Do implied consent laws cover PBT's?

[elmuchoprez]

What is the name of your state? Michigan.

The michigan.gov website says the following:

If arrested for drunk driving in Michigan, you will be required to take a chemical test to determine your bodily alcohol content (BAC). Under Michigan's Implied Consent Law, all drivers are considered to have given their consent to this test. If you refuse a test, six points will be added to your driver record and your license will be suspended for one year.
-http://michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1627_8665_9070-21485--,00.html

I assume that this most definitely means that by driving in Michigan I've consented to the breathalyzer test they give back at the station, but does it mean that I have also consented to the PBT in the field?

Also, if implied consent covers a chemical test, does this law have anything to do with the field sobriety tests that are given since they are not chemical? Is that covered in another law anyone is aware of?

 

[CavemanLawyer]

The implied consent laws do not apply to the portable breath test or to the standardized field sobriety tests. You can refuse all of this with no suspension of your driver's license, which is all the implied consent law really is. But of course if you do refuse to do these things than that refusal can be used against you in court.

 

[Sweetiepi]

I'm not trying to get people out of DUI(s)...far from it. It's just that everyone has rights in this country and it is troublesome that there are so many people that throw up their hands in complete surrender without even knowing the facts.

It is also interesting that there are so many give advice with some kind of "better than" speech on how they are so perfect, with hints that the person asking for advice is less-than-worthy. (Not applying this to you Caveman Lawyer)

I actually know of these two cases and find it interesting that it is being summarized as the "thing to do" because Law Enforcement are the experts:

http://www.duilaws.com/blog/florida-dui/drunk-cops-refuse-sobriety-tests-in-florida

 

[mike_lee]

I started seeing the trend among professionals doctors, lawyers, judges, and movie stars (Bill Murry in hi golf cart) one after another I read were they refused the test, which is 100% damning, If you have a 90% chance of getting convicted by refusing the test the solution is obvious

 

[Sweetiepi]

I started seeing the trend among professionals doctors, lawyers, judges, and movie stars (Bill Murry in hi golf cart) one after another I read were they refused the test, which is 100% damning, If you have a 90% chance of getting convicted by refusing the test the solution is obvious

I don't follow any of this too closely, but do notice an opposite situation in the northeast and south (with many states).

So hopefully the trend you see is growing nationally and not limited to high profile professionals, which were once exclusive from local heat.

 

[CavemanLawyer]

Refusals are handled differently depending on the state. Only a very small majority of states "damn" you for refusing. In these states your refusal creates a presumption of intoxication (which probably is unconstitutional since if could be a violation of presumption of innocence.) In these states, yeah you better not refuse.

But in most states your refusal can only be used against you as evidence of intoxication, the same as blurry eyes and slurred speech. The truth is that the vast majority of the time, a refusal only helps your case. Its pretty well accepted by prosecutors and defense attorneys that those people who blow over the limit generally plead guilty because your only defense is that the science is bad or that it was applied incorrectly in your case, and the truth is that that is almost never the case. The only people who have much of a chance at winning at trial are the ones who refuse. By way of example, I've tried maybe 50 DWI cases both as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney. I can count the ones with a breath test on probably two fingers. DWI prosecution rates for refusals are also relatively low. They are consistently below 50%.

Don't get me wrong, the law says you already consented and thus I believe a breath test refusal is literally breaking the law. Its wrong. But in most cases the worst thing you can ever do for your case is blow. A DL suspension is absolutely nothing compared to a DWI conviction, and the conviction is going to suspend your DL anyway.