have a lawyer on your side that can help fight test results that could be inaccurate.

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