Richard J. Emhof DUI/DWI Law Blog on Lawyers.com

DUI clients who have been accused of refusing to submit to a chemical test (a blood or breath test) almost always dispute the account of the event put forward by the police.

When requesting a DUI suspect to submit to a chemical BAC test, the police are required to read the chemical test warnings (which inform the suspect that his/her driver’s license will be suspended if they refuse) to the suspect word for word. If the suspect indicates that they refuse to submit, they should be asked to sign a form indicating such refusal. Many clients report that nothing was read word for word and that the officer only gave an unclear warning in the officer’s own words, which the officer then refused to explain or elaborate upon. Many clients say they were coerced into signing a form indicating refusal or else they would have had to spend the night in jail.

For breath tests on a breathalyzer-type machine, the officer is required to conduct a 20-minute observation period of the suspect prior to the test. The reason for this is that certain things can corrupt the result of a breath test if they occur shortly before the test (i.e., eating or drinking certain things, vomiting, belching). The officer has to make sure none of these things happened to the suspect for twenty minutes immediately before the test in order to ensure the propriety of the test result. In practice, the officer will rarely comply strictly with this requirement. One reason is that it is simply socially awkward to sit down with a stranger and stare at them for twenty straight minutes. Another is that police officers have to complete hours of paperwork for every arrest they make and the temptation exists to “kill two birds with one stone” by doing something else while they conduct the observation period. This defeats the purpose of the 20-minute requirement because some things that can corrupt the test result (such as a small belch) can occur without the cop noticing unless the cop is paying close, undivided attention to the suspect for the entire twenty minutes.

Pennsylvania DUI Attorney Richard Emhof handles all aspects of DUI cases, including representation in criminal court and in civil license suspension appeals for chemical test refusal. If you or a loved one need the services of an experienced DUI lawyer in Pennsylvania, contact us online or call toll free at 1-866-457-9957 for a free initial consultation.