Implied Consent Suspension In DUI Cases
In Arizona, whenever somebody either drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle, they impliedly give their consent to submit to a breath, blood or urine test as designated by a police officer when the police officer arrests them on the belief the person is under the influence of alcohol and/ or drugs. That is the concept of implied consent.
If somebody is placed under arrest for driving under the influence charge and they fail to either expressly agree to or successfully complete any designated test, then they are subject to a license or privilege to drive suspension for failure to do so.
The suspension would be for 1 year if there is no prior implied consent suspensions in past 7 years. If it is a second implied consent suspension within the past 7 years then it is a 2 year suspension.
Refusal Has To Be Voluntary Act
In order for the MVD to consider it a refusal, it has to be a voluntary act or refusal on the person’s part when asked to submit to a test. The person must successfully complete whatever the designated test is. If the person is incapacitated, the most likely scenario would be with a breath test that they are unable to provide sufficient air from their lungs to complete the test, if the judge listening to the facts determines that that’s the case, meaning that the person didn’t have sufficient lung capacity, then that wouldn’t be a refusal.
In cases where that’s an issue, the attorney is able to get a statement from the physician saying that the person has diminished lung capacity so that would not constitute a refusal. If a person is incapacitated because they are unconscious, again that wouldn’t constitute a refusal. In most cases that does arise, so the police can get a blood sample and then the person wouldn’t be considered refusing.
Admin Per Se Suspension In Arizona
An admin per se suspension comes about from a couple of possible scenarios.
For the first basis, assuming that the person is placed under arrest for driving under the influence, and they submit a test which indicates person’s alcohol level is .08% or more, then that would be a basis of a 90 day admin per se suspension.
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A second basis would be if a person is placed under arrest and the due officer has a belief that they have a drug in their system, be it a prescription or illegal drugs. If that’s the case, then there would be a 90 day admin per se suspension. If the drug in question is a prescription medication and the person has a prescription then that would not be a basis for admin per se suspension.
The third basis, that has become common in the last 6 or 7 years, would be if at the time of the arrest the police do not have blood test results or don’t have test results because it’s a blood test but nevertheless they served an order of suspension admin per se on the person. If the person does not request a hearing, then the suspension goes in to effect any way, even though there are no test results.
Those are the three basic scenarios under which an admin per se suspension can come about: the person has a test reading of a .08% or more, or if they have drug in their body without a prescription or simply they were served with an order of suspension and they did not request a hearing within the time period of 30 days.
If you are Facing a DUI License Suspension In Arizona, call the law office of Attorney Gordon Thompson for a free initial consultation at [number type=”1″] and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.