Virginia DUI Refusal Lawyers
Helping residents in Alexandria, Fairfax and the entire Northern Virginia area
Do You Need Legal Help?
Serving residents of Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Prince William County, Loudoun County, Stafford County, Spotsylvania County, Arlington County, Alexandria, City of Fredericksburg, City of Manassas Park, City of Manassas, City of Falls Church, Town of Vienna, Town of Herndon, Town of Occoquan, Town of Dumfries, and all of Virginia.
Download Our Free Legal Guide
Enter your information below to get your FREE download.
Helping you fight back.
Whether you have been charged with a Criminal Offense, Serious Criminal Traffic Offense, or have been injured in an Accident that was not your fault, our First-Class Attorneys are not going to let you become a victim! With our experience, we will fight back, with you and for you, to get the results you deserve.
Virginia DUI Refusal Lawyers
If you have been charged with a DUI and you did not take a blood alcohol test, you might be scared about the consequences that come with this and how you should handle this charge. Our Virginia DUI refusal lawyers are here to help you through this all and get your charges reduced or dismissed. Call us today to get started.
NovaLegalGroup, P.C. also helps residents of Virginia with Legal Matters in: Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Burke, Centreville, Fairfax, Mclean, Oakton, Reston and Springfield.
Understanding DUI Charges
When you are charged with a DUI, that means that you were found by the officer to have been driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This criminal offense in Virginia is a harshly penalized offense.
You need to understand why an officer might pull you over to charge you with a DUI so you can better understand how you can question these motives later on in your case. Here are the top reasons why an officer might charge you with DUI:
- They found your blood alcohol content to be higher than the legal limit while driving
- They believed that you were drunk or under the influence of drugs while driving
- They believed you were both drunk and under the influence of drugs while driving
Cases can be based on two pieces of evidence. The first piece of evidence could be the scientific side of things in which they test for your blood alcohol content level. Of course, if you are here reading this page it likely means that you refused to take a test and they won’t have this scientific evidence to charge you. (The legal limit of blood alcohol content is .08%.)
If you refuse to take a breath test, then you likely were arrested because of the assumption that you were drunk or under the influence of drugs. The only thing that they need to arrest you for suspicion is if the officer has reason to believe that you were under the influence. That could be in the way that you were driving or the way that you behaved when they pulled you over.
These are identical charges, whether it was science-based or based on your behavior and their suspicion; however, with a refusal to take a breath test to determine what your BAC is, you are going to be facing some additional consequences if you are to be convicted for this charge. Our Virginia DUI refusal lawyers are here to help you through this case to get you a less harsh result.
What if I Refuse My Breath Test?
If you were arrested based on the suspicion that you had alcohol or illegal drugs in your system and then you refused to give the arresting officer a breath test with their breathalyzer and refused to take a blood test at a hospital, then you are going to be facing additional penalties. These are often serious penalties especially if you were under the suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or controlled substances, such as prescription medication. When you get pulled over, it’s often worse if you don’t take the test because you then have to deal with additional penalties if you are charged.
It is important to understand that if you were someone who was pulled over and charged by an officer with DUI after refusing a breath test that doesn’t mean our Virginia DUI refusal lawyers can’t help. Hope is not lost for you. We will investigate the arrest and the entire interaction with the officer to see if they did everything right. If there are discrepancies in the way the officer handled themselves, we are going to use what we can to defend you to get you options to reduce or dismiss your charges and help you.
There are procedures and rules that officers must follow and, if they are not up-to-date on these when they stop you for a DUI, then we can review the arrest information to see what we can do for you. Your rights could’ve been violated in the interaction and if that is the case, then we can create a defense based on that. There is still a chance that your breath test or blood test refusal offense can be thrown out of court or dismissed.
It is the job of our Virginia DUI refusal lawyers to know the updated laws regarding arrests for these cases and the use of breath tests. If we can determine that there was an issue with the interaction you had with the arresting officer, then we might be able to build a strong case against this charge. Even the most challenging of cases have a chance of reducing or dropping the charges. It is our job to explore all avenues to success and provide you with the best possible result in the end.
Recent Blog Posts
What Is the Difference Between DUI and Reckless Driving in Virginia?
DUI and reckless driving in Virginia are both criminal traffic offenses, but they arise from [...]
Jul
How Virginia Courts Handle Out-of-State DUI Charges
Out-of-state DUI charges can follow Virginia drivers long after the arrest occurs in another jurisdiction. [...]
Jul
Can a First-Time DUI in Virginia Lead to Jail Time?
A first-time DUI in Virginia can result in jail time depending on the specific circumstances [...]
Jul
What Questions Should You Ask Before Hiring a Virginia DUI Lawyer?
Facing a DUI charge in Virginia creates immediate pressure, uncertainty, and legal risk. NovaLegalGroup, P.C. [...]
Jun
DUI Checkpoints in Virginia: What Drivers Should Know Before Holiday Weekend Travel
DUI checkpoints are a common enforcement tool used across Virginia, especially during holiday weekends when [...]
Jun
Refusing a Breath Test in Virginia: Penalties Drivers Often Overlook
Refusing a breath test in Virginia can create a separate legal problem from the DUI [...]
Jun
Summer DUI Checkpoints in Alexandria: What Drivers Need to Know
Summer DUI checkpoints in Alexandria are planned law enforcement stops used to identify impaired drivers [...]
Jun
Summer DUI Checkpoints in Virginia: What Drivers Should Expect and How to Protect Their Rights
Summer DUI checkpoints in Virginia are legal when law enforcement follows constitutional rules, neutral procedures, [...]
Jun
Virginia DUI Refusal Lawyers Can Fight the Charges
It is important to us that you feel supported through this entire process. We know that this can be a very scary time and we want to be able to help you feel hopeful in a time where you might be feeling helpless.
As you well know by now, when you get arrested for driving under the influence, the officer can ask you to take a roadside sobriety test, which includes a breath test to check your blood alcohol content. From there, they will check to see whether or not the blood alcohol content level is above .08%. If you have refused to give them this test, your case will work differently. You won’t always get a chance to reach out to a lawyer before you are asked to take a roadside breath test unless they’ve already arrested you or charged you with driving under the influence. It is, however, a right of yours to talk to a lawyer if you’ve been arrested, taken to the station, and then asked to perform more accurate tests for your blood alcohol content. You have a right to speak to our Virginia DUI refusal lawyers if you’ve been asked to give blood at a hospital for another test before you have given consent to this test.
In some cases, an officer is going to make a stop of a driver because they have reason to believe that person is operating their vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It might be in the way that the person is driving or it might be some errors that they are making on the road but, once they pull this person over under the suspicion of driving under the influence, they can ask this person to take a alcohol and drug test either at the station or the local hospital. After this has taken place, there will be another officer who does special tests (both physical and observational) on the driver to see if there is reason to perform further testing. If they believe that this person is under the influence, they can then ask the driver to give a sample either of their breath, their urine, or their blood to test for their levels.
If this situation sounds like yours and you refused to give them these tests, you do have a right to do so. If someone were in that situation and they had chosen not to give samples for these tests, they would likely be charged with a DUI refusal.
It will be up to the court to decide whether or not you had a reasonable excuse to refuse to take any of the tests you were asked to give to the officers. That is why it’s very important to have knowledgeable lawyers by your side as this is a difficult case to win. Someone who has handled these types of cases often, however, will know what it takes to make it work.
If you are up against serious charges for a refusal to take a test after being pulled over for the suspicion of driving under the influence, whether you have been convicted with a DUI before or not, we strongly suggest that you reach out to our Virginia lawyers before you give any sort of test for arresting officers. If you have already been through the arrest process and you are looking for strong representation for your case, please give us a call as soon as you can. We want to help you through this.
Call Our Virginia DUI Refusal Lawyers Today
Please call us today if you are facing charges for refusing to take the BAC test. You deserve to have strong representation and we have the experience needed to get you the results you desire. We want to give you support and guidance through this process, so please call our Virginia DUI refusal lawyers as soon as you possibly can.
Virginia’s implied consent law means that by driving on Virginia roads, you automatically consent to chemical testing if lawfully arrested for DUI. However, you can still refuse testing, but refusal carries separate penalties including automatic license suspension. The law requires police to inform you of the consequences of refusing before you make your decision. Understanding your rights and the consequences is crucial because refusal can be used as evidence against you in court.
Refusing a breathalyzer in Virginia results in automatic license suspension – 7 days for first refusal, 60 days for second refusal within 10 years, and 90 days for third refusal. Additionally, refusal is a separate criminal charge punishable by fines and possible jail time. You may also face enhanced penalties if convicted of the underlying DUI charge. However, you may be eligible for a restricted license and ignition interlock device during the suspension period.
Yes, you can refuse field sobriety tests in Virginia without the same penalties as refusing chemical tests. Field sobriety tests are voluntary and are not covered by implied consent law. However, your refusal can be noted by the officer and potentially used as evidence of consciousness of guilt. Many people perform poorly on these tests even when sober due to medical conditions, age, weight, or nervousness, so refusal may actually help your case.
Several medical conditions may justify refusing a breath test including severe asthma, COPD, emphysema, heart conditions, recent oral surgery, certain medications, breathing disorders, or physical disabilities that prevent proper test completion. However, you must be able to demonstrate that the condition genuinely prevented you from providing a sample. Medical documentation and expert testimony may be necessary to establish this defense in court.
Police generally cannot force a blood test without a warrant unless there are exigent circumstances such as serious injury accidents or evidence that alcohol will dissipate before a warrant can be obtained. However, if they obtain a valid search warrant, they can compel a blood draw. The process and timing of warrant applications can be challenged in court, and improper blood draws or warrant defects can result in suppression of evidence.
Refusing chemical testing has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that prosecutors won’t have BAC evidence showing you were over the legal limit. The disadvantage is that refusal carries separate penalties and can be used as evidence of consciousness of guilt. The decision depends on your specific circumstances, including how much you had to drink, your performance on field tests, and other evidence in your case. An experienced DUI attorney can help evaluate whether refusal helps or hurts your case.
After a Virginia DUI refusal suspension, you may be eligible for a restricted license allowing you to drive to work, school, medical appointments, and court-ordered programs. You must complete an alcohol safety action program (ASAP), install an ignition interlock device, maintain SR-22 insurance, and pay reinstatement fees. For multiple refusals, requirements become more stringent and suspension periods longer.
Client Reviews
