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What is the Possibility of an Impaired Driving Charge When Your BAC is Zero

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  • 12-11-2015, 04:13 PM
    Sean Kerrigan
    What is the Possibility of an Impaired Driving Charge When Your BAC is Zero
    So a friend of mine got pulled over in NJ and they asked him to do a field sobriety test. He had gotten off of work went home then had to go back to work to get something out of his work truck. Gets pulled over. They ask him to do a field sobriety test. They tell him to count to 30, then told him that he had counted to 90. He says he only counted to 30 and he isn't that stupid. He said he did not fall over but he wasn't very balanced when they made him stand on one leg. So they cuff him and this is what intrigues me the most. They ask him if they can search the vehicle. He says no, they threaten to get dogs but never do. They go in the car with a camera to get his cell phone. Bring him to the station breathalyze him. No alcohol is present. They ask him to take a drug test, he told them that he doesn't want to do that because if he happened to smoke some marijuana or something a day ago he knew it would show up even though he wasn't intoxicated at the moment. I don't think they have a case, the evidence is lacking substance and there is no way to prove the states case, but i would be curious to hear opinions. what do you think?
  • 12-11-2015, 05:25 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: What is the Possibility of an Impaired Driving Charge When Your BAC is Zero
    You know better than us if your friend was intoxicated through the use of controlled substances. They either sought a court order for a blood test or they didn't. They either filed a charge or they didn't. They have either forwarded their report to a prosecutor for review, or they haven't. Time will tell.
  • 12-13-2015, 01:59 AM
    PTPD22
    Re: What is the Possibility of an Impaired Driving Charge When Your BAC is Zero
    Quote:

    Quoting Sean Kerrigan
    View Post
    I don't think they have a case, the evidence is lacking substance and there is no way to prove the states case, but i would be curious to hear opinions. what do you think?

    The case is no more “lacking substance” than any other criminal prosecution. You are obviously unfamiliar with standardized field sobriety testing – try googling it and educate yourself about the process (specifically, check out the “Romberg balance test” – that’s the count to 30 thing your “friend” mentioned), the scientific validity of the test, and it’s court acceptance as evidence of impairment. Since said “friend” refused a blood draw, there will be no chemical test that the prosecution can present to a jury. However, that also means that there will be no chemical test for the defense to use to refute the officer’s testimony regarding the impairment shown in the SFSTs – cuts both ways.
  • 12-13-2015, 02:24 AM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: What is the Possibility of an Impaired Driving Charge When Your BAC is Zero
    We don’t know what the state has as evidence nor what charges, if any, were actually filed. Without that information there is no way to say what the outcome your friend may expect here except that your friend may well lose his license for 7 months over the refusal to test under NJ’s implied consent law.
  • 12-14-2015, 06:28 PM
    badzombie
    Re: What is the Possibility of an Impaired Driving Charge When Your BAC is Zero
    You do not have to fail a chemical analysis (breath/blood/urine) in order to be convicted of impaired driving. For example, blowing .08 yields the legal presumption that you are impaired without requiring further proof, but that doesn't mean you can't be convicted if you blow .07 or even .04 for that matter if you fail the FSE's badly, have glassy eyes, slurred speech, etc. Refusing a chemical test definitely gives rise to a license suspension in any state I know of. And he could still be convicted if the police officer has enough other objective evidence to get a conviction. Chemical testing is not the end-all be-all of DUI.
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