Reader’s Question:

If I will be arrested for DUI in Elkhart, Indiana, do I have the right to speak to a lawyer before I submit to a blood alcohol test?

Grace

Elkhart, IN

You can insist upon your right to speak to a lawyer before consenting to any search, answering any questions, making any statements, signing any documents (other than a traffic citation, which is not an admission of guilt) or providing any physical evidence. However, there are certain exceptions to this rule and this would be with regard to the implied consent law. If you get arrested or if you are pulled over for DUI suspicion in Elkhart, Indiana and be asked to take breath, blood, or urine test to measure your blood alcohol content (BAC), you have no right to consult with a lawyer before submitting to these tests.

This is under the Implied Consent Law which would require you to submit to the BAC tests. If you refuse to do so, your driver’s license will be suspended for one year. So if you are in the situation wherein the officer asks you for a BAC test, just be obedient if you want to save your driver’s license especially if you know that you are not drunk enough to be over the legal limit for driving.

Tags: blood alcohol test, breath test, DUI, DUI lawyer, urine test