I just finished a jury trial in a Driving While Intoxicated case in Guadalupe County that brought up this issue of diabetes and DWI. Whenever someone comes into the office on a DWI case, one of the questions we always want to ask is if he person is diabetic. Diabetes can influence a DWI case in several ways. The first has to due with the issue of impairment (loss of normal use of faculties). If a person's blood glucose is too low (hypoglycemic) or too high (hyperglycemic) he can mimick the signs of intoxication -- slurred speech, trouble balancing, problems with cognitive skills, etc.
He can even smell as if he has been drinking an alcoholic beverage, since the acetone that is emitted from the breath of a hypo- or hyperglycemic smells the same as the smell of alcohol on a person's breath. Secondly, diabetes can interfere with accurate breath testing for alcohol because the molecule that a breath test machine looks for resembles the acetone coming from a diabetic. If you are diabetic and charged with DWI, you should always tell your attorney. If you are detained by an officer for possible DWI, and you are not intoxicated, you should tell the officer you are diabetic and ask for a blood test. If you are arrested and no blood test is given, have your blood glucose tested as soon as possible.
During the past week, we have been retained by two new clients who each have Driving While Intoxicated cases and who both suffer from bipolar disorder. Over the course of my practice, one of the things that has surprised me the most is the high percentage of DWI clients who have a bipolar diagnosis.
First, let's understand what an ALR hearing is. In most DWI cases, when you are arrested, a cop offers you a breath test. If you turn down the breath test, or "fail" the breath test, the cop seizes your driver's license and give you a notice of DL suspension.
The notice tells you (in incredibly fine print) that you have to decide within 15 days whether or not you wish to request and ALR hearing -- a hearing to decide if your DL will be suspended. If you do nothing, the Department gof Public Safety gets to automatically suspend your license 40 days after the day of your arrest.