Being convicted of DUI brings surprisingly harsh punishments that can range from a loss of a driver's license to jail time. There are minimum sentencing guidelines in many states that allow no leeway under any circumstances. That means you must gather yourself and take action by contacting a criminal law attorney to help you fight. DUI cases can be won and often defendants can have their charges dropped or reduced when the evidence against them is challenged. One of the most important forms of evidence is the results of your blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Read on to find out more.

The Roadside Portable Breathalyzer Results

The portable breathalyzer test has become a standard means of making DUI arrests in many states. Some states, however, do not allow the results of such a test to be admissible in court because those results can be far from accurate. The test measures the level of alcohol that has been metabolized and expelled with your breath. The level of intoxication that can prompt an arrest is .08%. Unfortunately, problems with the test results are common and fail to take into account things like weight, sex, and more. There is no doubt about it – you and your DUI lawyer can challenge the results of these roadside portable breathalyzer tests.

The Blood Test for Alcohol

More difficult to overcome are the results of a blood test. If you refuse a roadside breathalyzer, if it proves inconclusive, if you are injured, or if the results are inadmissible, you might be tested using a blood draw. In all cases, law enforcement needs to obtain a warrant before blood can be drawn for a blood alcohol test using body fluids. It's a medical procedure and it must be performed by a qualified and certified medical technician known as a phlebotomist. The results of a blood test, unlike that of the roadside breathalyzer, are not usually immediately available. In the meantime, you may be released pending the outcome or you may be held in custody based on other evidence like field sobriety tests. Just because the blood test comes back positive is no cause for alarm, however. The results can be skewed and affected by the conditions under which the draw was performed, the transport of the sample, and the storage of the sample. Blood test results can be influenced by using the wrong transport container, the integrity of the container, the temperatures during transport and storage, and so much more.

You may have a case for having your charges dropped or reduced based bad BAC result. Speak to a drunk driving attorney to find out more.