DUI Blood Testing in Arizona DUI Cases
ASK TO SPEAK WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE TAKING A BLOOD TEST
Many police jurisdicitons are switching to a blood standard in Arizona DUI cases. Probably the biggest reason is that the Intoxilyzer machines available to law enforcement in Arizona are prone to many sources of error and inaccuracy. As a general rule, blood testing is more accurate and less prone to attack than breath testing. However, it is obviously messier and more invasive.
In breath testing jurisdictions whenever an Arizona DUI suspect refuses to take a breath test, the police officer has the option of obtaining a search warrant and forcibly taking the suspect's blood.
The main reason some jurisdictions have not switched from breath to blood in DUI cases is cost and time. An Intoxilyzer test result is generally admissible into evidence without an expert testifying and laying the foundation. Blood results, on the other hand, require an expert in court. They also require a lab technician to analyze and a chain of custody to keep track of the sample's whereabouts. Contrast this to a simple breath test which is done and presumed admissible in court once the machine prints the result. You can see why some jurisdictions are reluctant to switch to blood.
WHO TAKES THE BLOOD?
This is a good, and evolving, question in Arizona DUI Law. Classically, blood samples in Arizona DUI cases were taken only at hospitals by qualified medical personnel. Recently, however, police officers have started to gain phlebotomist credentials so that they can draw your blood.
There have been DUI cases where a police officer in Arizona literally stabs a suspect with a needle on the hood of a police cruiser. While this is not the norm, it can and does happen.
DOES THE MANNER IN WHICH THE BLOOD IS OBTAINED MATTER?
Absolutely! A flawed blood draw has the potential not only to injure the subject, but to contaminate the sample as well. Improper procedure can result in an erroneously inflated BAC result of more than .20 (which can take a sober diabetic into the realm of an extreme DUI).
SOURCES OF BLOOD TEST ERRORS
YEAST: One source of blood test error/contamination is through the introduction of yeast into the blood sample. Yeast feeds on blood sugars, and the waste product of such consumption is alcohol. This alcohol in the blood is not distinguishable from the alcohol that you drank.
ALCOHOL: If the clinical used to "sterilize" the site of the venipuncture (usually opposite the elbow) contains alcohol, this will get picked up by the needle and introduced into the blood sample.
POOR VACUUM: Each of the grey-topped tubes used in the blood collection kits contains a vacuum used to suck your blood into the tube. If the vacuum is compromised prior to your DUI blood test, it may have sucked environmental contaminants such as yeast, alcohol or other microbes into the tube.
NON-STERILE TOP: The skin is cleansed where it is to be punctured, but the top of the blood test tube is not.
NOT YOUR BLOOD: What if the lab screws up and incorrectly numbers your blood sample? You will get somebody else's result. How do you tell? Independent DNA testing.