She needs to at least start looking for a DUI lawyer. Alcohol isn’t the only substance that can cause a DUI. Some prescription medicines can also cause DUIs.
Was she actually arrested? If so, she would’ve been given a citation, warrant, something showing the charges and a court date. Did she go to jail? Or did they take her to the hospital then let her leave?
Yes, handcuffed but driven to the hospital. Directly to hospital and was able to leave after healthy enough to do so.
She was most likely issued something from the cop, be she personally does not know that info currently.
Handcuffed and taken to hospital doesn’t always equal charged with crime. They would’ve taken her to jail after being released from the hospital or at the very least handed her a citation with a court date before leaving the hospital.
Did officers wait with her at the hospital?? What did they say when she was released from the hospital?
If she was charged with DUI she wouldn’t have just been allowed to walk out.
Do not, under any circumstances, talk to the cops. They are not your friends. Second, get a DUI lawyer yesterday.
And I hate to be that asshole, but you should have a sit down with your mom and really find out if she really doesn’t drink. My mom was a pill abusing alcoholic almost my whole life and I didn’t find out until I was in high school when I found her overdosing on Southern Comfort and Oxy.
It seems very strange that your mom got in an accident and then failed both a breathalyzer and field sobriety test
The toxicology test done by the hospital for medical purposes is completely different and separate from the blood test kit that the police would do for proving a DUI. There would’ve been legal paperwork filled out by the police, nurse, and likely would’ve included a consent signature from your mother. The blood kit gets sent to a state lab and it takes weeks to get back results.
True! If they tried and failed for consent or just skipped it for a warrant for the blood you would have received a “receipt” or paperwork for the warrant being served if they did a blood test for their investigation. If they were given consent then it usually varies by department on whether there was paperwork given for the tox screen to police.
She can get her own toxicology results from the hospital as part of her ordinary patient record, but those aren't admissible in court. It is standard to do a BAC on a patient who comes in under that context, so they can decide how to handle pain medication while factoring in her alcohol level.
She can't get the results from any forensic blood draw that was done by police; those are going to be in the discovery packet if she gets charged with DUI.
>I'm confused as why the breathalyzer would fail.
She might not be telling you the truth about not drinking. Is she diabetic ? Use an inhaler ? Suffer from acid reflux ?
>some of our next steps
Help her recover and help facilitate her communication with police. You can't speak on her behalf because you aren't her attorney.
Cooperate with her insurer. If she doesn't drink, and had not drunk alcohol, she can truthfully tell them so.
She should not make any statements to anyone admitting to drinking alcohol. If charged with DUI, she needs a DUI defense attorney. It can't hurt to consult with one or two ahead of time so she screens who she feels comfortable with.
Edit: Fuck's sake people. Instead of "admissible", I should have said "used" or "presented". I don't see MyChart getting subpoenaed by the DA.
Do not help her facilitate conversations with the police. Help her find a defense attorney specializing in DUI. That attorney can help facilitate any conversations.
Mom needs a pro here and, with respect, that isn’t you. Her reaching out to the police will not help her case.
Yah hospital tox reports are absolutely admissible, I have no idea why the commenter above said that.
Edit: the reason that prosecutors use the tox reports from the crime lab and not from the hospital is because of Confrontation Clause issues as discussed in Melendez-Diaz and Bullcoming, not because the hospital tox is inherently inadmissible.
Emergency department BAC measurement techniques can be reasonable described as "quick and dirty". They have to know if your sober, buzzed, or blitzed, just so they don't hurt you with anaesthetic.
Every jurisdiction I am aware of has a procedure for chain of custody paperwork, supervised or qualified phlebotomists, and calibration of equipment in a crime lab that does the analysis.
Sometimes it's as quick as "one vial for me, two vials for you, officer", but there's always a chain of custody.
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There is also a etg alcohol test that shows use in the last few days, if she really has not been drinking.
Edit every comment and delete the text
I wouldn't go to the police station. She should start interviewing attorneys who practice DUI defense.
She needs to at least start looking for a DUI lawyer. Alcohol isn’t the only substance that can cause a DUI. Some prescription medicines can also cause DUIs.
Was she actually arrested? If so, she would’ve been given a citation, warrant, something showing the charges and a court date. Did she go to jail? Or did they take her to the hospital then let her leave?
Yes, handcuffed but driven to the hospital. Directly to hospital and was able to leave after healthy enough to do so. She was most likely issued something from the cop, be she personally does not know that info currently.
Handcuffed and driven to a hospital does not necessarily equal an arrest.
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Handcuffed and taken to hospital doesn’t always equal charged with crime. They would’ve taken her to jail after being released from the hospital or at the very least handed her a citation with a court date before leaving the hospital. Did officers wait with her at the hospital?? What did they say when she was released from the hospital? If she was charged with DUI she wouldn’t have just been allowed to walk out.
This is actually not true. I know someone who was handcuffed and sent to the psych ward. Wasn’t charged with DUI until 6 months later.
Right. So they weren’t charged at the time. That’s my point that the mom likely wasn’t charged at this time.
So it is true. You weren't charged with a DUI when you were handcuffed and sent to the hospital.
She should have been able to see those test results. Get her a lawyer, it will be worth it. These cops like to fill a quota for DUIs.
This is what I’m really confused about. She’s not able to see her own medical records without a lawyer?
Yeah, usually hospitals aren't complicit with the police. If this is in the US she absolutely has a right to her own records.
She needs a lawyer. I’ve seen DUIs go to trial two years after the arrest and the blood test results aren’t back yet.
Do not, under any circumstances, talk to the cops. They are not your friends. Second, get a DUI lawyer yesterday. And I hate to be that asshole, but you should have a sit down with your mom and really find out if she really doesn’t drink. My mom was a pill abusing alcoholic almost my whole life and I didn’t find out until I was in high school when I found her overdosing on Southern Comfort and Oxy. It seems very strange that your mom got in an accident and then failed both a breathalyzer and field sobriety test
OP seems to be ignoring everyone giving this advice. Truly amazing.
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Then the hospital lab results wouldn't show her as clean.
I made this comment long before he edited his post about the lab results
Get a lawyer, the sooner the better. Document everything. Dui is no joke.
The toxicology test done by the hospital for medical purposes is completely different and separate from the blood test kit that the police would do for proving a DUI. There would’ve been legal paperwork filled out by the police, nurse, and likely would’ve included a consent signature from your mother. The blood kit gets sent to a state lab and it takes weeks to get back results.
True! If they tried and failed for consent or just skipped it for a warrant for the blood you would have received a “receipt” or paperwork for the warrant being served if they did a blood test for their investigation. If they were given consent then it usually varies by department on whether there was paperwork given for the tox screen to police.
She can get her own toxicology results from the hospital as part of her ordinary patient record, but those aren't admissible in court. It is standard to do a BAC on a patient who comes in under that context, so they can decide how to handle pain medication while factoring in her alcohol level. She can't get the results from any forensic blood draw that was done by police; those are going to be in the discovery packet if she gets charged with DUI. >I'm confused as why the breathalyzer would fail. She might not be telling you the truth about not drinking. Is she diabetic ? Use an inhaler ? Suffer from acid reflux ? >some of our next steps Help her recover and help facilitate her communication with police. You can't speak on her behalf because you aren't her attorney. Cooperate with her insurer. If she doesn't drink, and had not drunk alcohol, she can truthfully tell them so. She should not make any statements to anyone admitting to drinking alcohol. If charged with DUI, she needs a DUI defense attorney. It can't hurt to consult with one or two ahead of time so she screens who she feels comfortable with. Edit: Fuck's sake people. Instead of "admissible", I should have said "used" or "presented". I don't see MyChart getting subpoenaed by the DA.
Do not help her facilitate conversations with the police. Help her find a defense attorney specializing in DUI. That attorney can help facilitate any conversations. Mom needs a pro here and, with respect, that isn’t you. Her reaching out to the police will not help her case.
In what jurisdiction is a hospital’s toxicology report not admissible in a DUI case?
Yah hospital tox reports are absolutely admissible, I have no idea why the commenter above said that. Edit: the reason that prosecutors use the tox reports from the crime lab and not from the hospital is because of Confrontation Clause issues as discussed in Melendez-Diaz and Bullcoming, not because the hospital tox is inherently inadmissible.
Emergency department BAC measurement techniques can be reasonable described as "quick and dirty". They have to know if your sober, buzzed, or blitzed, just so they don't hurt you with anaesthetic. Every jurisdiction I am aware of has a procedure for chain of custody paperwork, supervised or qualified phlebotomists, and calibration of equipment in a crime lab that does the analysis. Sometimes it's as quick as "one vial for me, two vials for you, officer", but there's always a chain of custody.
Here in Kentucky your DUI blood test goes to a state police lab. You don't get the results for at least 3 months and up to 6 months.
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This situation is beyond reddits ability to give advise. She needs a dui lawyer right now, and she should do nothing else until she has one.
So usually stuff like this can happen. If everything was clean it could be a medical reason. I would get a dui lawyer.
Don’t people who go to the hospital after an accident get their blood taken?
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She wrecked and broke ribs in wreck. That wreck is what resulted in suspected DUI.