For those of you who have had the unfortunate experience of being arrested for DUI and then faced the decision of whether to take or refuse the breath test at the police station, you may have wondered what the correct decision is. My answer is typically lawyer like, “it depends.”
If you only had 2-3 drinks for example, it is typically best that you take the breath test. In the alternative, if you had too many drinks to recall then it may be best to refuse the breath test. However, there are too many variables that may affect this decision. The bottom line is if your BAC is close to 0.08 (and assuming you don’t have prior DUIs, there was no accident, no children in the car, etc.) then the chance of an amendment to a lesser charge is greater than if your BAC is substantially higher. If you are concerned that your BAC might be substantially higher than 0.08, your driving was not poor, and you chose not to do the voluntary field sobriety tests, and you have no prior DUIs, then a refusal may also result in an amendment (and if not, a decent trial case). There is one consistent truth if you are facing the decision whether to provide a breath sample or refuse and that is this: demand to speak to an attorney at the police station and be honest with that attorney regarding the number of drinks you had. Hopefully sound advice will lead to a greater chance of a decent result.
For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com
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