What does No Refusal mean related to DWI in Fort Bend County? Did you know that you have the option of refusing to take a blood or breath sobriety test?
Shawn McDonald of SMB Criminal Defense Lawyers explains in this video his advice to clients when it comes to sobriety testing. His first advice is to not drink while under the influence. But, if you do find yourself in a situation where you’ve been drinking and driving and are intoxicated, don’t provide a blood or breath sample. You should refuse to partake in any tests that could potentially be used as evidence against you in a DWI charge. It should also be noted that field sobriety test results are completely subjective. If an officer truly believes you are impaired and under the influence, his analysis of your field sobriety tests will be heavily biased.
McDonald expounds on sobriety refusal with the notion that on some holiday weekends, some Texas counties will implement what they call a “no refusal.” If you refuse to have your sobriety checked, the officer will obtain a search warrant. You’ll be taken to the hospital and forced to give a sample to measure your blood alcohol content. In situations like these, there isn’t much of a defense.
Video Transcript
Interviewer: “What does No Refusal mean? I mean, how do you just not be able to refuse something?”
Shawn McDonald: “So you have a right to refuse a breath or blood test when you’re arrested for DWI. They read what we call DIC forms and ask you, ‘Do you want to provide a breath or blood sample?’ If you don’t provide it your license gets suspended. If you provide it and it’s over, or your license gets suspended, but it’s much less length of suspension than if you refuse. But you have the right to refuse. If you’re wasted, of course, you refuse. Don’t provide them additional evidence to convict you is what I advise my clients. I first advise them, don’t drink and drive. Secondly, if you’re wasted, don’t give them breath and blood.”
Amanda Bolin: “I think even if you’ve had a little bit. Refuse.”
Shawn McDonald: “Yeah. I mean, because it…”
Interviewer: “So that’s advise that you give to the audience, everybody out there. If you get pulled over and you’ve had one thing to drink, don’t blow?”
Shawn McDonald: “I don’t know one thing to drink, but if you’ve… I mean, I tell my clients, if you’ve had more than two drinks an hour, don’t provide a breath or blood sample.”
Interviewer: “Ok.”
Shawn McDonald: “Because when you’re drinking, you’re not always a very good judge of whether you are intoxicated or not and you’ve lost the normal use of your mental physical faculties. So I tell them, if you’ve had more than two an hour, don’t provide a breath sample.”
Amanda Bolin: “Don’t do the field sobriety test either.”
Shawn McDonald: “Yeah. Don’t do anything. Don’t give them evidence to convict you. Some juries will still convict you if you look terrible on video. But if you’re drunk, why would you do a field sobriety test to give them the evidence they need to convict you? Just refuse. Well, holiday weekends… A lot of weekends now in Harris County more than Fort Bend is they will do what they call a No Refusal. If you refuse to provide a breath or blood sample, they will go get a search warrant. Which has to be supported by probable cause, which is the same thing they need to arrest you. They always get search warrants if they want them. There is always going to be probable cause to take your blood. They’ll get a prosecutor to draft a search warrant. They’ll have a judge on standby. The judge will sign it. They’ll take you to the hospital and they will take your blood. They’ll send it to DPS. Your blood comes back a 14, you typically don’t have a defense. I mean you… I mean absent in something in discovery that we could have an expert take a look at that we could that that testing was wrong. Which we don’t find much anymore. You know, you’re done. There’s nothing you can do.”
Interviewer: “So if somebody doesn’t go. You know, they take them to the hospital, they want to take a blood test. What if they just keep refusing while they’re there? Smacking the needle out of there hands? What are they going to end up doing?”
Shawn McDonald: “Tie them down.”
Amanda Bolin: “Yeah. If they have a warrant, they’re going to tie you down and take your blood.”
Interviewer: “Ok.”
Shawn McDonald: “Yeah. They’re going to get your blood.”
Amanda Bolin: “But really, the No Refusal, all it’s doing is streamlining a process that they can do on any given day. Right? Because on any given day an officer has somebody, they suspect them of DWI. That person refuses breath or blood, that officer right there can start working on a warrant, call up a prosecutor, get a hold of a judge, and do it. But on the No Refusal what you’ll see is a very streamlined process where they’ve got prosecutors on standby.”
Interviewer: “They’re just standing right there ready.”
Amanda Bolin: “They’ve got a judge right there. They’ve got a phlebotomist sometimes right there at the jail ready to draw blood to make it a faster, more streamlined process.”
Interviewer: “Sure.”
Shawn McDonald: “So an hour compared to three hours.”
Amanda Bolin: “Right. But you’ve got agencies, especially here in Fort Bend County. The sheriff’s office, they have a DWI and traffic enforcement team. You’ve got Sugar Land and Fulshear who on any given night, whether it’s No Refusal or not, they’re going to go get a search warrant if you refuse.”
Disclaimer
*This blog post “What does No Refusal mean related to DWI in Fort Bend County?” is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.