The goal for the attorney in a DUI case involving a breath test reading over .08 is getting the breath test result thrown out of evidence. In order to get the breath test results thrown out of evidence, the DUI defense attorney might file a motion to suppress the breath test reading when the breath […]
September 23, 2015 – 23:29
“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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
December 23, 2011 – 01:25
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 […]
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 a one […]
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 […]
The news has been filled with stories recently about the new “No Refusal” DUI Checkpoints coming to Tampa Bay. Other counties in Florida have already experimented with forced blood draws after stopping someone for DUI during a checkpoint or roadblock. Could these types of checkpoints be coming to the Tampa Bay area? Update: Since I […]
The Criminal Defense Attorneys at the Sammis Law Firm are engaged in a fight to obtain the source code of the Intoxilyzer 8000 in order to understand numerous glitches that resulted in at least one employee with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to unplug or otherwise falsify evidence that the instruments could not pass routine […]
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