Meet the Attorney
Ian Pancer focuses his practice on
DUI Defense to give his clients the
very best defense possible.
What to do after a DUI Charge
Ian Pancer focuses his practice on
DUI Defense to give his clients the
very best defense possible.
DUI Blood Tests
When a person is pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in California, they are often given a choice of taking a breathalyzer or a blood test to show blood alcohol content, or BAC. Many times, even if the accused chooses the breathalyzer, law enforcement will require a blood sample for later testing. The rules for extracting blood in a DUI case are the same in all parts of California.
- Blood must be removed from the vein of a DUI suspect by a qualified technician.
- The blood will be placed into a container with special chemicals inside to stop the blood from clotting, and help preserve the sample for testing.
- Lab tests will be done and the results reported to the law enforcement agency that originally requested the tests.
Definition of Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)
Blood alcohol content, also referred to as BAC is what is actually tested when a driver is pulled over for suspicion of DUI. The two most common ways to test for BAC are a breathalyzer and a blood test. The blood test is considered the more accurate of the two because it is measuring the blood directly. The state of California says that having a BAC of .08% or more is legally intoxicated, but what does .08% mean? BAC actually refers to the number of grams of alcohol present per 100 milliliters of blood. This means that a BAC of .10% is 1/10 of a gram of alcohol for 100 milliliters of blood. In the case of .08%, the amount of alcohol in the blood is even less.
Accuracy of Blood Test Results
Although the blood test is considered the most reliable way to determine BAC, there are many things that could happen to get erroneous results from a blood test. Experienced DUI attorney Ian Pancer will be able to make sure the prosecution has followed the correct procedures for the blood tests, or the results might be thrown out entirely. Some possible problems with a blood extraction or tests could be:
- The blood was not extracted by a qualified technician.
- A sufficient preservative was not used to ensure proper storage of the blood until testing.
- The chain of custody of the blood was not preserved.
- The blood sample was contaminated by swabbing the skin with Zephiran (containing 2% ethyl alcohol) prior to the extraction.
- The defense was unable to perform an independent lab test to confirm results.
Conclusion
If you have been pulled over for suspicion of DUI and have submitted to a blood test, it is important that you have the blood retested by an independent laboratory. DUI attorney Ian Pancer is a specially trained attorney in the area of DUI defense, and he will know what actions to take to help get your charges reduced or dismissed. The accuracy of blood test results can be tainted by many different errors throughout the process of obtaining, transporting, and actually testing the blood.