Mandatory Blood Draws
I have mentioned before that you are allowed to (and should!) refuse a breath test if you are arrested for suspicion of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). At point you think, “Great, I followed the no blow rule and now I just need a good Houston DWI Attorney.” I have mentioned before that you are allowed to (and should!) refuse a breath test if you are arrested for suspicion of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). At point you think, “Great, I followed the no blow rule and now I just need a good Houston DWI Attorney.” Unfortunately, in many counties (including Harris) certain weekends are considered non-refusal weekend. If this happens then law enforcement will get a magistrate to sign a search warrant for your person after you refuse a breath test. They will use this search warrant to draw blood from you and use against you in the prosecution of your case.
Harris county does this much more than surrounding counties as money has been granted to the county to have non-refusal weekend every weekend for a period of three years. This recently started, so this should continue for the foreseeable future.
But don’t worry, a blood test is not an automatic conviction! Get yourself a DWI Lawyer in Houston that can identify the issues and help you work through your DWI. These particular types of cases tend to drag on more than others. The main reason is they usually ship the blood to labs outside of Houston to be evaluated. It is not uncommon to have a case where you are almost near the point of having to set the case for trial simply because the blood results have not come back.
A good Houston DWI Attorney can work with you and the state to fairly evaluate the entire case and come up with an adequate resolution or prepare for trial. Even if you know that there might be blood drawn, it is still in your best interest to refuse a breath test because there have been situations where people either slip through the cracks or the agency is just too lazy to get a search warrant. Again, don’t give the state any free evidence…make them take it.
Unfortunately, in many counties (including Harris) certain weekends are considered non-refusal weekend. If this happens then law enforcement will get a magistrate to sign a search warrant for your person after you refuse a breath test. They will use this search warrant to draw blood from you and use against you in the prosecution of your case.
Harris county does this much more than surrounding counties as money has been granted to the county to have non-refusal weekend every weekend for a period of three years. This recently started, so this should continue for the foreseeable future.
But don’t worry, a blood test is not an automatic conviction! Get yourself a DWI Lawyer in Houston that can identify the issues and help you work through your DWI. These particular types of cases tend to drag on more than others. The main reason is they usually ship the blood to labs outside of Houston to be evaluated. It is not uncommon to have a case where you are almost near the point of having to set the case for trial simply because the blood results have not come back.
A good Houston DWI Attorney can work with you and the state to fairly evaluate the entire case and come up with an adequate resolution or prepare for trial. Even if you know that there might be blood drawn, it is still in your best interest to refuse a breath test because there have been situations where people either slip through the cracks or the agency is just too lazy to get a search warrant. Again, don’t give the state any free evidence…make them take it.
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