The Consequences of Refusing a Breath, Blood or Urine Test
Under Utah state law, everyone with a driver's license has already consented to submit to a chemical test to check blood alcohol content if a police officer stops the driver and reasonably believes the driver to be impaired due to alcohol or drug use.
This law is called the implied consent law, and very few Utah drivers know it exists or understand how it works.
Refusal of a Chemical Test Results in Automatic Driver's License Suspension
The end result of Utah's implied consent law is that anyone who refuses a Breathalyzer test, a blood test or a urine test will automatically lose their driver's license for 18–36 months.
Other implications of Utah's implied consent law include:
- If, in the police officer's judgment, the driver is unconscious or too impaired to give or withhold consent, then the police officer can draw blood for a blood alcohol content test without asking permission.
- If a driver withholds consent for a Breathalyzer test, a blood test or a urine test, the police officer may obtain a search warrant that will order the driver to submit to the test or be held in contempt of court.
Schatz, Anderson & Uday, LLC: A Utah DUI Defense Law Firm
The results of a breath, blood or alcohol test will almost always be a factor in building a defense to a DUI prosecution. If the driver failed the test, an experienced lawyer will know how to challenge the results. If the driver refused to take the test, an experienced DUI defense lawyer will know how to pursue an administrative hearing to protect the driver's driving privileges.
Schatz, Anderson & Uday, LLC, is a well-established Utah criminal defense law firm. From offices in Salt Lake City, we offer criminal defense services to individuals across the state, including in and around communities like Provo and Ogden. Our attorneys have more than 40 years' combined criminal law experience. In the past five years alone, our lawyers have successfully resolved more than 1,200 DUI cases.
Schedule a free consultation if you have questions about Utah's implied consent law and its relevance to your specific DUI arrest.
If you have general questions about DUI law in Utah, we encourage you to browse the following pages of this Web site:
- DUI Defense
- Breath and Blood Tests
- Commercial Drivers Licenses & DUIs
- Driver's License Hearings
- Felony DUI
- Field Sobriety Tests
- Ignition Interlock Device
- Underage DUIs
- Drunk Driving & DUI Information Center
- DUI FAQ
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