What’s Deemed As Consent? Texas DWI Law 101 Part II

What Is Deemed Consent? Do You Have The Right To Refuse To Take A Blood Or Breathalyzer Test

Part 2 Of 3

A police officer is allowed to coerce only under deemed consent if someone is arrested. By section 724.011, if the person is arrested, that individual must provide a specimen after the arrest. According to the deemed consent statute, it is not proper at all for a police officer to give what is called a statutory warning; unless the driver has been arrested. What is clear is that the state of Texas will allow legally limited coercion to get a breath test or a blood sample, however, any coercion may only happen if the individual has been first arrested.

Additionally, a police officer may ask for urine, breath, or a consensual blood test – prior to or after the arrest – only if there is no coercion presented in any manner. In regard to the taking of urine, there is no possibility deemed as consent if there is any coercion involved.

Specimens taken under deemed consent by and a police officer can only be acquired via written or oral warnings.

According to conditions 2 and 3, we must observe the statutory provisions that are located in section 724.015, entitled Information Provided by Officer Before Requesting Specimen. It is in this specific section where we have the legal language which states:

Before a person can be asked to submit to the production of a taking of a specimen, the police officer shall inform the individual in question in writing and also orally (emphasis added).

This means that two more things must be done before any driver can be subjected to coercive consequences per the rules of deemed consent. Specifically, both an oral and written warning (as noted in the 724.015, supra). This is only possible with the form entitled Statutory Warning, better known as a DIC 24. This states that the police officer must read their request out loud and also provide the driver with this request in writing after the arrest. This was done to allow citizens to be aware of stated penalties that may occur if there is any type of refusal to a test request that is properly made.

This requirement for the simultaneous oral and written methods, for the same morning, is a form of legislative recognition that the individual is being subjected to a DWI investigation, and takes into account that he or she may be nervous and may not have understood their rights or the consequences for refusing the police officer’s request. Without question, the legislature was able to understand there is a much better chance of someone understanding the combination of both requests, thus making the consequences associated with a refusal more understandable. Both ways of delivering this message; a written and oral presentation; must be presented prior to a request for breath or blood can be made.

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