Archive for category Tennessee DUI Chemical Tests
You don’t have to be over the legal limit of .08% to be convicted of DUI
Posted by Steve Oberman in Tennessee DUI Chemical Tests, Tennessee DUI Information, Uncategorized on February 1st, 2010
Most people erroneously believe that one can’t be convicted of DUI if one registers below .08% blood alcohol level. Recently, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction of a man whose blood alcohol level was only .03%, well below the statutory .08% per se (legal) level.
In this case, the officer testified that the defendant swerved his vehicle three times over the yellow center lines of the road. Then the Defendant approached an intersection and turned left without stopping at the stop sign. After being stopped, the Defendant failed all field sobriety tests and was subsequently arrested.
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that a person does not have to have a blood alcohol content of .08% or any drugs in his or her system in order to be found guilty of DUI.
The Court considered all of the evidence, including the Defendant’s failure to perform field sobriety tests satisfactorily and the police officer’s observation of driving infractions by the Defendant, was sufficient to uphold the conviction.
This case emphasizes the need to be certain a qualified lawyer with sufficient DUI or DWI defense experience and expertise is hired to defend a Driving Under the Influence case even if the blood alcohol level is below the per se (legal) limit of .08%.
Your Right to Refuse a Breath Test or Blood Test Has Changed!
Posted by Steve Oberman in DUI Penalties, Tennessee DUI Chemical Tests on June 22nd, 2009
It is fairly common knowledge that Tennessee citizens have long had the statutory right to refuse an officer’s request to submit to a chemical test of the officer’s choice if the officer had “reasonable grounds” (probable cause) to believe the driver had committed the offense of Driving Under the Influence (DUI or DWI) in most DUI cases. As of July 1, 2009, however, this law has changed. Tennessee Public Chapter 324 has amended Tennessee Code Annotated Section 55-10-406 to eliminate the right of the driver to refuse a breath test, blood test, or urine test if the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that the driver has committed the crime of DUI, vehicular assault or vehicular homicide and was involved in an accident resulting in the injury or death of another.
If the officer has probable cause to believe the driver has committed one of aforementioned violations AND an accident with injury or death occurs, the officer is required to test the driver to determine the alcohol or drug content in the driver’s blood. The driver does not have the right to refuse the requested test.