Bay Area DUI Lawyer DMV Hearing and License Suspension

• Introduction
• DUI Stops
• Sobriety Checkpoints
• Probable Cause
• Legal Requirements
• Legal Challenges
• Field Sobriety Tests
• Chemical Testing
  • Alcohol Absorption
  • What is Breath Testing
  • Roadside Breath Test
  • Evidential Breath Test
  • Evidential Blood Test
  • Urine Testing
  • Alcohol & the Human Body
• Accident Investigation
• Accident Reconstruction

Urine Testing

California drivers arrested on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs must submit to a chemical test to measure the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC). The three chemical tests available are blood, breath, or urine testing. Urine testing has a wide array of problems and legal challenges, because urine tests are considered the least reliable of the three types of chemical tests available. Anyone who was required to take a urine test after being arrested for drunk driving or Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) should consult with an experienced California DUI Lawyer.

Urine or blood tests may be used in cases where the motorist is suspected driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, or drugs alone. Urine tests are generally not used when a motorist is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol only. However, urine tests may be given when breath or blood tests are not available.

California law dictates how urine tests must be administered. The driver must be given enough privacy to maintain dignity while still ensuring the accuracy of the sample. When the urine test is given, drivers are advised to empty their bladders, wait 20 minutes, and then go again.

Urine tests have strict protocols, and errors occur frequently. Police and technicians sometimes fail to follow the required procedures, making test results unreliable. Because the test involves water instead of blood, urine tests for alcohol are usually inflated. The concentration of alcohol in the urine is approximately 1.33 times the concentration of alcohol in the blood.

When motorists are suspected of driving under the influence of drugs rather than alcohol, urine tests are equally unreliable, because they cannot determine when a drug was used. They can only detect metabolites - inactive traces of previously ingested substances. For example, a person who smoked marijuana on a Friday night may test positive the following Monday, long after the effect of the drug has worn off.

The problems that occur when urine is tested for drugs have been widely documented. A study by the National Institute of Drug Abuse found that 20 percent of labs surveyed had erroneously reported the presence of illegal drugs in drug-free urine samples. Unreliability also stems from the tendency of drug screens to confuse similar chemical compounds.

The unreliability of urine testing in Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs cases create opportunities to challenge the test results. A California criminal defense attorney who specializes in DUI cases can challenge the results of urine tests and other types of chemical testing as part of a strategy to effectively fight a charge a drinking and driving or driving under the influence of drugs.

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