Under California law, you are not required to perform a field sobriety test. However, the police officer is still able to arrest you if they believe there is enough evidence that you were driving under the influence.
What field sobriety tests do most police officers try to use?
There are currently three main field sobriety tests endorsed by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration: the one-leg stand, the horizontal gaze and the walk-and-turn. A police officer may ask you to perform any one of these tasks, but it is perfectly within your right to refuse.
Can you refuse to give a breath or blood sample?
You can technically refuse to take a breath test, but refusing this could cause your insurance rates to skyrocket and potentially cause your driver’s license to get revoked. Also, if your DUI case goes to trial, the prosecutor will have evidence that you refused to take a breath test.
This is not the case for blood tests. Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling made in 2016, you can refuse to submit a blood test without risking any serious consequences to your DUI defense. This ruling prohibits states from criminalizing the refusal to take a blood test as part of a DUI arrest. The only exception to this ruling is if the individual in question is unable to consent to a sobriety test because they are unconscious.
If you have recently been arrested for a DUI, it may be time for you to contact a DUI defense attorney. A good attorney can explain what your rights are in a DUI case as well as the consequences for driving under the influence.
