Walk It Through: The Breath Test After the Game
A stop after a tailgate, an arrest, the test, a second test of one's own, and the notice in the mail.
After a tailgate, a driver is pulled over and arrested for DUI. At the station the officer asks for a breath test.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A first DUI arrest with a breath test. The sentence on conviction, the interlock and a crash with injuries are on their own pages.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Actual physical controlThe DUI law covers a person who drives a vehicle and also one who is in actual physical control of it while over the limit or under the influence.
- BailRelease from custody on a judge's order, which a defendant is entitled to as a matter of right before conviction outside the charges listed for a detention hearing.
- DUIDriving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle with 0.08 percent or more alcohol in the blood, or under the influence of alcohol or a substance to a degree that makes safe driving impossible.
- FelonyAn offense for which a sentence of imprisonment of more than one year is authorized. Felonies are Class A, B, C or D.
- Implied consentAnyone who drives on Alabama's public highways is treated as having consented to a chemical test of blood, breath or oral fluid if lawfully arrested for an offense arising from driving under the influence.
- Administrative suspensionA suspension the state imposes, on the officer's report, for a test above the legal limit or for refusing the test.