Many potential clients, friends, and acquaintances always ask the question, “Do I blow or do I refuse a chemical test?” The answer is not a “one size fits all” answer and could depend on your specific situation. Generally, time is on our side when it comes to your BAC concentration after an episode of drinking, so the longer it takes to get your blood specimen, the more advantageous it can be for you It major cities though, there is a 24 hour magistrate judge that can sign and warrant for your blood. They have become much more efficient to do this, but it does take time. . In some counties refusing to give a test, means they will not have a BAC to prosecute you with. However, license penalties for refusing to consent to a breath or blood specimen are becoming much more strict and severe. Refusing to give a breath or blood test could also be used against you in trial. In the circumstance that you know you are below the legal limit, consenting to a breath test could be the best choice. Find out more here on the pros and cons on refusing or consenting to breath or blood test.

The answer to the common question of “Should I refuse to give a breath or blood test?” has become somewhat gray over the last decade. In the olden days, 24 hour magistrate judges waiting to sign search warrants for blood tests 7 days a week was unheard of. Present day, in most major cities and populated counties, search warrants for blood can be obtained quickly and efficiently by the arresting officer. You may also be subject to more severe driver’s license consequences by refusing to give a breath or blood specimen to the officer as well. If you refuse to give a breath specimen and your blood is taken, DPS can still suspend your license even if the number comes back under a .08. Both breath and blood test have different ways to be attacked and discredited in court. Blood actually has more ways that mistakes could be made through each step of the blood draw and blood testing process. Knowing those mistakes are what makes our law firm one of the best at discovering and attacking those mistakes. Blood testing though has become the “gold standard” with juries and the general population. Talk to anyone on the street and they probably say they believe a blood test is more accurate than a breath test. Due to that general belief, although it is not correct, blood test cases can be more difficult to convince a jury not to trust the number. If you even think that you may be in trouble when it comes to your legal limit after an arrest, generally time is going to be on your side the longer it takes to get your blood sample. It is going to take longer to get a blood warrant signed and take your blood than submitting to a breath test immediately upon arriving at the police station. If you are positive that you are under the legal limit, then submitting to a breath test and avoiding more severe license penalties could be the best route in that circumstance…but you need to be extremely confident you are under.