The first thing a person should ask is how experienced the attorney is when it comes to handling blood draw cases, but they should also ask what they know about blood draw cases, how they would beat a blood draw case and whether procedures were done properly.
Many issues will be discussed, including what they expect from the case, how drunk they were that night, where they were drinking and whether there are any witnesses. I will also advise them that I need to see the video of the field sobriety tests, to see how the person looked, and to look at every aspect of the blood test, including who took it, how it was done, what time it was done, whether proper procedures were followed and whether the person wanted to spend the money to hire an expert to review the blood test so to discover if there was a hole in it, because if they found a hole in it, we will have to decide whether or not to spend the extra money to get them to come to court to testify.
I don’t see any changes in terms of blood draws or anything else like that. As technology develops, more mobile devices will be used to measure BAC in potential defendants; in Texas, anyone can purchase a mobile Breathalyzer online and blow into the straw to tell the person what their alcohol content is. DPS officers and police officers have them and use them as a preliminary tool, even though the results of those tests are inadmissible because they are not scientifically recognized as a proper blood alcohol content recording device. If technology improves enough to where they did become more scientifically recognized, people could expect each and every officer to have a portable breath machine in their vehicle for an on-the-spot test.
Yes, the person will usually get hit with a fee if convicted, to cover the cost of the lab analysis.
Just because someone has a blood draw and it is expensive and difficult to set aside, it doesn’t mean the end of the case; there are other options available for someone charged with DWI. In Burke County right now, they are giving some people a charge of obstruction of a highway and giving deferred adjudication, while other counties allow a plea down to reckless driving.
A good lawyer may be able to get you a better deal than a DWI; they may even be able to get charges dropped from a DWI enhanced with a 0.15 or above to just a regular DWI. Therefore, just because the officers have a blood test and the person didn’t have the money to pay for an expert to try to challenge and beat test does not mean the end of the world; there are always other options.
Being charged with a DWI is a serious offense and there can be huge financial ramifications down the road, so anyone charged with DWI should hire an attorney who knows what they are doing and who knows how to handle these types of cases.
