The Fourth of July will be another “No Refusal” weekend. On July 2, 2013, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office released a press release regarding the “No Refusal” policy. On select weekends throughout the year, law enforcement have additional resources to obtain evidence during driving while intoxicated (DWI) stops. Police officers will have prosecutors and judges at their disposal all night throughout the holiday weekend.
People can refuse to provide a breath or blood sample after most DWI arrests in Texas. However, Tarrant County has a plan to obtain DWI evidence even after a refusal. If a person refuses to give a sample during a “No Refusal” weekend, the prosecutors in Tarrant County prepare search warrants. The magistrate judges decide whether there is probable cause for a search. If there probable cause for a search, law enforcement officers take a blood sample. Officers then send the sample to a laboratory to determine if the person was legally intoxicated.
After an arrest for driving while intoxicated, a person’s driver’s license is suspended as a matter of law. If the person refuses to provide a blood or breath sample, this period of suspension is longer. After a DWI stop and refusal, the person loses their license for a longer period and law enforcement still obtains a blood sample.
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office will be posting the names and ages of the people arrested. A $300,430.00 grant funds this DWI program. The program will begin at 8 p.m. on July 3, 2013, and end at 4 a.m. on July 7, 2013. Be careful this holiday weekend. Remember, law enforcement arrested 43 people over the Memorial Day weekend this year during the “No Refusal” program.
