New Jersey Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) Lawyers
In New Jersey, police and law enforcement rely on the breathalyzer to provide the evidence of a suspected drunk driver's blood alcohol content in the majority of cases. However, there are rare occasions where the police seek to obtain this vital evidence by the taking of a sample of the defendant's blood for testing and analysis. These scenarios can occur when the defendant has been injured, the defendant refuses to provide a breath sample, the defendant's blood alcohol content (BAC) is dangerously high, or the defendant's blood alcohol content (BAC) is dangerously low (suspected drug involvement).
Blood Samples in New Jersey DWI Cases: Defendant Injured
One typical example of blood samples in New Jersey drunk driving prosecutions is cases in which the defendant has been injured and is unable to provide a breath sample. When the police respond to the scene of a motor vehicle accident, one of their primary responsibilities is to provide immediate care and seek emergency medical treatment for any and all injured parties. During the course of the police investigation, the police may develop evidence that leads them to reasonably believe that one or more of the operators of motor vehicles in the accident may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If this investigation creates probable cause to believe the driver is intoxicated, the police may arrest the driver for DWI under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a). However, due to injuries sustained in the accident, the defendant may require immediate medical attention at a hospital or other medical facility. This prevents the police from administering a breath test within a reasonable time after operation of the vehicle. Also, sometimes injuries caused by the accident may prevent the suspect from performing the breath test altogether. As a result, in these scenarios the police may request the medical staff to extract samples of the defendant's blood for purposes of determining the blood alcohol content (BAC).
