Can a person be charged with a DUI request an INDEPENDENT BLOOD TEST?
Yes. We frequently ask the Court for permission to have the
blood sample re-tested by a laboratory that we use and respect. Sometimes,
there is discrepancy between the test results. In a borderline case, this can
be a very good negotiating tool.
Can a driver be charged with a DUI if he/shes BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL is below .08%?
Yes. This happens more frequently than most people realize. A
typical case is when a driver is stopped by the police for a minor traffic
infraction, such as a burned out light. The police officer smells alcohol or
has reason to believe that the driver has consumed drugs or alcohol. The police
officer has the driver perform the standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs)
and decides that the driver has failed one or more of the tests. The officer
then asks the driver to submit to blood testing. At the hospital, the BAC%
level is below .08%. The driver is charged with DUI. Everyone knows that the
"legal limit" is .08%, right?
No. There is a section of the DUI law, 3802(a)(1) which states
that no amount of alcohol is necessary for a conviction. If the driver cannot
operate a vehicle safely due to consumption of alcohol, the driver may be
convicted of DUI.
Can the Police Search your car without a SEARCH WARRANT?
On April 29, 2014, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania said yes to
that question. "We hold that, in this Commonwealth, the law governing
warrantless searches of motor vehicles is coextensive with federal law under
the Fourth Amendment. The prerequisite for a warrantless search of a motor
vehicle is probable cause to search; no exigency beyond the inherent mobility
of a motor vehicle is required. The consistent and firm requirement for
probable cause is a strong and sufficient safeguard against illegal searches of
motor vehicles, whose inherent mobility and the endless factual circumstances
that such mobility engenders constitute a per se
exigency
allowing police officers to make the determination of probable cause in the
first instance in the field."
Com. v. Gary
, 91 A.3d 102, 138 (Pa. 2014)