DUI Blood Test

 DUI Blood Test

            One minute you're driving.  The next minute remember waking up in the hospital.  Its all a blur. But it gets worse. You're charged with DUI.  Hospital blood test results reveal that your blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit. 

            Jacksonville DUI defense attorneys of Musca Law can help.  While judges and juries generally consider properly administered blood test results as the most accurate measure of blood-alcohol content, don't give up.  Contact Musca Law.  Our experienced Jacksonville DUI defense attorneys successfully use factual and legal defenses to exclude blood test results at trial.  This means your DUI charge could be reduced or completely dismissed.

Medical Blood v. Legal Blood

            Florida law creates two types of potentially admissible blood test results in DUI cases.  These two types of blood test results are known in the legal community as "medical blood" and "legal blood."  The requirements for the State (prosecution) to submit the blood test results as evidence at a DUI trial depend on whether the blood is considered medical or legal blood.

            Medical blood is the blood test administered by medical staff, such as a nurse or doctor, in the course of the treatment of an injured driver.  Simply put, medical blood tests are administered for medical purposes.  In order to admit evidence of medical blood test results at trial, the prosecutor must prove that the blood test was properly administered by a trained professional in the course of medical treatment and that the blood test results are relevant to the DUI case.  When Jacksonville Musca Law attorneys believe that the prosecution cannot meet this burden, our experienced attorneys move to suppress (or keep out) medical blood test results at an evidentiary hearing prior to trial.

            Legal blood is the blood test administered at the request of law enforcement.  In short, legal blood tests are administered for legal purposes.  In the process of a DUI investigation, a law enforcement officer may request a blood draw to test the driver's blood-alcohol content.  In order to admit evidence of legal blood test results at trial, the prosecutor must prove that the officer properly read the defendant implied consent and that the blood test was properly administered.  The experienced DUI defense attorneys at Musca Law will critically evaluate the evidence in your DUI case to determine whether law enforcement properly administered the legal blood test.

DUI Blood Test under Implied Consent

            Under Florida Statute §316.1932(1)(c), "any person who accepts the privilege ...of operating a motor vehicle within this state is...deemed to have given his or her consent to submit to an approved blood test for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of the blood or a blood test for the purpose of determining the presence of controlled substances... " 
This law is commonly known as implied consent.  Implied consent simply means that by signing your driver's license and driving a vehicle in Florida, you have agreed to submit to any sobriety test, including a blood test, requested by law enforcement officers.  Additionally, under Florida Statute §316.1932(1)(c), any person who is not capable of refusal due to unconsciousness, injury or other mental or physical condition is considered to have consented to a blood test.

            However, in order to request a driver to take a blood test, Florida law requires law enforcement officers to have "reasonable cause" to believe the driver was driving while under the influence of alcohol beverages or a controlled substance.  Musca Law DUI defense attorneys consider the factual circumstances surrounding each DUI case.  In many cases, law enforcement officers lacked the necessary "reasonable cause" to request a blood test and the results are "thrown out" or inadmissible at trial.  Without the results of the blood test, Jacksonville prosecutors are left without enough evidence to prove the crime of DUI.

DUI Blood Test Problems and Defenses

            Despite the reliability of blood test results, DUI cases involving blood tests are subject to a number of  factual and legal problems and defenses.

1. Law enforcement officers failed to properly read implied consent prior to requesting a blood test.
2. Law enforcement officers did not have reasonable cause to believe that the defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.
3. Law enforcement officers did not have cause to withdraw blood by force.
4. The blood draw was not administered by a properly trained and qualified medical professional.
5. The State failed to properly preserve the blood evidence.
6. The State failed to properly maintain the chain of custody.
7. The State's expert testimony fails to establish the scientific reliability of the test results.
8. Prosecutors are less experienced handling cases with blood test results and more prone to error.

            Contact Musca Law today to discuss the possible defenses to your DUI case involving blood test results.

Hire an Experienced Florida DUI Attorney

            An experienced DUI defense attorney will critically investigate the blood test results in your case and provide you with the best chance of reducing your charges or completely avoiding a DUI conviction.  For more information on DUI blood test cases in Florida, or if you were arrested for DUI, please schedule a free, confidential consultation with an experienced Musca Law criminal defense attorney.  Contact Musca Law 24/7 by calling 1-800-MUSCA-LAW (1-800-687-2252).