DUI-Breath Test and No Breath Test

Posted Friday, November 3, 2017 by Andrew Charles Huff

Most people are aware that to commit the crime of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) means driving with an alcohol concentration at .08 or higher. But there is also another definition and that is driving when affected by alcohol and/or drugs. In other words, a person is guilty of DUI if his or her ability to drive is lessened to any appreciable degree, regardless of the quantity of alcohol or drugs in their system.

This means that a person who blows below .08 may be arrested, charged, and convicted of DUI. It also means that a person with no alcohol in their system, but who has some quantity of drugs in his or her system, including prescription medications, may be convicted of DUI. I have represented individuals with very low alcohol concentrations—as low as .05, including senior citizens who have taken only their prescribed medication as ordered by physicians.

Many times the evidence in cases consist solely of the subjective opinion of the arresting police officer, who will be called to express an opinion about the accused’s sobriety state, citing to his or her experience as a police officer. Such testimony can also include roadside tests, otherwise known as Field Sobriety Tests, which are not even designed to measure a person’s ability to drive. These tests are no more than physical exercises designed to create imbalance, but spun to convince a jury that they test impairment, when this is not the case.