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Springfield DWI Lawyer Adam Woody Offers Advice In Recent News-Leader Article On No-Refusal Policy

Springfield DWI Attorney Adam Woody was recently interviewed by a Springfield News-Leader reporter  for an article titled “Driving Safe:  Alcohol Test Change Lowers DWI Arrests.”

On November 6, 2014, soon after the “no-refusal policy” took effect, we posted our thoughts on the policy.  Many of our concerns have proved true.  The results of many of the blood tests taken in November and December are still not even back from the crime lab thereby slowing down the already lethargic justice system.  We have also seen a few cases where going to the trouble of getting a warrant has actually made the DWI case nearly impossible to prove for the city or state because the BAC was actually below the presumed legal limit of .08% by the time the blood was drawn.

The recent News-Leader article does a great job laying out both sides, but it seems impossible to say that a “no-refusal policy” has any impact on drunk driving.  Anyone who is going to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking is going to regardless of whether they have the legal right to refuse a breathalyzer or not.  All this policy continues to do, as we warned in November, is to slow down the process and add extra burdensome procedures for the police, the prosecutors, the Department of Revenue, the attorneys for those accused, as well as the people themselves who are accused.  The policy still does little to serve the public interest other than to allow public leaders to say “we are tough on DWI offenders”.  This is a costly and burdensome policy to achieve that end.