Improperly Preserved Blood Samples
Fighting Your Case Based on the Chemical Test
If you were deemed ineligible to submit to a breath test – perhaps due to the presence of mouth alcohol – and a urine sample was out of the question, law enforcement officers might have opted to use a blood test to check your blood alcohol content (BAC) level.
While this third option might seem to be reliable due to the fact that they are using your blood as a direct source of measurement, it is actually riddled with a number of other issues. Most of these problems stem from how the blood samples are preserved, as mishandling them could lead to false positives and unjust charges.
Our Review Puts Things Into Perspective
When you have been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in Bakersfield and come to our criminal defense firm for support, our team knows that a cookie-cutter defense will not do. Instead, we take the initiative and order the full lab results for us to review ourselves. By combing through it together, we may be able to find serious issues that could ultimately be used to your advantage in court.
Questions we need to ask when reviewing blood sample test results include:
- How was the blood sample collected?
- How was the blood sample preserved and stored?
- Who preserved the blood sample and were they qualified?
- How was the blood sample tested?
- Can they prove that the results are from your blood sample?
- Did they properly sterilize the lab before conducting tests?
- Did law enforcement even have the right to collect a blood sample in the first place?
When a blood sample is stored, it needs to be introduced to the proper amount and type of preservative. Failure to do so correctly will allow the alcohol to ferment, which can drastically alter any lab results. Furthermore, one blood sample must be split into separate portions for individual testing; if one test differs at all from any of the others, the entire sample is shown to be unreliable.
Regional Crime Lab in Kern County
You would expect that a third-party company or scientific team would be in charge of testing blood samples to ensure accuracy and unbiased analysis. However, the current regional crime lab in Kern County is one of the very few crime labs that are not independent, but rather is under the control of the Kern County District Attorney. As this facility is used to test all chemical test samples for DUI cases, there is an obvious need to ensure that the proper testing protocol is being followed.
If you were arrested for DUI in Bakersfield – part of Kern County – and your blood sample is being used as evidence against you, it is of utmost importance for you to retain reliable legal counsel that is not afraid to step into the ring for you. Let our heavy-hitters at Campbell Whitten – Bakersfield’s criminal defense firm – be the ones to challenge the prosecution and shield you from unfair sentencing.
If you are not sure what your next move should be, start by requesting a completely free, no obligation case evaluation with our Bakersfield DUI attorneys today.