In Georgia, you have a right to refuse to take a State administered blood, breath or urine test. When you exercise this right, you put yourself at risk of being penalized in two ways. First, your license may be suspended for one year. The suspension is a “hard suspension”- meaning, you have no permit, whatsoever. Second, when you refuse to take the State test, the State may use your refusal against you at trial. The refusal is used as evidence that your test would show the presence of the pohibited substance- either alcohol or drugs.
The good news is; however, if you refuse to take the State test, there is no state test. A blood, breath or urine test is the strongest piece of evidence of DUI, if you are above the limit or have drugs in your system. Without that piece of evidence, the State must prove that you were less safe to drive. In many cases, this is a hard burden for the State.
The implied consent law in Georgia states that once a person refuses to take the State test, NO TEST SHALL BE GIVEN. Unbelievably, the implied consent law has become meaningless due to a conflicting law, which allows law enforcement to get a subpoena to force a blood draw.
Recently, Fox Atlanta news ran a story on this conflict in the law. http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/22706519/georgia-counties-seizing-dui-suspects-blood
While offensive and in derogation of your right to refuse, even a forced blood draw can be defended. While the average attorney says a blood test is more reliable than a breath test, that is not this office’s approach. We are trained and skilled in defending both blood and breath tests. Neither are foolproof testing. Both have weaknesses which can be used in your defense.