Authorities in Troy test for the presence of drugs after a DUI through blood testing. The various police agencies, whether it is the Troy Police, the sheriff’s department, or Michigan State Police, blood testing is the primary method for determining the presence of drugs. In drugged driving cases, law enforcement generally requests a blood test after receiving either an admission of drug use or finding paraphernalia after a traffic stop. If you or a loved one was pulled over and charged with drug driving it may be wise to call a seasoned drug OWI defense lawyer to protect your rights, particularly regarding Troy DUI drug tests.
Drug Driving Test BasicsOnce the blood test is done by the state testing lab in Michigan, if it comes back above the legal limit for alcohol then it likely would not be further tested. However, if it is under the legal limit or the prosecuting attorney’s office requests, blood may be tested further to determine the presence of controlled substances. Because those tests are much more difficult and expensive to conduct, meaning more time is necessary for training and sample preparation, and more sophisticated equipment is used in the testing and therefore more money at the state level is required. Such tests are usually not done immediately unless requested.
To prove that somebody is impaired outside of the blood test, officers rely on the field sobriety testing on the side of the road as well as the driver’s behavior behind the wheel. Sometimes a “DRE” or drug recognition expert is called in to assist in the investigation and arrest. These specially trained officers use additional methods to determine if a person is under the influence of a drug as opposed to suffering a medical condition, and if they are under the influence, what category of drug they have consumed. There are 7 different drug categories available.
These are the reasons that they would request the blood in the first place and they are also going to be used later to try and prove somebody was intoxicated or impaired during their interaction with the police officers and potentially while they were operating that motor vehicle.
Is it Legal To Refuse a DUI Drug Test?In Troy, the laws regarding refusal of these tests are if someone refuses a requested test, under the Michigan Implied Consent Statute. As part of a legal fiction you are assumed to have given consent to a blood test at the time you accepted your first driver’s license. While you have the right to withdraw that consent, and not have your blood drawn without a search warrant, there are consequences for refusing.
For a first implied consent suspension there is a possibility that your license could be suspended for a period of one year and you could receive six points on your driving license. It is important to understand that when someone drives on Troy roads, they have already given consent to a test if they are stopped and there is probable cause that they may have been drunk or drugged driving. If they refuse that test and they later determine an inappropriate refusal, the Secretary of State will automatically suspend their license for that one-year period and add six points to their license.
There is the possibility of having a hearing at the Secretary of State’s Office in which the officer must testify and prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the arrest was valid and that the test was refused improperly. However, because of the low standard, many times when those hearings are conducted, the hearing officer will most likely find for the police officer.
It is important to understand that even if a driver refuses the test, the police officers could still seek a search warrant from the magistrate or judge. If they obtain one based on probable cause, they would still be able to obtain the individual’s blood and conduct a test for the presence of drugs or alcohol. Consequently, refusing the test does not prevent the police from obtaining the blood. In most cases, it just adds time for the officers to fill out a search warrant. If a driver is already being asked to perform a drug test after a DUI arrest on the road, it is essential to call an experienced criminal defense lawyer to protect their rights and document the investigation.
Work With an Attorney for Help Handling OWI Drug TestsTo prove that a driver is impaired, police officers in Troy are trained in drugs and drunk driving investigations through their various police academies. Generally, they are going to use the standardized field sobriety testing and the methods determined by the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct their investigations. Some of the officers may be trained under further programs such as ARIDE or drug recognition experts, sometimes called DREs. Those programs are developed by NTHSA to provide additional training information and expertise to the officers in determining whether drugs are impairing or intoxicating an individual.
Once law enforcement decides to conduct a DUI drug test on a driver in Troy, you should reach out to your lawyer immediately. Once you are under investigation, everything you do and say as well as the results of the test will be used against you in court. Call an attorney today to start working on your case and protect your rights.