Warrants will force testing in DWI arrests
Officials initiating ‘no refusal’ for Memorial Day weekend
Drivers pulled over this coming Memorial Day weekend for suspected driving while intoxicated may want to rethink refusing the breathalyzer test if they’re asked to perform it.
From 5 p.m. Friday, May 22, until 5 p.m. Monday, May 25, local law enforcement officers will be able to submit probable cause affidavits to Nacogdoches County Court-at Law-Judge Jack Sinz to obtain a search warrant to test a driver’s blood for signs of intoxication.
County Attorney John Fleming, who approached Sinz and local law enforcement agencies about a no-refusal weekend, said often times when someone refuses to take a breathalyzer test, it makes it more difficult for the prosecutor to make his or her case due to a lack of evidence. But, with the no-refusal weekend, drivers who Sinz finds likely to be intoxicated by the reasons laid out by the arresting officer in the affidavit will have no choice but to submit their blood for testing — something that Fleming said will provide the needed evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt if the individual was intoxicated or not.