Sunday, January 27, 2008

Funny Law

I am doing some research on what kind of implied consent warnings police officers are required to give to a person arrested for a DUI before the drunk driver submits to a breathalyser test. Basically, the law does not require that you be smart in making your decision, just that you have an opportunity to choose between taking the test and refusing. In fact, consciousness is the minimum requirement for determining your capability to reason. This is what the law says:

While the implied consent law requires that a motor vehicle operator suspected of being intoxicated be given an opportunity to make an intelligent choice as to taking or refusing a chemical test of his breath, there is no requirement as to such a person's capability of reasoning, so long as he is conscious. State Dept. of Motor Vehicles v. Riba (1974) 10 Wash.App. 857, 520 P.2d 942.


I thought that was pretty funny, and it is good for my argument.

No comments: