Your client has no memory of the event. These bizarre circumstances and amnesia in combination with the presence of Ambien is indicative of “pathological intoxication” Your client was not aware of intoxication.
Under these circumstances it would have been impossible for your client to provide a knowledgeable and informed consent or refusal.
In conclusion, it appears that your client did not knowingly drive under the influence and that your client could not have provided an informed refusal to provide a breath specimen.
ALTERNATE INSERT
The Drinking and Driving Questionnaire (DDQ) indicates that your client was taking prescription medications at the time of the arrest.
Prescription medications and the conditions for which they are prescribed effect appearance and invalidate observations used as indicia of intoxication. When taking therapeutic amounts as prescribed, they are not impairing. Only the treating physician is qualified to determine the therapeutic dose of the medication for his patient.
Your client indicated on the DDQ that one of the medications was Ambien. This medication is well known to produce sleep walking, sleep driving, etc. Such an individual would not have been thinking clearly and would not have knowingly and willfully provided a consent or refusal nor could they possibly have adequately comprehended the instructions and performed appropriately when tested.
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