These penalties, which include the suspension of your license and points added to it upon its restitution, are administrative in nature. In other words, they are completely unrelated to your criminal OWI case. Under a change to the law, however, you may receive criminal penalties for refusing to blow into a breathalyzer at the roadside.
When you get arrested for OWI, you will find yourself fighting on two fronts: your criminal case and your administrative license suspension case. A skilled and experienced Michigan OWI attorney can help you achieve a good outcome on both fronts.
At Davis Law Group, our goal is to reduce the strain of facing an OWI charge while providing an effective defense to our clients’ criminal and administrative cases.
Can You Refuse a Roadside Breathalyzer in Michigan?
Michigan’s preliminary chemical test laws may be activated by one of two situations:
- A police officer notices you driving erratically, and pulls you over on the suspicion that you are operating while intoxicated
- A police officer pulls you over for another valid reason (traffic infraction or mobile checkpoint), and during the interaction gains the suspicion that you are intoxicated
Basically, once the officer has reason to believe you are intoxicated, the law requires that you cooperate with the officer as they take steps to determine whether you are intoxicated. At the roadside, the officer may ask you to:
- Perform field sobriety tests, which are a series of tasks that supposedly only sober people can successfully complete
- Submit to a preliminary, roadside breathalyzer test
So, can you refuse a breathalyzer in Michigan at the roadside? Yes, but you will be charged with a civil infraction if you refuse to take it. Although Michigan’s legislature considered making it illegal to refuse a field sobriety test, that provision didn’t make it into the final law. By refusing to submit to either preliminary test, you will reduce the amount of evidence the prosecutor may use to convict of OWI. However, it is likely that the police officer will arrest you for OWI if you refuse to cooperate at this stage of the investigation.
Penalties for Refusing a Breath or Blood Test at the Station
If the police officer gains probable cause to believe that you are intoxicated while operating a vehicle, they will arrest you for OWI. Probable cause may be gained from the results of a roadside breathalyzer or field sobriety test, or the officer’s subjective observations. Once you’re in custody, the authorities will request that you submit a breath, blood, or urine sample to determine whether you are intoxicated. The result of these tests will be used later on to prove that you are guilty of OWI.
So, can you deny a blood test for a DUI once arrested? Yes, and if you refuse to give a sample, you will be reducing the amount of evidence. But, on the other hand, your refusal may result in the following penalties:
- First refusal – One-year driver’s license suspension and six points added to your license
- Second refusal – Two-year driver’s license suspension and six points added to your license
- Third refusal – Five-year driver’s license suspension and six points added to your license
