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Can You Get an Independent Blood or Urine Test After a NJ DWI Arrest? - Rachel Kugel · BSPE Legal Marketing Podcast

• 0:00
  Can You Get an Independent Blood or Urine Test After a NJ DWI Arrest?
• 0:04
  If you have been arrested for driving while intoxicated in New Jersey, you may not realize that the law gives you the right to obtain your own independent chemical test alongside the one police administer.
• 0:14
  Narrator: Under New Jersey's implied consent framework at N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2, a driver who submits to a police-administered chemical test is permitted to have samples taken and tested by a physician or person of their own selection.
• 0:28
  Narrator: The arresting officer is required to inform you of this right and must also provide you with a copy of the state's test record upon request.
• 0:35
  Narrator: This right grants you access to independent testing rather than a state-provided service, meaning police must allow reasonable efforts on your part but are not obligated to arrange or pay for anything.
• 0:46
  Narrator: You must first submit to the police-administered breath, blood, or urine test before pursuing any private testing, because refusing that test creates a separate refusal charge without granting any additional rights.
• 0:58
  Narrator: Once you have complied with the state's test, you should state your request plainly and on the record, telling the officer you are requesting an independent blood or urine test at your own expense and noting the exact time.
• 1:09
  Narrator: Ask to use a phone to contact a hospital, urgent care facility, or private laboratory that performs forensic draws and can preserve your sample for legal purposes.
• 1:18
  Narrator: Timing is everything in these situations, because a sample collected within an hour or two of the state's test gives a toxicologist a meaningful comparison, while a sample collected the next morning tells them very little.
• 1:30
  Narrator: When the state already holds your blood or urine sample, defense counsel can file a motion asking the court to split the sample so an independent laboratory can retest a portion on your behalf.
• 1:40
  Narrator: An attorney reviewing your case will also scrutinize the chain of custody, checking who drew the sample, which tubes were used, storage temperatures, and whether a warrant or valid consent supported the draw.
• 1:50
  Narrator: Urine testing carries its own complications, since drug metabolites can linger for days or weeks and a positive result may reflect past use rather than actual impairment at the moment you were driving.
• 2:01
  Narrator: If police interfere with your reasonable attempts to arrange independent testing, that interference can become grounds for challenging the state's chemical evidence in court through a motion to suppress.
• 2:11
  Narrator: The lawyer handling your defense can use independent test results, procedural violations, and gaps in the chain of custody to directly confront the state's case against you.
• 2:20
  Narrator: Call The Kugel Law Firm, located at 1 Gateway Ctr Ste 2600, Newark, NJ 07102, United States, at 973, 854, 0098 to schedule a free strategy session with an attorney who will protect your rights from day one.