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 […]
Matthew Malhiot recently published an informative article discussing the Intoxilyzer® 8000: Flow Sensor Problems in Florida. The article describes how Florida never bothered to develop any procedure for testing whether the Intoxilyzer 8000 instruments could accurately measure the amount of air blow into the machine. As a result, the instrument may have produced unreliable breath […]
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 […]
A thin line exists in Florida DUI refusal cases which allows the prosecutor to argue the refusal to submit to a DUI test shows “consciousness of guilt,” but not to argue that an innocent person would volunteer to take the test.