Washington State Attorney Jennifer Witt provides three very beneficial tips and hints for anyone who has an upcoming court ordered chemical dependency / drug & alcohol / substance abuse evaluation or assessment for DUI or other criminal charges involving alcohol or drugs.

People are often court ordered to obtain a chemical dependency / drug & alcohol / substance abuse evaluation or assessment. These phrases are used interchangeably but there are some very specific requirements if you being ordered to submit to an evaluation for a criminal case or family law case. As always, you must check for specific requirements in your state by discussing the issue with your attorney. Don’t waste your time and money but attending an evaluation that won’t work for your situation.

Find a state certified agency to perform the evaluation. If you have moved out of state or been restationed through the military, be sure to talk with your attorney about what is required for an out of state evaluation to be given any credit. Hint: most do not work for Washington without some “tweaking” for our courts.

Ask you lawyer what he or she thinks about the agency you are using. Not all are great. Some have a higher rate of finding an person has a significant problem. Some believe this is because there is financial incentive where the agency performs both the evaluation and the treatment. It is wise to do your homework on this issue and get advice from your attorney. Additionally, if you were required to get an evaluation for your DUI or other criminal case, you are also likely required to follow up with any recommendations. This means you will need to file monthly compliance reports. Some agencies can really mess up a case because they are not good/timely in providing these reports to the attorney and court. Again, double check with your attorney about reputable agencies.

Obvious reminder: do not use drugs or alcohol before you evaluation. If you have used marijuana in the recent past, it will likely be present on the UA. In most criminal cases, the court understands that issue. However, if you were supposed to be refraining from all drugs and alcohol while your case is pending and it has been several months, the UA better be clean. Also, alcohol shows up in your urine quite a while after you consume. Do not think you can drink on Friday night and show up Monday for a clean UA. Those tests are extremely precise and will pick up your use. Additionally, if you try to dilute the sample by drinking a lot of water or taking certain supplements, the test will pick up on that and your sample with be a “presumptive positive.” That won’t be good. In many cases, being deceptive is even worse than testing positive. If you have concerns about whether your UA will be clean, reach out to your attorney to determine the best course of action and how it might impact your situation.

Best of luck on your upcoming chemical dependency evaluation!

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Witt Law Group PS
www.WittLegal.com
(360) 7921000