How to Challenge a Blood DUI Test

You’ve been arrested for drunk driving in South Jersey, and things are not looking good for you. In the best case scenarios, the officer likely began his process by asking you whether you’d been drinking, asked you to go through the typical sobriety tests, then administered a breathalyzer test called the Alcotest.  Though the New Jersey police generally stop their evidence collection process there, in some instances they collect both the chemical test and a blood test, and in some cases they only collect a blood sample. There are a number of different scenarios that can exist in a drunk driving charge, and an experienced DWI attorney or DUI lawyer in South Jersey will be able to use their experience and knowledge to challenge a blood DUI test and get the charges against you dropped or lowered.

There are some situations where a DUI charge is made despite the fact that the police have not actually witnessed your driving. This happens most frequently when the suspected drunk driver has been in an accident and is unable to submit to the normal testing or an Alcotest. In this situation, the police will ask the attending medical staff in the emergency room to collect blood samples so that blood alcohol concentration can be determined later. These samples are generally stored in what are known as “gray top vials” which hold preservative chemicals to allow testing at a later point. The police take custody of these samples as evidence, which in some situations are the only evidence available. When this happens, your attorney will be able to enter a number of different challenges, including the qualifications of the person who performed the blood draw. There was a notable case involving a laboratory technician in Massachusetts who purposefully faked blood draw results.

Another example of how an attorney can question the legitimacy of a DUI blood test has to do with the chain of custody of the evidence. If the blood draw was initially handled by a lab tech amidst the chaos of an emergency room setting, it is highly possible that there were several different people handling the sample. The more hands were on the sample, the less possession and control the police had over it, and when there are breaks in the chain of custody, the evidence may be thrown out, leaving the prosecution with no case against you.

Finally, your DUI attorney may be able to question the accuracy of the equipment that was used to calibrate the equipment. There have been numerous instances where results of a chemical or blood sample test have been ruled ineligible as evidence because the equipment that was used was not calibrated correctly.

Though facing a DUI charge can be frightening, having an experienced DWI attorney and DUI lawyer in South Jersey representing you can give you confidence. Call Wallace Law today to learn more about the services we provide.