DO I HAVE TO TAKE THE BREATHELIZER TEST ?
NO...... YOU DON’T HAVE TO TAKE THE TEST IF YOU HAVE BEEN DRINKING, DON'T TAKE THE TEST
THE ROADISDE BREATH TESTER-- The Handheld breath tester is inaccurate and not admissible in court. However, most police officers will use the test to determine to arrest you and take you downtown for further testing. Just say no politely. The officer will likley urge you to take it and even say you have no choice. You have a choice. THE BREATHELIZER TEST AT THE DOWNTOWN STATION , The Intoxilyzer machine is kept at the station. The results of this test are admissible in court. It is a very sensitive machine. If you have had anything to drink you will probably fail it. The legal limit of .08 is very low for most adults. Additionally, your body varies wildly in alcohol concentration in the lungs over time based upon weight, the time of drinking, eating, the type of alcoholic beverage, the time of the last drink, the patter of drinking and many other factors. “Spiking” of alcohol concentration may occur for a few minutes and place you over the limit even when overall you are not at the limit. REMEMBER: Even though you are on trial for driving while intoxicated, a jury will convict you for TESTING while intoxicated. Do I have to cooperate if I have been stopped? Be polite to the officer. He is trying to make an assessment of whether you are DWI. Your weight, how much you drank, what you drank, when you drank and what you ate, the results of the breath test at the station vary widely. Your alcohol concentration can “spike” at a particular time for a period of just a few minutes and put you over the legal limit, even though overall you are below the limit. Too many things can go wrong with this test if you have been drinking. Don’t take it if you have been drinking. Do not take any field sobriety tests, including the “eye test.” Be respectful and polite to the policeman, but do not allow him to force you to take any tests. Most arrests occur late at night or early in the morning. If you have the odor of alcohol on your breath, the officer will not allow you to drive away. You are stopped and you are busted! Cooperation with his tests will not help you even if he says that you can help yourself by taking his tests. Even if you pass his tests, and people rarely do, he will arrest you and take you to jail for a breath test just to “be sure” that you are not drunk. Do not make ANY statements to the policeman about drinking BEFORE you have been arrested. These statements are automatically admissible in court. You do not have to lie. Simple remain silent. Your silence cannot be used against you. What must I do at the station ? -DO NOT TAKE ANY BREATH TESTS -ASK FOR A LAWYER IN THE VIDEO ROOM IMMEDIATELY AND REFUSE TO MAKE ANY STATEMENTS -STAND IN ONE PLACE AND POLITELY REFUSE TO MOVE AROUND -KEEP ASKING FOR A LAWYER, AND WHEN THE OFFICER TRIES TO GET YOU TO WALK AROUND, DON’T. IF HE SAYS THAT THERE IS A PHONE ON THE WALL TO CALL THE LAWYER, SAY ONLY “I WILL CALL HIM LATER.” -DO NOT WAIVE YOUR RIGHTS -DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS -BE POLITE – tell the oficer your name and address only. EVERYTHING that you say or do on the video is going to be used against you. Make sure that you behave in a polite and sensible manner. Remember that you are on video, they can’t do anything to hurt you. The officers are generally very professional, and they would not do anything to hurt you. Will I lose my drivers license? The officer is going to confiscate your license. However, he cannot suspend it. If you request an administrative hearing within 15 days you license will not be suspended for several months, if at all. Even if your license is later suspended by a judge, you can obtain an occupation license. This license allows you to drive six days out of the week and during any 12 hours out of the 24 hours of those days. The schedule is mostly up to you. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
You have a right to remain silent. That is, you do not have to answer any questions which a police officer asks you during a DWI encounter. Remember: everything you say (even things which you may think are helpful to you) will be used against you.
You are not required to perform field sobriety tasks. If you believe that you may be intoxicated, a polite refusal to perform these tasks will benefit you greatly in the inevitable proceedings which will follow. Politely refuse and look down or away when the officer attempts to perform the "pen test" on your eyes. Remember: if it is after dark and you have the odor of an alcoholic beverage on your breath, the officer is going to arrest you whether or not you think you have passed the tests.
You have a right to refuse a breath or blood test. You are not required to blow into the hand-held machine at the scene of the traffic stop. There is no penalty for this refusal. The results of this machine are not admissible in court. If you are asked to perform a breath test after you are arrested and while you are at the police station, you are not required to submit to this test. There is currently no criminal sanction for this refusal. However, there is a potential drivers license suspension sanction for a refusal.
You have a right to a hearing before your license is suspended. Whether you fail a breath test or you refuse a breath test, the Department of Public Safety will attempt to suspend your drivers license. However, they are not always successful. You or your lawyer MUST request that hearing WITHIN 15 DAYS OF YOUR ARREST DATE or the hearing is WAIVED AND YOUR LICENSE WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY SUSPENDED. Contact us today to avoid your license from being suspended.
You have a right to a lawyer and a jury trial. Most people believe that they have hopeless cases, that a defense is too expensive, that most people lose their cases, and that a guilty plea is their best and cheapest option. All of these concerns are inaccurate assumptions, or just plain wrong! You are not in a position to judge your case, you need a lawyer.
1. Many lawyers now take credit cards or other means of payment.
2. Modern jurors are aware of the problems associated with police officers in traffic stops, and they find people not guilty in DWI cases every day.
3. There is very rarely a "hopeless" case. This is an evaluation which only can be made with the advice of counsel.
4. Probation means a criminal conviction which remains on your record for the rest of your life. You must pay a fine, pay court costs, do dozens of hours of community service, take psychological evaluations, report monthly to a probation officer who has the power to put you in jail for failures of your probation conditions, take urine tests, refrain from the use of alcohol and going to places where alcohol is served, and in some counties in Texas the judges will require you to serve a jail sentence as a condition of probation.
5. If it is your second DWI, the jury is ordinarily not allowed to know of your prior conviction. Since a prior offense is a punishment issue, going to the court for punishment effectively prevents the jury from knowing about your prior case when they determine your guilt or innocence. | 
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