Independent DUI Testing in Virginia
When it comes to DUI charges, your blood alcohol content can be one of the most contentious but also one of the most powerful bits of evidence. However, things like false positives and contamination are not completely uncommon. As someone charged with a DUI, you have the right to take a sample of your blood to an independent laboratory in order to verify the results that the government might present.
If you have been charged with a DUI, consult a skilled DUI attorney that can build your case. An experienced lawyer can help you assert your right to independent DUI testing in Virginia, and can use the results of those tests to build your defense. Speak to a legal advocate today, and know that you are in good hands.
What Does It Mean to Get an Independent Blood Test?
If the government chooses to take blood from a person to prove the person’s level of intoxication, they are required to take two samples. One is for them and the other sample is for the person who has been charged with a DUI. Once their blood sample comes back, that person has the right under Virginia law to elect an independent laboratory to perform testing to determine if what the government says about a person’s blood is accurate. It is a safeguard for every person to be able to have their own testing done.
Independent DUI testing in Virginia can either verify or debunk whatever the government is saying about that person’s blood. The testing can be conducted in the laboratory of a person’s choosing. There are several from which to choose in Virginia. The important thing to consider is that they are an independent laboratory and are not any part of Virginia law enforcement.
Circumstances Requiring Independent Testing
An attorney should suggest independent DUI testing in Virginia under every circumstance. The only exception would be if the blood comes back, and the person is not over the legal limit, then one can argue that is a waste of that person’s money to get that done. If the government’s evidence in the case is that the person is a 0.08 or higher, has a degree of drugs in their blood, or has a combination of drugs and alcohol, it renders the client incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely. It would be nearly malpractice not to have that person’s alternative sample sent to an independent laboratory for testing.
Using Test Results As Evidence
If the evidence compiled by an independent laboratory is different, those results can be admitted in the court to question the government’s version of testing. This is the same blood taken at the same time and put into two identical vials. If the government’s testing is reliable and the independent testing is reliable, they should match. If they do not, there is clearly a problem and any problems that create possible doubt, need to be explored by a defense attorney.
An attorney can also bring in the lab technician that analyzed the sample, as an expert witness. It is actually beneficial to do so because the government often brings in their own analyst to explain how the test was conducted. It would be very wise if this person intends to challenge these results by using an independent analysis of their client’s blood to bring in the person who did that test to explain their methodology, and why theirs was right, and the government’s was wrong.
Additional Evidence an Attorney Needs
When it comes to independent DUI testing in Virginia, specifically blood testing, there is a lot of information that attorneys need to acquire. Blood testing is a science referred to as gas chromatography where the government separates things that are in the blood and tests specifically for alcohol and other substances. This process is incredibly complicated and produces a lot of data. That data is available by virtue of a subpoena to every criminal defendant that has a case in which gas chromatography is involved.
Subpoenas generate a tremendous amount of information. They need to be looked over by either the attorney or a scientist who is well-trained in gas chromatography. If a person has a blood test that results in a finding that the person was over the legal limit for alcohol, attorneys must acquire this data and learn how to read that data. Failure to do so mean the attorney is not supporting their client. If you have been charged with a DUI, and are interested in pursuing independent DUI testing in Virginia, contact a knowledgeable DUI lawyer that can work to assure that your rights are protected.
