Time-Frame to get a blood-test result in CA

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What is the name of your state? CA

What is the earliest possible time to get blood-test results in CA?

I got a DUI on 11/19 and it is hardly 6 business days(since there was thanksgiving vacation) and when this lady from DMV called me today to let me know my DMV hearing date,she also told me my bood-test results.

I was talking to a lawyer and he says its impossible to get the blood-test result so fast.I have also taken the breadth test.So he says it is the breadth-test result.She told me 2 numbers,so hence the confusion.

cops need to send the blood sample to the crime-lab,then get them back and send to the DMV??Is this the procedure??If it is,how come it is so fast??

I will get a report from District Att within 10 days.

Please comment!I am planning to hire a lawyer depending on my blood-test result.

Thanks

 

[CdwJava]

When you take a breath test you get two numbers - a first blow and a second blow. Blood should be just one.

Why did they also take a blood test?

If you take a PBT/PAS in the field (a handheld screening device which is NOT the state-mandated test, but actually only one of the FSTs) it is not the official test and you will still have to take one if arrested - either blood or breath ... sometimes urine if the agency offers it.

If you take a breath test, the agency is required to offer you a chance to also give blood so that you can have it tested later at YOUR expense, not theirs.

When we take blood along with a breath test is when we suspect drugs are also on board. This is usually a result of someone exhibiting signs of impairment inconsistent with the BAC. So, if someone could barely stand and blew a .04 we might suspect drugs so we would often also go with blood or, sometimes, urine.

If the blood was taken at a hospital, it is possible that the police got a preliminary BAC from the hospital screen if they took the extra sample. This is not generally the practice, however.

Depending on the agency and the lab they use, the turn around is usually between 30 and 90 days for blood. In rare instances it could be sooner.

- Carl

 

[zoom_0202]

Thanks Carl.

I took the breadth test at the scene,then the breadth test and the blood-test at the station.

So,if 30-90 days is the turn-ard time to get blood test then the two results the lady told me over the phone hopefully are the breadt test results!Because 0.17 seems to be too high.I have a feeling with the number of drinks I had and the time over which I had them,etc..BAC from blood should be low..

Thanks again!

 

[CdwJava]

Thanks Carl.

I took the breadth test at the scene,then the breadth test and the blood-test at the station.

So,if 30-90 days is the turn-ard time to get blood test then the two results the lady told me over the phone hopefully are the breadt test results!Because 0.17 seems to be too high.I have a feeling with the number of drinks I had and the time over which I had them,etc..BAC from blood should be low..

Thanks again!

The two results are probably from the first and second blow on the machine at the office. If so, then the blood test was probably as a result of your request to have blood taken in addition to the breath. In that case, the blood will NOT be tested unless you want to have it tested at your expense.

- Carl

 

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Hi Carl,

I just called the police station and they say that 0.17 was from blood-test.I dont believe the results and I dont even believe:how come they got the results so fast.

I was caught on Nov 19 (sunday early morning) and they say the results were obtained on Nov 22.3 business days.Have you ever seen that?

Please comment.

Thanks again

 

[CdwJava]

Hi Carl,

I just called the police station and they say that 0.17 was from blood-test.I dont believe the results and I dont even believe:how come they got the results so fast.

I was caught on Nov 19 (sunday early morning) and they say the results were obtained on Nov 22.3 business days.Have you ever seen that?

Please comment.

Thanks again

If the blood test was taken at the hospital, it is possible. Or, if the agency has an in-house testing lab or contractor, it's possible. Most hospitals do not want to test it because that would subject them to legal scrutiny from defense attorneys for lab procedures, training, evidence handling and chain of custody, etc. If the local police and DA want to do that, then they are free to gamble.

If you want a rough idea of whether .17 is likely, answer these questions:

What is your gender? How much do you weigh? How many drinks (and of what) did you have? What time did you start drinking? What time did you stop drinking? When were you stopped? When were you tested? And, finally, how much had you to eat that night?

- Carl

 

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Hi Carl,

The reason that I dont beleive the report is that I did a detailed research on all the questions ifs/buts.. you asked..

From the research,I thought I would be 0.08 or ard but not that high like in 0.17.

I weigh 144 pounds.Didn't eat that night.Was dancing like crazy,so will be eliminating through sweating..Not being stationary def. helps.

The thing is I had only10-12 beers over 5 hrs time.
Stopped ard 1:30 a.m .I was caught after like 1 hr i.e ard 2:30 after the bar was closed(was out in the cold for like 3-45 min with a band.).
The blood-test happend b/w 3-3:30 a.m.
After all the research I have done,it seems to me that everything was helping me to eliminate the alcohol from blood.

What do you think.

Thanks

 

[Bretagne]

Unfortunately, if you didn't eat that night your .17 is probably accurate. We did an informal "scientific" experiment when our state's legal limit lessened to .08. Our experiment involved two panels of volunteers; one panel drank without eating and the other drank while eating. The volume of hard liquor they consumed was controlled and equal. We had volunteer officers who brought their PBT's to regularly monitor everyone's estimated blood alcohol content.

The results were startling. The panel of eaters registered below .08 much, much longer than the panel of non-eaters. Significantly, many of the eaters were obviously unlawfully intoxicated even while blowing under .08.

You'd be shocked at how quickly (and easily) a person's BAC can get over .08. Every person's physiology is different, too, so everyone's BAC rises at different levels for different reasons. Even if you were dancing like mad, that doesn't necessarily mean that your body would metabolize alcohol faster.

Also, "10-12 beers" is not really an exact measurement of how much you had to drink. I'm not pointing this out to be an ass. The truth of the matter is, you don't know *exactly* how much you had to drink, so your drinking probably got away from you a little. I would do the same thing--If you can't remember exactly: I had a whiskey ****tail before dinner, a glass of wine with dinner, and a grasshopper after dinner, then you really have no good idea how much you had to drink.

At a .08, you really (really) won't feel the effects of the alcohol. Unless you try to do something that requires fine motor skills (like playing the piano or painting a picture) you won't notice the effects. So a good thing to keep in mind is that if you feel just a little, teensy bit "tipsy" or buzzed up, you're way over the legal limit.

Good luck. Hopefully your state doesn't aggravate DUI offenses when you test over 2X the legal limit. In my state you have to be over .20 before it's aggravated.

 

[CdwJava]

With conditions you describe, .17 is not an unreasonable BAC. With 12 beers, 140 lbs, and normal activity after 7 hours I would expect a BAC of between .17 and .13. However, there are a number of variables involved that could make that number go up or down (metabolism, body fat, food, how evenly distributed the drinking was, etc.) Your gender also plays a part. If you area female, the BAC is likely to cheat higher by as much as 25%!

Using a BAC calculator for a dozen12 oz. beers evenly consumed over 7 hours, you get a BAC of .145.

The other thing to consider is if these beers are standard 12 oz beers (can or bottle) or are they drafts which can be larger?

In any event, you would be well advised to contact an attorney that specializes in DUI because your BAC is likely in excess of .12 in any event. Further, if you have any hope of challenging the blood test, you will need an attorney versed in this (i.e. an expert in DUI defense). Expect to pay at least $5,000 up front and close to $15,000 by the time trial is over. However, unless the lab is sloppy, chances are your pretty much done unless the defense can show that the detention was improper ... not an easy task.

- Carl

 

[zoom_0202]

Thanks guys.I really appreciate your feedback.

Well,I need to hire a lawyer.I am already interviewing few ppl.
Since this is my first ever ticket(not even a single parking ticket till-date),I am thinking to plea gulity and negotiate on the charges with DUI lawyer's expertize and end this.Also,there was not hit-run,no waivy motion.Damn,I just forgot to turn-on headlights and was caught.

Thanks

 

[cetiya]

I never could understand why it seems to take so long for blood tests or urine tests to come back. I have worked in hospitals for 16 years and when we do a tox screen on someone in the ER it takes less than 2 hours for us to get the results. even when I was in court ordered rehab, when they took a pee test, they would get the results in a couple of days. and that's sending the specimen out.

 

[CdwJava]

I never could understand why it seems to take so long for blood tests or urine tests to come back. I have worked in hospitals for 16 years and when we do a tox screen on someone in the ER it takes less than 2 hours for us to get the results. even when I was in court ordered rehab, when they took a pee test, they would get the results in a couple of days. and that's sending the specimen out.

There's a big difference in private facilities versus government facilities where the entire process has to be carefully documented. Additionally, the labs are often overwhelmed as they are receiving items from multiple sources so they have to work on a priority basis. A PRIORITY DNA typing might take as long as a couple of weeks to complete, and priority BAC blood testing might take a few days. However, few DUI cases are priorities as the defendant is generally out of custody so these get tossed to the back of the list as more important cases are handled.

- Carl

 

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In Santa-Clara county,the blood-test is NOT to be analyzed in a hospital.They have their own crime-lab.So,it was amazing how they sent it on Nov 20 and got it back on Nov 22.Very quick.

I will probably have my lawyer re-test the blood at diff. place.

 

[CdwJava]

In Santa-Clara county,the blood-test is NOT to be analyzed in a hospital.They have their own crime-lab.So,it was amazing how they sent it on Nov 20 and got it back on Nov 22.Very quick.

I will probably have my lawyer re-test the blood at diff. place.

Well, quick is possible. Plus, given what you wrote of the circumstances, .17 sounds right. So don't be surprised at a similar result. You will almost certainly still be nearly double the 'per se' limit with a private test.

The Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory is operated by the county's DA. It's certification was up in June of '06 and appears to have been re-certified. They appear to have 7 staffers on alcohol analysis and do about 3,000 such analyses each year ... this would be roughly 60 per week or slightly less than two analyses each work week per staffer. Granted, this is simplistic math, but it does indicate that they have sufficient staff and time to do these tests rather quickly ... especially since the test itself is simple and quick. The delay in most labs is not the time it takes for the test, but the backlog of tests to be performed.

Keep a plea deal in mind when you get your independent results back.

- Carl

 

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Thanks Carl!

Do you know,what is the reason for not getting my police report yet?I just want to look at the report and see if it is 0.17 or not and then hire a lawyer.I went to DAs office and applied for one early last week.Today I called back and they say,the report has not been filed yet.I dont understand this.They say that once filed,it would take 10 days to process and give it to me.

Since all results are there,why don't they have the report ready??
Its been like 2.5 weeks since incident took place and there is still not a report that I can access.I didnt get it.I also got the paper-work for the DMV hearing(by mail) but no report with it.

Any technical reasons here??or any suggestions to get the report quickly?I have the DMV hearing on Jan3(also the arrainment date).Basically wanted to look at the report and then hire the lawyer as soon as possible so that he has some time to do his home-work,blood re-test etc..

Thanks again