Walk It Through: The Breath Test
A couple of drinks, a warning read aloud, a refusal or a result, and 10 calendar days to ask for a hearing.
After a DUI arrest, the officer asks for a breath test and then a blood test.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A first arrest with no crash, no passenger and no prior conviction. Extreme DUI sentencing, the interlock and alcohol restricted driver rules, and the criminal case itself 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.
- Class B misdemeanorThe middle misdemeanor class, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000; a first DUI, assault and most traffic misdemeanors sit here.
- DUIOperating or being in actual physical control of a vehicle with a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .05 grams or greater, or under the influence of alcohol or any drug to a degree that makes safe driving impossible.
- Implied consentAnyone operating a motor vehicle in Utah consents to chemical tests of breath, blood, urine or oral fluids to determine impairment, and the officer chooses which tests and how many.
- Alcohol restricted driverA driver barred, after a DUI related event, from driving with any measurable or detectable amount of alcohol in the body; driving that way is a class B misdemeanor.