In our last post we discussed how police in southeast Wisconsin are cracking down on drunk driving after noticing an increase in drunk driving arrests and accidents involving alcohol.
The Waukesha Police Department said a special task force began targeting suspected impaired drivers over the New Year’s holiday and will continue into the new year.
What that means is a greater number of Wisconsin residents can expect to be arrested for drunk driving and face the serious consequences that apply.
Even a first-time OWI, DWI or DUI conviction can lead to huge fines, a driver’s license revocation or suspension, and jail time in Wisconsin. On a subsequent conviction, the consequences only get more severe.
That’s why it’s so important to take the charges seriously and fight for your rights. After an arrest, every criminal defendant has an opportunity to challenge the arrest and charges, including the results of a breathalyzer, blood, or urine test.
Some people assume that if they failed a breathalyzer, blood, or urine test they have automatically lost their case, but this isn’t true. It is possible to successfully challenge a breathalyzer, blood, or urine test by calling its reliability or accuracy into question.
For example, the reliability and accuracy of the breathalyzer used by many police departments == the Intoxilyzer 5000 — has been called into question recently by more and more forensic specialists who note how several different factors can result in a false positive test.
Additionally, very specific requirements must take place for blood test to work properly. The test kit also cannot be expired and it must be administered by a certified person. Finally, it is possible for the test to detect drugs that were ingested weeks ago and no longer affected the person driving.
Urine tests, too, require a very specific procedure in order to work properly. Additionally, urine tests are not as accurate as blood tests and can result in false positives from over-the-counter medications.
As you can see, neither breathalyzer, blood, nor urine tests are failsafe, which is why it’s important to work with an experienced criminal defense attorney who can investigate your case for all potential challenges.