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Rollins: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Mark Rollins. I am an attorney
here in Washington D.C. My office is located in D.C. but I am also licensed in the state
of Maryland primarily focusing in the area of criminal law. Today we�re going to be
discussing whether you have to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test upon suspicion
of DUI, DWI, or OWI in D.C. So you�re driving down the road and you�ve
been pulled over for what the police say changing lanes or improperly changing lanes and they
pull you over on suspicion of what they call DUI or DWI or OWI; driving under the influence,
driving while intoxicated, and operating while intoxicated. So under those three offenses,
the police officer pulls you over, and now the question becomes whether you have to submit
to the breath test that he�s asking you to submit to. Now he�s already found suspicion
that he thinks that you�ve been drinking and driving so now he�s trying to make a
better determination, now he wants to have you submit to a chemical test; either the
breath test, the blood test, or the urine. Now, under D.C.�s law you do not have to
submit to that test. You, in fact, can tell the officer, �No, no thank you.� You do
not have to submit to that test. Now there is an exception to that rule and
that is if you were involved in an accident where there was physical property or personal
injury done at the accident. The police in D.C. can forcibly have you submit to that
test, and so at that point you would be required to take the test. Now, where�s the downside
to not taking the test? The downside to not taking the test is if you do not take that
test, and you do not take one of the three tests that the officers give you then your
license will be suspended for one year. There�s no exception to that so your license would
be suspended for one year. If you take the test and you go to trial and you win, then
your license won�t be suspended at all; but if you lose at trial then your license
will be suspended for six months. So you can see the benefit is that your license will
be suspended in Washington D.C. for one year if you do not take that test because of the
implied consent law. In other words, they assume that if you�re driving on the roads
in D.C. then you are consenting to their rules and regulations and you owe them that test.
If you do not submit to that test, again, it�s a one year loss of your license.
Now where do we stand on that? Where does my firm stand on that? We tell you do not
take the test. Do not submit to the test, and the rationale behind that is because,
one is that under the new D.C.�s laws there are mandatory times that you could face in
jail, and there�s no exception to those mandatory times so if a certain substance
is found in your blood, your urine, or on your breath, then in certain circumstances
you can actually face mandatory time. Now if you want to discuss this in more detail,
I want you to simply call the number on the screen. Give me a call and I�d be more than
happy to discuss this with you in more detail, and again, thanks for watching and subscribe
to our channel. Thanks.