Florida DUI Breath Test Archives

Category: Florida DUI Breath Test

Intoxilyzer 8000 Problems – Lack of Substantial Compliance Cases in Florida

The best way to win a DUI breath test case occurs when the court excludes the breath test affidavit. On April 28, 2023, the Honorable Mary Catherine Green, County Judge in Lakeland, FL, granted a motion to exclude our client’s breath test after we alleged the machine did not substantially comply with the administrative rules. […]

Written by Leslie Sammis on January 24, 2024

Should I take the breath test or refuse?

People sometimes ask: “If I get arrested for DUI, should I take the breath test or refuse?” The answer is: “It depends.” With recent changes in DUI law, a person should keep these things in mind. Florida’s Intoxilyzer 8000 Machines are Really Old Florida’s Intoxilyzer 8000 machines were put into service in 2006. As the […]

Written by Leslie Sammis on July 1, 2019

Tampa’s Central Breath Testing (CBT) Unit Compromised

After a DUI arrest in Hillsborough County, FL, you will be taken to a room at the Central Breath Testing (CBT) unit located within the Orient Road Jail in Tampa, FL, and asked to submit to a breath test on an Intoxilyzer 8000. For the breath test result to be admissible at trial, certain rules […]

Written by Leslie Sammis on March 24, 2018

Florida’s FDLE Alcohol Testing Program – Don’t Follow the 11D-8 Rules? Rewrite the Rule. Repeat.

“Only sometimes when we pick and choose among the rules we discover later that we have set aside something precious in the process.” – Helen Simonson, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand Matthew Malhiot recently wrote an article discussing how the Florida Alcohol Testing Program (ATP) violated Chapter 11D-8 F.A.C. rules when it failed to conduct department […]

Written by Jason Miller on September 23, 2015

Problems with Moving the Intoxilyzer 8000 By Common Carrier for Repairs

In a recent decision in State v. Drudy, 23 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 477a (May 13, 2015), Judge Scott A. Farr, in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL, found that the use of common carrier to transport the Intoxilyzer 8000 breathalyzer between the Central Breath Testing Facility at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the repair facilities does not violate the administrative rules.

Written by Jason Miller on May 20, 2015

Watch Out for Falling Surge Protectors – More Problems with the Intoxilyzer 8000

When Florida purchased the Intoxilyzer 8000 it needed an easy way to show a jury that the machine worked. To do this, officials with the State of Florida worked with the manufacturer of the machine to designed a series of monthly tests. The monthly test is called the “Agency Inspection.” At trial the prosecutor admits […]

Written by Jason Miller on July 15, 2013

It’s Back – “Lawfulness of the DUI Arrest” Again an Issue at the DHSMV Administrative Review Hearing

After a DUI arrest in Florida the driver can request a formal or informal review hearing to contest the administrative suspension of the driver’s license. That administrative suspension can range from 6 months to 18 months. The hard suspension (no driving for any reason) that can range from 30 days to 18 months. The administrative […]

Written by Jason Miller on April 7, 2012

Status of Florida’s DUI “No Refusal” Policy at Sobriety Checkpoints / Roadblocks

SB 1790 prohibited any state or local law enforcement agency from conducting a “no refusal” DUI checkpoint where a judge is present on site to issue a warrant for a blood alcohol test without the driver’s consent. On May 7, 2011, the Florida legislatures’ Senate Bill 1790 (SB 1790) died in the judiciary committee. The […]

Written by Jason Miller on December 23, 2011

Florida’s DUI Refusals: FDLE Covers Up Faulty Intoxilyzer 8000 Breathalyzers

[brightcove vid=1211602848001&exp3=35214809001&surl=http://c.brightcove.com/services&pubid=35087134001&pk=AQ~~,AAAACCtbLTE~,Euz3dgEqY7FO41McJges-UDcgJmMTpjJ&lbu=http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1211602848001&w=300&h=225] What happens when you attempt to submit to the DUI breath test in Florida and the breath test operator tells you that you were not breathing hard enough? The arresting officer will count that as a “refusal.” The allegation that you refused to take the breath test carries with it additional penalties including […]

Written by Jason Miller on October 15, 2011

Volume Not Met (VNM) Flag on Florida’s Intoxilyzer 8000

Recently I’ve seen an unusually high number of cases in which someone blows into the Intoxilyzer 8000 after a DUI arrest here in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL, with a “VNM” flag. In many of these cases, the person arrested for DUI will report that they tried to blow into the machine as hard as they […]

Written by Jason Miller on April 16, 2011