Austin’s No Refusal Weekends: What Does It Really Mean?
The Austin Police Department is continuing their “No Refusal DWI” policy which began earlier this year. The enforcement of this policy runs from 10 PM through 5AM every Friday and Saturday night and continues into Sunday morning.
The next “no refusal” weekend will occur this weekend from September 22nd through the 24th. But what does this initiative actually entail?
For the most part, it is pretty straightforward; drivers who are arrested for DWI have no choice but to submit a sample of their blood or take a breath test. If the motorists refuse to take a sample, they will be forced down and have blood drawn from them.
“No refusal” weekends used to just occur around holidays and big events; now they will take place every weekend in hopes of deterring drinking and driving. Even though this initiative only takes place during the weekend, local criminal lawyer James Gill, of the James Gill Law Firm PLLC, claims that APD has a loophole to forcibly draw blood. He states, “Even if a driver is accused of a DWI and refuses to take a breath test, the police department can simply get a warrant which will allow them to forcibly draw blood from the driver on any day of the week at any given time.”
This leads us as citizens of Austin to wonder whether the police are truly doing this to protect public safety or as a way to gain more revenue for the city of Austin. This is all occurring with the return of mainstream rideshare companies to Austin. Does this return make the police feel that they will lose economic benefits from pulling over drunk drivers? Whatever the case may be, if you or anyone you know encounters any DWI charge be sure to contact James Gill, a highly-esteemed local Austin criminal lawyer.