61-8-1016. Implied consent — blood or breath tests for alcohol, blood or oral fluid for drugs, or testing for both — alcohol and drugs using recognized methods for each — refusal to submit to test — administrative license suspension. (1) (a) A person who operates or is in actual physical control of a vehicle or commercial motor vehicle upon the ways of this state open to the public is considered to have given consent to a test or tests of the person’s blood or breath for the purpose of determining any measured amount or detected presence of alcohol or blood or oral fluid for the purpose of determining any measured amount or detected presence of drugs in the person’s body.

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Terms Used In Montana Code 61-8-1016

  • Aggravated driving under the influence: means a person is in violation of 61-8-1002(1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c), or (1)(d) and:

    (a)the person's alcohol concentration, as shown by analysis of the person's blood, breath, or other bodily substance, is 0. See Montana Code 61-8-1001

  • Alcohol concentration: means either grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath, including as used in 16-6-305, 23-2-535, 45-5-207, 67-1-211, and this title. See Montana Code 61-8-1001
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Commercial motor vehicle: has the meaning provided in 61-1-101. See Montana Code 61-8-1001
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Department: means the department of justice acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Driver: means a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Motor vehicle: has the meaning provided in 61-1-101. See Montana Code 61-8-1001
  • Nonresident: means a person who is not a Montana resident. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Peace officer: has the meaning as defined in 46-1-202. See Montana Code 1-1-207
  • person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, state agency, local government unit, another state government, the United States, a political subdivision of this or another state, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Suspension: means the temporary withdrawal by action of the department of a person's driver's license, privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the public highways, and privilege to apply for or be issued a driver's license for a period of time designated by law. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Under the influence: means that as a result of taking into the body alcohol, drugs, or any combination of alcohol and drugs, a person's ability to safely operate a vehicle has been diminished. See Montana Code 61-8-1001
  • Vehicle: has the meaning provided in 61-1-101, except that the term does not include a bicycle. See Montana Code 61-8-1001
  • ways of this state open to the public: means any highway, road, alley, lane, parking area, or other public or private place adapted and fitted for public travel that is in common use by the public. See Montana Code 61-8-101

(b)The tests in subsection (1)(a) include but are not limited to a preliminary alcohol screening test of the person’s breath for the purpose of estimating the person’s alcohol concentration.

(c)A preliminary alcohol screening test may not be conducted or requested under this section unless both the peace officer and the instrument used to conduct the test have been certified by the department pursuant to rules adopted under the authority of 61-8-1019(5).

(d)The person’s obligation to submit to a test in subsection (1)(a) is not satisfied by the person submitting to a preliminary alcohol screening test pursuant to this section.

(2)(a) The test or tests must be administered at the direction of a peace officer when:

(i)the peace officer has particularized suspicion to believe that the person has been driving or has been in actual physical control of a vehicle upon ways of this state open to the public while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of the two and the person has been detained for a violation of driving under the influence as provided in 61-8-1002 or an offense that meets the definition of aggravated driving under the influence in 61-8-1001;

(ii)the person is under the age of 21 and the peace officer has particularized suspicion to believe that the person has been driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle in violation of 61-8-1002(1)(e); or

(iii)the peace officer has probable cause to believe that the person was driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle or commercial motor vehicle:

(A)in violation of driving under the influence, as provided in 61-8-1002, and the person has been placed under arrest;

(B)in violation of driving under the influence as provided in 61-8-1002, and the person has been involved in a motor vehicle crash or collision resulting in property damage;

(C)and the person has been involved in a motor vehicle accident or collision resulting in serious bodily injury, as defined in 45-2-101, or death; or

(D)in violation of driving under the influence as provided in 61-8-1002 and meets the definition of aggravated driving under the influence in 61-8-1001.

(b)A peace officer may designate which test or tests are administered.

(c)The peace officer shall inform the person of the right to refuse the test and that the refusal to submit to the test will result in the suspension for up to 1 year of that person’s driver‘s license.

(d)A hearing as provided for in 61-8-1017 must be available. The issues in the hearing must be limited to determining whether a peace officer had a particularized suspicion that the person was in violation of 61-8-1002 or an offense meeting the definition of aggravated driving under the influence in 61-8-1001, and whether the person refused to submit to the test.

(e)If a person refuses a preliminary alcohol screening test and another test during the same incident, the department may not consider each a separate refusal for purposes of suspension of the person’s driver’s license.

(3)A person who is unconscious or who is otherwise in a condition rendering the person incapable of refusal is considered not to have withdrawn the consent requested in subsection (1).

(4)(a) If an arrested person refuses to submit to one or more tests requested and designated by the peace officer, the refused test or tests may not be given unless the person has refused to provide a breath, blood, urine, or other bodily substance in a prior investigation in this state or under a substantially similar statute in another jurisdiction or the arrested person has a prior conviction or pending offense for a violation of 45-5-104, 45-5-106, 45-5-205, or driving under the influence, including 61-8-1002, an offense that meets the definition of aggravated driving under the influence in 61-8-1001, or a similar offense under previous laws of this state or a similar statute in another jurisdiction.

(b)On the person’s refusal to provide the breath, blood, urine, oral fluid, or other bodily substance requested by the peace officer pursuant to subsection (1) and this subsection (4) may apply for a search warrant to be issued pursuant to 46-5-224 to collect a sample of the person’s blood or oral fluid for testing.

(c)(i) On the person’s refusal to provide a breath, blood, urine, oral fluid, or other bodily substance, the peace officer shall, on behalf of the department, immediately seize the person’s driver’s license. The peace officer shall immediately forward the license to the department, along with a report certified under penalty of law stating which of the conditions set forth in subsection (2)(a) provides the basis for the testing request and confirming that the person refused to submit to one or more tests requested and designated by the peace officer. Upon receipt of the report, the department shall suspend the license for the period provided in 61-8-1032.

(ii)Upon seizure of a driver’s license, the peace officer shall issue, on behalf of the department, a temporary driving permit, which is effective 12 hours after issuance and is valid for 5 days following the date of issuance, and shall provide the driver with written notice of the license suspension and the right to a hearing as provided in 61-8-1017.

(iii)A nonresident driver’s license seized under this section must be sent by the department to the licensing authority of the nonresident’s home state with a report of the nonresident’s refusal to submit to one or more tests.

(5)This section does not apply to tests, samples, and analyses of blood, breath, or urine used for purposes of medical treatment or care of an injured motorist, related to a lawful seizure for a suspected violation of an offense not in this part, or performed pursuant to a search warrant.

(6)This section does not prohibit the release of information obtained from tests, samples, and analyses of blood, breath, or urine for law enforcement purposes as provided in 46-4-301 and 61-8-1019(6).