Dave Albo – Attorney
Dave Albo – AttorneyDUI lawyer Fairfax VA
Information You Need to Know from a DUI lawyer Fairfax VA Trusts
If you were arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol you were likely asked to take a breathalyzer or a blood test to measure your blood alcohol concentration. These tests may have been administered during your traffic stop or at the police station. If you have concerns about whether or not this test violated your constitutional rights, of that maybe the test was administered unlawfully, you should consider reaching out to a qualified and experienced attorney to discuss your case. Dave Albo – Attorney has almost three decades of experience representing criminal defendants in DUI cases, and he may be able to get your charge reduced or dismissed. Call him today if you would like to see how a DUI lawyer in Fairfax VA can help you. In the meantime, here is a quick overview of breathalyzer tests and the law:
1. Implied Consent. To drive on public roads in Virginia, you must be licensed to operate the vehicle. The state issues your driver’s license and gives you the privilege to drive on public roads. In exchange, you agree to abide by certain rules, including traffic laws and ordinances. Courts have held that you also agree to abide by a law enforcement officer’s valid request to take a breathalyzer or a blood test to measure your blood alcohol concentration while driving. This agreement is called “implied consent.” A DUI lawyer in Fairfax VA can determine if the officer had a valid reason to test your blood alcohol level. If he or she did not, your lawyer can seek legal recourse.
2. Repercussions of Refusing to Take the Breathalyzer Test. Your DUI lawyer in Fairfax VA can review the events leading up to and following your arrest to determine if there were unlawful discrepancies that law enforcement undertook. If you refuse a law enforcement officer’s lawful and reasonable request that you take a breathalyzer or blood test, several things may happen.
- First, if this is during a traffic stop, the police officer may use this as part of his or her basis to reasonably believe that you are driving while under the influence of alcohol and make an arrest.
- Second, refusing to take a breathalyzer or blood test may result in a mandatory revocation of your driver’s license, regardless of whether you are ever charged with a DUI. By refusing to take the test, you are, essentially, not complying with your “implied consent” agreement with the state and, in turn, the state may revoke your license.
3. Admissibility of Test Results in Court. Given the information above, it likely makes sense for you to submit to a breathalyzer or a blood test if you have been pulled over or arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. However, at trial, the results of these tests may not be admissible into evidence. In that scenario, the evidence from those tests cannot be held against you. If the police officer did not have a reasonable suspicion that you were driving under the influence, he or she should not have administered the breathalyzer or blood test. If this is the case, regardless of what your blood alcohol concentration measured during the test, the results may not be be admitted by the court during your trial. Your DUI lawyer in Fairfax VA should take this into consideration when reviewing your case.
Like many areas of the law, whether or not your breathalyzer or blood test results are admissible in court will depend on several factors. This is also true for whether or not your refusal to take a breathalyzer or blood test may be held against you at trial. To make sure that you get a fair result, you should consider hiring a DUI lawyer Fairfax VA drivers turn to for help such as Dave Albo – Attorney. Call today to schedule an initial consultation which will be at no charge to you.
