An officer begins a DUI investigation on you. He asks you how much you have had to drink. He asks you to perform roadside sobriety tests. Then he arrests you for DUI. He is required to give you an “express consent” advisory where you must choose a dui breath test or a blood test. You have a very short time to decide.

DUI blood test

The officer will take you to detox or to jail where a medical professional, usually a nurse or EMT, will draw two vials of blood from your arm. Either the police crime lab or a private lab will conduct a test on the blood they receive and give the police the results.

If the result is 0.08 or above, the police will forward the result to the DMV which will send you a suspension letter that will be effective one week later. You have a right to a suspension hearing and should request a hearing in writing within 7 days.

Unlike a DUI breath test, a second sample exists for independent testing. We will be sending the second vial to another lab for verification that the two vials of blood came from the same person, and that the result is similar to the vial tested by the crime lab. This is one of the ways we attempt to get your case dismissed or reduced include blood draw problems, lab errors, blood storage problems, chain of evidence problems, etc.

If the suspension is sustained, and you have a Colorado driver’s license, you will be eligible for a restricted license with interlock after 30 days of no driving.

DUI breath test

The officer will take you to jail or detox and have you wait for 20 minutes while he completes paperwork. This 20 minute observation period is required in a DUI breath test to ensure you did not burp, vomit, belch, drink more alcohol, etc. The officer will have you blow into a mouthpiece two times and the machine will record the lower of the two results.

Currently in Colorado, no facility exists to make an independent test of your DUI breath test. What the machine says will be the only test result in your case. Some of the ways we attempt to get your case dismissed or reduced include problems with the machine, problems with the certification process of the facility to conduct breath tests, etc. We are able to aggressively attack the ability of Colorado to use the Intoxilyer-9000 as result of the DUI breath test in your case.

If the result of you DUI breath test is 0.08 or above, the police officer will immediately issue you an “express consent” notice of revocation, and forward it to DMV. This notice of suspension is effective within 7 days. You have a right to a suspension hearing and should request a hearing within 7 days.

Call a lawyer for help with what to do next. Solomon Law represents many DUI charges involving a DUI breath test and can help you decide what is best for you in your case.

Refusal

If you refuse any chemical test of your blood or breath, this will be used against you at trial. The officer will be able to testify the things he/she saw, smelled, and heard what you say. However, the state’s case is usually weaker without a level of your blood or breath alcohol.

The police officer will issue you an “express consent” notice of revocation for the refusal. He will forward it to DMV. This notice of suspension is effective within 7 days. You have a right to a refusal suspension hearing. You should request a hearing in writing within 7 days. If the suspension is sustained, and you have a Colorado driver’s license, you will be eligible for a restricted license with interlock after 60 days of no driving.