Refuse a breathalyzer test - 1 year license suspended

Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by Rex_B, Sep 4, 2009.

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  1. mobius481

    mobius481 Registered Member

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    I know they have been ruled legal but I also know that the constitution provides for no illegal searches and seizures. There is no plausible argument for this being a legal search with cause. That reasoning is total BS.
     
    mobius481, Sep 11, 2009
    #11
  2. mctiger

    mctiger RIP, and thanks for the music Staff Member

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    At the risk of repeating myself.....
    If all of those cases cited are truly examples of judges correctly interpreting the constitution, then I submit that the same judges must be clear and rule the driver's license unconstitutional.

    But you've now obfuscated your original question. You're talking about freedom of travel now. You started by talking about breathalizer tests and the consequences of refusing one. Freedom of travel and the police's duty to patrol the roads and protect the public are not in conflict.
     
    mctiger, Sep 11, 2009
    #12
  3. Rex_B

    Rex_B Geaux Time

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    I rolled with the conversation moving along in this thread. It derailed a long time ago.
     
    Rex_B, Sep 11, 2009
    #13
  4. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    so cops can breathalize people who are driving because driving is not a right, but they have to have probable cause to search your vehicle? When are they going to do away with that law, and just let cops search anyone and everyone no matter what? I don't think its fair that a state can profit from drunk drivers and then they administer tests to whomever they choose with gadgets that could be flawed.
     
    LaSalleAve, Sep 11, 2009
    #14
  5. mctiger

    mctiger RIP, and thanks for the music Staff Member

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    I don't know how they do things in Pineville, but in my experience, people are not randomly pulled out of their cars and given a breathalizer. At the DWI checkpoints I've witnessed, drivers are stopped and advised of what is happening, and in the course of conversation, the officers determine if they need to have a person get out of their car and do the standard road-side "walk a straight line, close your eyes and touch your nose" indicator tests. From those results they decide if a breathalizer test is necessary.

    I don't think its fair that a person can get tanked up at a bar and then endanger the lives of my family and me by getting in a car and driving somewhere. My only protection from that bastage is the cops. BTW, can you give me an example of a sober person being convicted of a DWI based on a faulty breathalizer report?
     
    mctiger, Sep 11, 2009
    #15
  6. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    Faulty Breathalyzer Might Void Some Minnesota DUIs | nexgenlife.com

    Breath Analyzer Accuracy

    shouldn't alot of that responsibility fall on the service industry? Ok i am going solely on Texas here because its been years since i have had a drink in this state or bought liquor here, so.... In Texas, its legal to purchase liquor in bars until 2 a.m. but you cannot purchase liquor in a liquor store after 9 p.m. Doesn't that seem backwards? You can sell liquor to people in a cup with no lid, people that could get into cars and drive home until 2 a.m., but you cant sell it past 9 p.m. to people who are taking it home to consume it? Bars and Restaurants can sell alcohol to people until they fall out of their chairs, they tell them not to of course, but its never enforced unless there is an accident. I don't drink, but i do not think your license should be suspended if you refuse to take a breathalizer test either.
     
    LaSalleAve, Sep 11, 2009
    #16
  7. mctiger

    mctiger RIP, and thanks for the music Staff Member

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    Thanks for the links...I know the Intoxilizer 5000, which is the machine mentioned in the first link, is used here in St. Mary Parish.

    Standing by what I said about the progression of procedures police follow before giving a test, it stands to reason that a cop usually has probable cause for wanting a breathalizer. It stands to reason that the subject involved is showing enough signs of impairment to possibly be a danger to others on the road. So I think the best way to avoid the situation (as several have stated) is not to drink and drive.

    Side note: in my years as a news reporter, I've had my share of dealings with people who felt their rights were being violated by police. They usually have 3 things in common: they frequently engage in behavior that attracts the police's attention, they're frequently "having their rights violated" by police, and they think any time a cop speaks to them, their rights have been violated. In short, they usually bring their problems on themselves.
     
    mctiger, Sep 11, 2009
    #17
  8. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    i agree with you about drinking and driving, its stupid, it gets people killed, it shouldn't be done. Being a bartender for 6 plus years is really why i quit drinking. Its fun to hear stories for about a year, but then it gets really depressing, i have occasionally had a scotch and soda for the past 4 years but i can count them on my fingers. But, i think society caters to alcoholics, it makes no sense, that you can go to a bar and get lit out of your mind, and they leave it up to you, the guy who is ****faced to call a cab for yourself. Its dumb. There are drive through daquiri shops here. Talk about enabling, this **** kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, but some yahoo on capital hill tells me that i cant enjoy a nice bowl of something that grows naturally on the planet at my own home?
     
    LaSalleAve, Sep 11, 2009
    #18
  9. shaqazoolu

    shaqazoolu Concentrated Awesome

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    The end.
     
    shaqazoolu, Sep 11, 2009
    #19
  10. BAY0U BENGAL

    BAY0U BENGAL I'm a Chinese Bandit

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    Not saying that all cops are perfect (that's for you Lasalle :hihi:), but when done correctly, you find probable cause for DUI. Whether it be field sobriety or "obvious intoxication". I know the law here in Mississippi is refuse on a first offense DUI, you lose your driving privelages for 90 days. Second offense is 1 year.

    I had a buddy with one of those portable breath testers. I'm all effed up at .08, too so I'm down with the .08 law. And DUI doesn't mean you blow .08, either. DUI law is geared toward impairment. You can pills and blow .00 and still be effed up like a lab rat.

    I still think it's necessary, IMO.
     
    BAY0U BENGAL, Sep 12, 2009
    #20
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