Memphis DUI Defense Lawyer
Blood and Breath Analysis for Tennessee DUI cases
One of the most complex areas of DUI law is analyzing blood alcohol concentration (BAC). It involves the separation of alcohol molecules in the sample of your breath or blood, then calculating those results over your entire body based on that sample. But it can also be unreliable, filled with operational mistakes, miscalibrations, and false positives. If you’ve submitted to a BAC test and are facing a drunk driving charge in Tennessee, a Memphis DUI lawyer can challenge those test results.
BAC is a measure of the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream at the time of arrest, according to the breathalyzer or the blood test. A reading of .08 or greater is a legal presumption of intoxication in the state of Tennessee. Many people think that a .08 or greater is indisputable evidence of guilt. After all, it’s a machine. The machine doesn’t lie, right? You blow into it, and it gives you this nice, neat number. But they are wrong. BAC readings are not open and shut cases. They can be challenged.
A good Tennessee DUI lawyer will know how to find the truth in a BAC test. It could be through any one or more of the following factors:
•An improperly calibrated or operated breathalyzer
- Gastroesophagal reflux disease
- A false positive triggered by a legal substance already in your body
- The presence of mouth alcohol during a breath sample collection
- The method of procuring the blood sample
- The storage, transportation, or preservation of the blood sample
Do not automatically assume the word “guilty” if you took a blood or breath test in your DUI case. Contact Patrick Stegall, a Memphis DUI defense lawyer, to learn more about how you can challenge the government’s science and maybe keep your freedom.
