Blood Alcohol & Sobriety Tests

Blood and alcohol tests were formulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine impairment. However, as the NHTSA will admit, the tests are not always reliable. Officers may administer the test incorrectly or the driver may perform poorly because of nerves, fatigue, and other factors. When the tests are administered, the officers only note what the driver did wrong, and not what he or she did right. This can lead to false accusations of intoxication.

 

Field Sobriety Tests

Were you pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving and asked to perform a series of exercises? These are referred to as “field sobriety tests“ and they were formulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine impairment.

In Massachusetts, field sobriety tests are particularly important.

Due to a law passed in July 2003 (the “PER SE” Law), drivers can be proven guilty of a DUI if their right to operate a vehicle was impaired by the amount of alcohol that they consumed, or if their BAC was at or above 0.08%. Field sobriety tests may play largely into the prosecution’s evidence against the defendant.

If you have undergone a field sobriety test and were arrested for drunk driving, it is crucial that you obtain the help of an experienced, Boston-area criminal defense lawyer to help you understand the charges you face and the legal options you have available. If you hire Rusconi Law, we will do whatever we can to reduce the charges you are facing or have them dismissed altogether.

Other tests should not be considered as evidence of intoxication.

These tests are designed to be administered under ideal conditions to healthy people. Police are trained to know and identify certain classes of people that cannot complete the tests even under ideal circumstances. However, police often omit these details when writing their report. Also, drivers with ADD, ADHD, or another mental illness may struggle to perform the tests even when sober.

As a former prosecutor, Attorney Rusconi intimately knows the NHTSA manual that the State Police use to train police officers in DUI detection inside and out, which is the most effective way to cross-examine the validity and accuracy of many of these tests at trial. 

Questions about field sobriety tests

Can you refuse a field sobriety test?

Yes, the state of Massachusetts gives drivers the option to refuse field sobriety tests. We suggest that you decline if ever asked to participate.

The evidence from these tests will only be used against you. Most officers will document any mistakes you make without noting tests you performed correctly.

Can I refuse a breath test?

The short answer is yes…with a very significant “but…”

There is no penalty for refusing the portable breath test (PBT). However, if you refuse a test using the Draeger machine, there are penalties for refusal!

Refusal penalties are based on how many convictions (not charges and dismissals/acquittals) you have at the time of the test.  

The penalties for refusing a breath test are:

  • 1st Offense (no convictions) – 6 months suspension of license.

  • 2nd Offense (1 conviction) – 3 years suspension of license.

  • 3rd Offense – 5 years suspension of license.

  • 4th Offense and beyond – LIFETIME suspension of license.

During the refusal suspension period, you cannot apply for a hardship license.

What are hardship licenses?

Only on a first offense OUI can you secure a hardship license before the mandatory 6-month suspension has expired, and that is only if you resolve first and enlist in The DUI Program. 

All other chemical test refusal suspensions run consecutively with a guilty conviction. 

For example: 

  • Someone gets arrested for DUI, 2nd Offense and refuses the breath test. They will have a 3-year suspension for the breath test refusal.  IF they are found GUILTY, then the RMV will tack on another 2 years, making it 5 years in total

  • IF the case is dismissed, or the person is found NOT GUILTY, then your attorney should file a motion to reinstate your license immediately, at which point the prosecutor will have to convince a judge that your driving history, or the facts of the case suggest you are too dangerous to get your license back so quickly.