Walk It Through: The Breath Test
A roadside breath test, a chemical test after arrest, a doctor of one's own choosing, and questions at the station.
After closing time, a car rolls through a stop sign in Warwick. The officer smells alcohol and holds out a handheld breath device.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A first stop with no crash, no injury and no child in the car. Blood draws by warrant, a second offense inside ten years and a drug impaired driver are not worked through here.
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.
- RecognizanceA promise to appear and keep the peace, given with sufficient surety in a sum the process names or a justice deems reasonable, on which a person held is released.
- Telephone call after an arrestThe use of a telephone to reach a lawyer or arrange bail, given as soon as practicable and within one hour of detention, in a way that keeps the call confidential.
- Temporary detentionHolding a person reasonably suspected of a crime to ask a name, address, business and destination. It may not exceed two hours and is not recorded as an arrest.
- Community restitutionHours of public service a court orders as part of a sentence, ten to sixty hours on a first driving under the influence offense.
- Examination by a physician of one's choiceThe right of a person charged with driving under the influence to be examined immediately, at their own expense, by a physician they choose. The officer has to say so.
- Implied consentEvery driver is deemed to have consented to chemical tests of breath, blood, saliva or urine. A first refusal brings $200 to $500 and a suspension of six months to one year.
- Preliminary breath testA breath test at the stop that guides whether to arrest. Refusing it is an infraction.