Refusal to Provide Samples

If the police are not able to analyze a sample of your breath, you may be charged with refusing or failing to provide breath samples. This charge can be laid whether the police are using the hand-held roadside screening device or the breathalyzer machine at the police detachment. The punishment imposed can, in some cases, be more severe than if you are found guilty of driving over 80.

Just because you have been charged with refusing to provide breath samples does not mean you are guilty. If the breath demand was unlawful, or if you have a reasonable excuse for refusing, you are entitled to be found not guilty. An unlawful demand might be one that is made on suspicion that you were impaired, rather than a credibly-based probability. A reasonable excuse could be a medical problem that prevented you from blowing, or a failure to respect your right to call a lawyer.

If the police believe that you cannot provide a breath sample because of an injury, they may demand that you provide a blood sample. An entirely new set of requirements will come into play, before the analysis of your blood can be used by the prosecutor in court.

If you have been charged with refusing a demand, we can help: contact us.