Some Montana officials want to make it a crime to refuse a breath test during a drunk driving stop, but defense lawyers say a new law won't help get more DUI convictions.
Montana Highway Patrolman Clancy King says, "We're long overdue for some changes legislatively and culturally with regard to drinking and driving."
Defense attorney Mat Stevenson argues, "That is an adequate punishment, an adequate deterrent, and we do not need to change the existing law whatsoever."
Right now, you will lose your license for six months if you get pulled over and asked to provide a breath sample and don't.
Stevenson says, "By refusing, you have already created an assumption of guilt as a person driving under the influence in a court of law. That prosecutor can argue to a jury that because you refused the test you are guilty."
But here's the problem, if you've already lost your license, the only penalty for refusing a breath test is you can't get a special license for driving to work or school.
Trooper King tells us, "If you're the type of person who doesn't value your driver's license or you feel you want to run the risk of getting stopped and getting a citation for driving without a license then that's the risk you take."
Court workers will tell you those people, the repeat offenders, don't care. That's why defense attorney Rich Buley knows they won't be deterred by yet another crime tacked on top of a DUI.
Troopers don't rely on breath samples for DUI convictions. King says "We're not hinging our case on whether they give a sample or not. There are other aspects that exhibit if they're impaired or not and that's what we work on."
People on both sides of the law agree, making refusing a breath test a crime will do little to deter drunk driving, in a state that regularly tops the list of most drunk driving arrests per capita. King adds, "It's culturally, it's not law enforcement. You can't arrest the dui problem away. You need the public to make the change."
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