My brother got arrested for DUI in Washington and he refused to take the breath test. Is it true that his driver’s license would automatically be suspended because of this?

Rhea
Yakima, WA

The State of Washington has an implied consent law which provides that after acquiring the driver’s license, the driver impliedly consents to blood alcohol testing if asked by a law enforcement officer. A refusal to take the breath test is in itself a criminal violation that is subject to stiff penalties. Since your brother refused to take the breath test when asked by an officer on a DUI investigation in Yakima, Washington, this breath test refusal could result in automatic driver’s license suspension or revocation. This driver’s license suspension for breath test refusal would be for one year.

The breath test refusal could also be used as evidence against your brother on his DUI case trial. If he is found guilty of his DUI charge, there could be additional penalties because of the breath test refusal, such as stiffer sentence. In order for him to protect his driver’s license, he needs to request a license suspension hearing and pay $100 to the Department of Licensing to cover the costs of the hearing.

If in case I get unlucky and be asked to take a blood alcohol test because of DUI here in Washington, do I have a choice as to which kind of test I can take?

Joseph

Federal Way, WA

In Washington State, you have a choice as to how your blood alcohol would be measured. Should you be charged with DUI in Federal Way, Washington, you could be allowed to choose between a blood test and a breath test. You may take the required breath test and ask for additional blood test if you feel that the breath test would not give accurate results. Breath test is normally performed using a “breathalyzer” and in the state of Washington, a “datamaster,” which is a newer machine and much less complicated to use than a breathalyzer. With this machine, there is no interpretation required, unlike the “breathalyzer,” because the “datamaster” would print out a ticket with the mechanically determined breath test results.

Should you wish to verify sobriety, the best form to verify that is a blood test. Urine tests are actually the least accurate in measuring the blood alcohol content (BAC) because the urine often does not reflect your BAC at a particular point in time. But if you believe that your BAC would be over the legal limit of 0.08%, may wish to gamble on urine testing.

I would not know what to do if I will be arrested for DUI in Washington because I haven’t experienced it and I don’t know anyone who already has. Can I contact a lawyer before deciding to take the blood or breath test or will they take it as a refusal?

Dan

Tacoma, WA

If you will be arrested for DUI in Tacoma, Washington, you should tell the officer that you are not refusing to take the blood or breath test, only that you want to talk to a lawyer before making the decision. This answer would demonstrate that you have the normal use of your mental faculties and most of the jurors will think that is what they would want to do if they were under arrest for DUI.

But Washington State DUI laws state that the person making the arrest shall take the arrested person or have him taken without unnecessary delay before a magistrate. The magistrate should then inform the person arrested what he/she is being charged with and his/her rights to hire a lawyer, remain silent, have a lawyer present during any interview with peace officer or attorneys representing the state, terminate the interview at anytime, request appointment of a lawyer if they cannot afford one and an examining trial. Therefore, an officer is being unfair if he/she tells you that you don’t have a right to a lawyer if you have already been arrested for DUI.

A friend of mine was arrested for DUI in Washington and none of us actually really know what happens after a DUI arrest. What does he need to understand about his DUI case first and foremost?

Cailyn

Renton, WA

The very first thing that your friend needs to understand after his DUI arrest in Renton, Washington is that he is facing two separate prosecutions. The first case would be with the Washington State Department of Licensing. If he either provided a blood or breath sample that was above .08 percent, or he refused to submit to a blood or breath test at the hospital or police station, the Washington State Department of Licensing would attempt to suspend his driver’s license for a minimum 90 days to one year.

The second case that he would face after his DUI arrest is in the Washington criminal court system. The court where he will be ordered to appear would depend largely on where he was arrested. The DUI criminal court trial would start at his arraignment wherein he would enter a plea of guilty, not guilty or no contest. If he hired a DUI lawyer, he would not be required to appear on his first court date.

My husband was arrested for DUI in Washington and he failed the blood alcohol test as well as the breath test. He is suffering from GERD and from what I heard, we can use that as a defense. How true that GERD poses problem on the accuracy of breath testing?

Wendy

Lakewood, WA

Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD is a chronic condition that results from esophagus deterioration from stomach acid eruptions over time. The impact on breath testing is if the alcohol erupting from the stomach into the mouth from gastric reflux poses a problem with accurate breath testing during a 20-minute observation period.

In Washington, the Washington State Patrol studied the issue of GERD and concluded safeguards should be carried out for accurate and fair breath testing. Their conclusions for appropriate breath alcohol testing implied a sound forensic practice should be followed to guarantee the integrity of the breath test and GERD recognition. The safeguards include at least 15-minute pre-sample observation period, instrument detection of mouth alcohol, duplicate testing, visual observations looking for symptoms of GERD and alert operators who ask appropriate questions. Your husband can definitely attack the results of the breath test and use it as a defense on his DUI charge in Lakewood, Washington especially if the safeguards on breath testing are not followed.

I’ve been keeping myself constantly updated with the latest updates and developments about DUI, especially the defenses because I have once been wrongfully accused of the said offense in Bellingham, Washington but the charge was dismissed. I’ve heard so much about this rising blood alcohol level. What does rising blood alcohol level mean?

Emma

Bellingham, WA

It’s nice to know that your DUI charge in Bellingham, Washington had been dismissed if you were not really driving under the influence. Well, to answer your question, rising blood alcohol level is one the defenses being used in a DUI case. This means that a person suspected of DUI may have different blood alcohol content (BAC) reading that what it really is. For example, a person suspected of DUI can blow a .15 percent at the police station, but have had a .07 percent BAC when he got pulled over. This is because alcohol takes an average of 50 minutes, but can take as long as three hours, to absorb fully into your bloodstream and create the peak blood alcohol level. This is very critical if the DUI traffic stop occurred relatively soon after the person finished drinking.

The BAC was probably still rising when the person blew in the machine which means that even if the BAC was above .08 person when the blood draw or breath test occurred at the police station (or hospital), it may well have been below .08 percent when the person was actually driving. There is no law against having a BAC above .08 percent at a police station; it’s only the BAC level while actually driving that counts for DUI purposes.

Hi. A friend of mine was recently charged with DUI here in Washington. He said that his blood alcohol concentration level was .18 percent which I believe is quite high. Would you know the record for highest blood alcohol concentration?

Kyla

Spokane, WA

A woman who was arrested in Tacoma, Washington on suspicion of DUI reportedly set a record of blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) reading of .50 on a breath test that was taken more than 2 hours after she was taken into custody. This is actually 6 times more than the legal limit and it was surprising that she was able to remain conscious during the said test.

The Washington State Patrol toxicology lab says that a BAC reading of .50 is the highest they have ever seen-definitely a record no one can be proud of. Authorities said that they have only seen a BAC reading that high once before, when a King County motorist was arrested for DUI in 2000.