When you are pulled over and suspected of a DUI, an officer may request that you take a chemical test. Chemical tests include breath tests, blood tests and urine tests. You are required by law to submit to these tests. Many people get confused and think that chemical tests are the same as field sobriety tests, which are optional. These are exercises that a police officer may ask you to complete when you are pulled over for a DUI to gauge your level of intoxication.
If you do not submit to a blood or breath test after you are asked to do so, you will lose your license automatically. In California, you can expect a 1 year drivers' license suspension for a first offense. If you are arrested for a second DUI within 10 years in California, the officers can suspend your license for two years, and subsequent DUIs can lead to a three year suspension.
The license suspension affiliated with refusal to take a chemical test is a DMV suspension. This is an immediate administrative action that takes away your driving privilege but is independent of any court-imposed jail sentence, fine, or criminal penalty.
If your license is suspended, you need a DUI lawyer who is willing to attend a DMV hearing and request that your license be reinstated. You may be able to argue that you were unaware of the penalties for refusing a chemical test or confused the chemical test laws with the field sobriety test laws. If you need someone to represent you at your DUI hearing, don't hesitate to contact the Law Offices of Adam Allen Arant Esq. We can represent you at your DMV hearing and try to protect your license! Call today if you want to speak with an attorney about your DUI situation!