Oklahoma DUI Blood Test
To Bleed or Not to Bleed – That is the Question
FIRST- A BREATH TEST
Under Oklahoma law you are NOT entitled to an immediate blood test if you are arrested for DUI/APC alcohol. You should first be requested to take a breath test. It is your choice if you take the breath test and this is discussed more fully at www.EdgeLawFirm/WillYouBlow
The breath test is the designated test for all state law enforcement agencies except for approximately two agencies. This means that the default, or standard test is a breath test for suspected alcohol cases.
After a breath test, should you request a blood test?
IF, I repeat, IF you take a breath test you then you may request a second test, which will be a blood test and it will be performed at your expense. This will have to make a clear and direct request for the blood test.
If you feel the breath sample is not a fair representation of your level of intoxication/non-intoxication, then a blood test may be a good choice.
Be aware that a second test will also be available to the Government for testing and result analysis.
WHEN A BLOOD TEST IS FIRST TEST
A law enforcement officer may request a blood test as the initial test if he has probable cause to believe drugs are involved, if there is not a working machine within a reasonable radius and if a person is physically unable to provide a proper sample for a breath test.
You then must decide if you will agree to have a sample drawn. If you refuse, the officer must get a warrant before a sample can be forcibly taken. Under current practice, a warrant is seldom requested after a refusal. If there are injures or death a warrant will be requested. Some of the factors in deciding to take the test are discussed at www.EdgeLawFirm/WillYouBlow.
RETEST
If you have taken a blood test, the state should have an extra tube that will be available for your retesting. Keep in mind, this is not a new test—the tube originates from the single blood draw. It would only be sending the extra tube to a different lab. This is drastically different from requesting a separate test where a new kit, a new injection and a new blood draw are performed.
Any results from a retesting of the extra sample or from a second test will be given to the Government.
A decision that would be made by your attorney after reviewing your case would be to retest the sample. This retesting may simply confirm the first test result, or it could show procedural problems and yield a different result. Your attorney may decide to attack the procedures for the blood draw, the handling of the sample to the lab, lab procedures, human errors, measurement errors, calibration errors and machine errors in the original testing rather than risking having two results that are similar.
SECOND TEST- BLOOD
If a blood test is taken as the initial test, you again have the right to request a second test. This is not an extra tube produced from the initial blood draw, it would be a separate preparation, injection and sample extraction.
The law is silent on who/where this second test will be taken so you should assume that it will be taken by the same person who just took your blood for the initial test. This second test would be yours to be sent to a different lab and, again, the government would receive the results of the second test also.