Chemical Test Refusal in Los Angeles DUI Cases
Any driver arrested for a DUI is required by California state law to submit to a chemical test. A chemical test can be a blood test, a breath test, or a urine test. A DUI refusal to submit to a chemical test is a more serious offense than a simple DUI. This article discusses Chemical Test Refusal in California DUI Cases. Click on the links below to go directly to your topic of interest.
1. WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING ARRESTED FOR A DUI WITH A REFUSAL ALLEGATION?
2. WHAT IF I WAS ARRESTED FOR A CHEMICAL TEST REFUSAL BUT I WAS NOT DRIVING?
3. HOW CAN A DRIVER ARRESTED FOR A “REFUSAL DUI” IN LOS ANGELES FIGHT HIS CASE?
4. CAN THE POLICE FORCE DRAW BLOOD WHEN I REFUSE TO SUBMIT TO A CHEMICAL TEST?
5. CAN I FIGHT MY CASE IF THE OFFICER TOLD ME THE CONSEQUENCES BUT I STILL REFUSED?
6. WILL THE DMV SUSPEND MY DRIVER’S LICENSE FOR A REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO A BREATH TEST AFTER A DUI IN LOS ANGELES?
7. SPECIAL SITUATION: UNCONSCIOUS DRIVER
1. What Are The Consequences Of Being Arrested For A DUI with a Refusal Allegation?
The law on the consequences for Chemical Test Refusal is very severe and the right to request a hearing at the DMV expires within 10 days of arrest.
- A first-time refusal will get a driver’s license suspended for one year with no ability to get a restricted license.
- A second time DUI with a refusal will result in a 2 years license revocation without the ability to get a restricted license. The second time DUI with a refusal will result in 2 years’ license revocation even if the first DUI was without refusal to submit to a chemical test.
Some people who drive on a suspended license think they will not get pulled over while driving on a suspended license, but the consequences of such a stop are very harsh. Not only, when a driver with a suspended license is pulled over, his or her car can be impounded for 30 days, but also the driver will be cited for driving on a suspended license, an offense that carries a possibility of a fine and jail. Your Los Angeles DUI lawyer has to contact the DMV within 10 days of arrest to request a hearing. Late hearings are rarely granted unless a very compelling excuse can be produced. A failure to request a DMV hearing within 10 days of arrest will result in a loss of a driver’s license after the expiration of the 30-day temporary driver’s license that should have been issued at the time of the arrest.
2. What If I Was Arrested For A Chemical Test Refusal But I Was Not Driving?
In courts, Los Angeles DUI lawyers can negotiate a settlement that does not involve admitting to a refusal allegation. This helps avoid a longer alcohol program, however, winning a DMV hearing is needed to avoid a “1-year suspension or 2 or 3 years revocation”. Thus, for your driving, the allegations of a refusal during a DMV hearing are a lot more severe and will result in a 1-2-3 years license suspension or revocation with no ability to get a restricted driver’s license. Los Angeles DUI Attorney has a winning strategy to defend your Los Angeles DUI at the APS DMV hearing. Not all DUI lawyers Los Angeles are able to put together a defense for a refusal DMV hearing. Los Angeles DUI Attorney in our office specializes in defending all DMV cases and DUI-related cases.
Even when the driver’s defense is “a no driving defense”, Chemical Test Refusal can result in a 1-year suspension or 2 or 3 years revocation because the officers only must have a basis to place you under arrest for a DUI for you to lose your driver’s license. This is especially bad for commercial drivers, so you must contact a DUI attorney to defend a commercial license. The “no driving” defense is very helpful in court, and Los Angeles DUI Attorney wins Los Angeles DUI cases based on the “no driving” defense all the time; but, at the DMV level, the “no driving” defense is not enough to keep your driver’s license if the officer had a reasonable cause to believe that you were driving. If the officer had a reasonable belief, the chemical test is mandatory (provided the officer complied with the other 2 requirements) even if later you can prove that you were not driving. For this reason, calling a DUI Attorney is a must with all refusal cases.
The case law allowing suspension of license despite successful “no driving defense” came from the 2007 case of Troppman v. Valverde (Valverde was a director of the DMV at the time). Prior to this landmark Supreme Court decision, proof of actual driving was required to require a driver to submit to a chemical test after a DUI arrest in Los Angeles. After this case, all that is needed is not proof of actual driving but a reasonable suspicion by the arresting officer that the person he arrested was driving. This case and the law in California now require a person to submit to a chemical test per California Vehicle Code 23612 with minimal evidence of driving (such as presence near the car). Failure to do so after a lawful Los Angeles DUI arrest may result in 1-year suspension or 2 or 3 years revocation of driving privilege.
Other cases from California affirm Troppman and provide additional hurdles for drivers to meet at the APS hearing. For example, Rice v. Pierce (1988) 203 Cal.App.3d, the Court held that an off-duty police officer who saw a car driver recklessly and a on Duty police officer who later found the car with an impaired registered owner next to it is sufficiently reasonable suspicion to detain a driver for a DUI investigation. A refusal of a chemical test in this situation will result in a refusal unless the driver provides affirmative evidence at the APS hearing that he was not the driver..
Practically it means that if you are sitting behind the wheel of a car and a police officer decides to arrest you for a DUI in Los Angeles, you are required to submit to a chemical test and failure to do so can result in a suspension or revocation even when the DMV is unable to prove driving. Please contrast that with the burden of proof in a Court of Law where a failure by the prosecutor to prove driving will result in a “not guilty” verdict! Moreover, the “not guilty” verdict in the Court of Law will not overturn the DMV’s finding of a refusal to submit to a chemical test and despite an acquittal in Court the driver’s license will remain suspended or revoked for at least 1 year. This is why it is important to retain the help of Los Angeles DUI attorney as soon as possible so that not only your record but also your driver’s license can be saved.
3. How can a driver arrested for a “refusal DUI” in Los Angeles fight his case?
For the Court, a “Refusal DUI” is a more serious offense because the special allegation of a “refusal to submit to a chemical test” adds 48 hours of jail consecutive to any other jail term imposed. For example, in a “refusal,” special allegations are charged to a first-offense DUI, the statutory minimum becomes 2 days in the county jail instead of the “no custody” requirement for a first-offense DUI. However, for Los Angeles DUI attorney, trying a Los Angeles refusal DUI case is a better defensible position because Los Angeles DUI prosecutors often have less evidence that a DUI took place because in refusal cases there is often limited evidence due to the person refusing to submit to the test.
Typically, at Los Angeles DUI trial, the city prosecutor or LA County DA will try to prove the guilt by:
(1) driving patterns,
(2) objectives signs of intoxication such as red eyes, slurred speech, unsteady gait, the smell of alcohol,
(3) performance on the Field Sobriety Tests (and no one ever passes all field sobriety tests),
(4) results of a blood/breath test,
(5) admission to drinking.
So, the less there is, the harder it is for the prosecutor to prove their case. The prosecution argument to the jury regarding Chemical Test Refusal is often characterized as conciseness of guilt – “defendant is guilty and did not want to provide evidence of the crime” aka “innocent people have nothing to hide and submit to testing upon request”. Of course, most people are either confused by the police officer and refuse because of the confusion with a right to have an attorney present or know that the DUI prosecution system is biased against drivers and they are better of refusing to submit to at least some parts of the investigation.
OFFICER INDUCED CONFUSION
There is a number of cases that explain officer-induced confusion. Since the punishment for Chemical Test Refusal is a lot more severe at the DMV hearing, most published cases deal with appeals from writ denials or grants and use writ standard of reviews and burdens of proof. Even so, the decisions are factually based on DUI arrest and thus very relevant to criminal prosecution as well.
In Smith v. DMV 1 Cal App 3d 499, a police officer read an admonishment from the back of the DMV form (DS 367 back of page 1) and then said “…you could lose your license”. Smith refused the chemical test and the court found that the petitioner was properly advised. This is so because the word “COULD” does not mean “SHALL” and therefore it was not a proper admonishment.
But in Ormonde v. DMV 117 Cal App 3d 889, the court also found against the driver when after getting the proper advisement the driver refused to submit to a chemical test after being told by the police officer “…chances are you will lose your license”.
And yet in Decker v. DMV 6 Cal 3d 903, the driver was able to keep his license because the police officer confused the driver.
Keep in mind, that even with a refusal to submit to a chemical test, the police have the right to force a blood draw from a driver. Los Angeles DUI Attorney notices a trend for police to obtain a warrant and show it to the driver suspected of a DUI to get them to submit to a chemical test. The argument used by police is that because of the court order, failure to comply will also cause you to be charged with a second crime, disobeying a court order. Many drivers suspected of DUI in Los Angeles comply with a request to draw blood once they see a warrant signed by the judge authorizing a blood draw. When the drivers still refuse a chemical test of blood, after the police obtain a warrant to draw blood, the police can file a separate charge for a violation of California Penal Code section 166 in addition to a DUI, which is a willful violation of a court order.
4. Can The Police Force Draw Blood When I Refuse to Submit to a Chemical Test?
Although Police are legally allowed to force draw blood from persons suspected of DUI, as a matter of practice, it is not commonly done in Los Angeles County. Incidentally, at least some of Ventura County and most Orange County Law Enforcement Agencies use force to draw blood when a driver refuses. In Los Angeles, as a matter of policy, CHP, LAPD, and most other Law Enforcement Agencies do not force draw blood. Instead, they will rely on what they observed as the objective signs of intoxication and PAS (if available) to prosecute a DUI or get a warrant and try to convince the driver to comply willingly.
Recently, 7 CHP officers and a nurse were charged with manslaughter after they forcibly drew blood from a 38-year-old man (Edward Bronstein), who was pulled over in 2020 for a DUI. Mr. Bronstein dried while the CHP officers were holding him down. His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit and Los Angeles County DA office brought charges against the CHP officers and the nurse. Thus, a forced blood draw can result in serious injury and death and for this reason, force is unusual to be used in Los Angeles DUI arrests to get a blood sample.
As explained above, a Chemical Test Refusal is also a special allegation under California Vehicle Code 23612 and could be used as a factor in aggravation in Los Angeles DUI prosecutions. The special allegation, if convicted, will result in a sentence enhancement of 2 additional days of jail. If you are charged with a refusal allegation, Los Angeles DUI attorney may get the special allegation dismissed during plea negotiation.
Lastly, once a driver refuses a chemical test, the DMV will not accept an argument that the driver later agreed to do a blood test. In other words, once a person refuses, he will face consequences of a refusal for his driver’s license and the DMV can suspend or revoke the driver’s license. The case law is against the driver on this issue even if the driver later changed his mind and decided to submit to a chemical test.
5. Can I fight My Case if The Officer Told me The Consequences But I still Refused?
After a DUI arrest, a driver must be given the option to submit to a chemical test of blood or breath to determine the level of alcohol in the blood. If a driver refuses to submit to a chemical test, the officer must read a “chemical test refusal admonishment” as required by California Vehicle Code Section 23612 (otherwise known as implied consent law). As part of the admonishment, the officer would say that you do not have a right to talk to an attorney before submitting to the chemical test. That statement while legally correct often causes confusion because of its perceived conflict with Miranda rights. Recent court decisions prohibit mechanical reading of the admonishment when the officer makes no attempt to dispel confusion. For example, in Zoe Hei Rim Hoberman-Kelly v. George Valverde, Director of DMV, the California Court of Appeals for First District, Third Division (Alameda County) ordered the DMV to give the license back to the driver after the court viewed the video of the admonishment. There, Hoberman-Kelly allegedly refused to submit to a blood test to determine blood alcohol content after an arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence. The DMV, after an APS hearing suspended Hoberman-Kelly’s California driver’s license. A video of the investigation and of the arrest was submitted to the DMV and as a part of the record to the writ court and to the court of appeals. The court of appeals, after viewing the video, found that the officer’s reading of the admonishment was “mechanical” and he did not make any attempts to “dispel her confusions as to the right to contact counsel”. She also repeatedly stated that she would submit to a blood test.
MECHANICAL READING OF THE ADMONISHMENT IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO JUSTIFY A DRIVER’S LICNES SUSPENSION
After viewing the video, the court realized that the Respondent was confused by the sign on the wall advising her that “she has a right to talk to an attorney”. CHP officer simply ignored Hoberman-Kelly’s questions about the right to talk to an attorney and continued to read the refusal admonishment rather mechanically. Further, the CHP officer, when he continued reading the admonishment must have realized that Hoberman-Kelly could not hear the admonishment. Lastly, the officer, once finished reading the admonishment asked if Hoberman-Kelly would submit to a chemical test and after Hoberman-Kelly replied “all right”, continued, “That’s a no” and that he would take it as a refusal.
This case is an example of confusion between the right to counsel permitted in criminal cases and “no right” to counsel prior to a blood or breath test after a DUI arrest.
The CHP officer conducting the DUI investigation have to make an effort to explain that Miranda does not apply to the chemical tests for DUI cases.
6. Will the DMV suspend my driver’s license for a refusal to submit to a breath test after a DUI in Los Angeles?
Short Answer: Yes. The DMV will suspend your license for one year if you were never arrested for a DUI in the past 10 years or revoke your driver’s license for 2 or 3 years if there is a prior DUI conviction or convictions or DMV suspensions. (CVC 23612)
Caveat: Unless you are under 21 years of age or on DUI probation, you are not required to submit to a PAS (preliminary alcohol screening test) and failure to do so will not have any consequences. Submitting to PAS is mandatory for DUI probationers and persons who are under the age of 21.
Long Answer: Here I discuss what is a prior and variations of refusals for a DUI in Los Angeles.
(1) Factors to Influence Consequences of a Refusal
The factors that will influence the consequences of a refusal are (1) if a driver is on probation for a DUI (2) if a driver is under 21 years of age (3) if the driver has priorable convictions or APS suspensions of the Driver’s License in the past 10 years.
Priorable offenses are any of the following that occurred less than 10 years before the current arrest:
- Wet Reckless convictions (CVC 23103 per CVC 23103.5)
- .05% Minor DUI convictions (CVC 23140);
- Driving Under the Influence convictions (CVC 23152(a) or CVC 23152(b));
- DUI with Injury convictions (CVC 23153(a) or CVC 23153(b);
- Vehicular manslaughter convictions (PC 191.5 and PC192.5);
- Previous DMV suspension of Driver’s license because of a refusal to submit to a test (CVC 13353) – for a separate occasion than any of the listed convictions.
- Previous DMV suspension of Driver’s license because of driving with BAC of .08% or higher. (CVC 13353.2) – for a separate occasion than any of the listed convictions.
Minors have another concern:
- .01% Minor DUI DMV suspensions (CVC 23136 – infraction). This offense is prosecuted when a driver is between .01 and .03 BAC.
(2) Specific Instances:
First Offense – No Priors: 1-year suspension – no ability to get a restricted license (CVC 23612)
Second Offense – One Prior: 2-year revocation – no ability to get a restricted license (CVC 23612)
Third Offense – Two or more priors: – 3 years revocation – no ability to get a restricted license (CVC 23612)
PROBATIONER/MINOR REFUSAL CVC 13388/13389
A person under 21 or a person who is on DUI probation has to submit to a preliminary alcohol screening test (PAS) when requested by a police officer when that person is suspected of driving with an alcohol concentration of above .01%. A refusal to submit to such a test will result in a suspension of a driver’s license for one year if there are no prior convictions, a revocation of the driver’s license for two years when there is one prior conviction or a revocation of the driver’s license for three years when there are two prior DUI convictions. If a PAS device is not available, the officer may request the driver to submit to regular testing pursuant to CVC 23612 (above).
In other words, a probationer or a minor, unlike everyone else, can not refuse to submit to a PAS testing of breath and a very low concentration of it will cause a suspension.
7. Can the DMV suspend my driver’s license for a refusal when I was unconscious after a DUI in Los Angeles?
Short Answer: No. Multiple cases hold that a refusal has to be knowingly made and can not be based on a failure to provide an answer due to intoxication.
Long Answer: In Hughey v. DMV (235 Cal.App.3d 752), the court of appeal considered whether a person can defend an implied consent hearing by proof that he sustained a head injury. The court held that if a person provides substantial evidence supporting the finding that he was incapable of refusing a chemical test, he can use it to keep his driver’s license.
Under Thompson, if admonition was not heard by the defendant, then there is a defense and the DMV cannot suspend the driver’s license after a DUI arrest Los Angeles.
If your DUI arrest in Los Angeles resulted in a refusal hearing with the DMV, please contact our drunk driving attorneys in Los Angeles to help you win your DMV and court case. We will fight for your rights and freedom and we charge a reasonable and affordable flat fee.
If you are looking for an experienced DUI lawyer in Los Angeles, call our firm immediately. You only have 10 days from the date of arrest to request a DMV refusal/APS hearing.
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