Home > Research Legal Advice > DUI / DWI > During my dui arrest, I opted for a blood test as opposed to the breath ...
Asked over 3 years ago - Seattle, WA
FlagOfficer told me that I had the option to take a blood test, but as part of a series. It is in the rights he read to me that I can be tested by any professional I choose. He asked if I was refusing the breath test at the station and I told him that I was submitting to a blood test.
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Without more facts, it is hard to say for sure because officer's have some discretion with respect to whether a person refuses. Under the law a person has consented to a breath test only when requested by aw enforcement who has legal cause to have arrested you unless there are some unique circumstances such a vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, you are unconcious, you are being treated in a location where no breath test instrument is available, or there is cause to suspect drugs. While you do have a right to "alternative" testing in the form of a blood test, the law requires a breath sample to be given first. However, it really is up to the officer to decide if you refused or not. From the facts you presented, i would guess that you were maked as a refusal. To find out for sure, the advice of a experienced lawyer who focuses on DUI is a must.
This is most likely considered a refusal to submit to a breath test. Washington's laws allow a person the right to any additional testing beyond the breath test. The law states that any test shall be of breath unless the person is physically incapable of providing a breath test, is being treated at a hospital where no breath test is readily available and in the case of an injury causing accident.
That being said, there are many other avenues of attack on a case like this.
