After an arrest for driving under the influence (DUI), if the driver is alleged to have refused to provide a breath sample or provided a sample resulting over .08, then the arrestee's driver license is supposed to be automatically suspended. This suspension takes place after ten (10) days. A driver must apply to challenge the suspension at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) or DMV within those same ten (10) days. DHSMV blog.
DUI, the 20 minute observation & DHSMV Hearings
DUI Refusal What You Don't Say or Do Gets Held Against You Too
If a person accused of DUI refuses to submit to field sobriety exercises or to submit a breath sample a common concern is whether the refusal can be used against the DUI Defendant in Court. As to the driver's license, being deemed to have refused will cause an automatic suspension unless a review hearing is requested and won at the Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles (DHSMV).
DUI Blood Testing the Unconscious Driver No Warrant Needed...Usually
In a DUI arrest, when a breath test is not available or feasible, or if the circumstances allow, law enforcement may seek a sample of the accused driver's blood to determine a blood alcohol concentration or content (BAC). The question of whether and how the police may take the accused DUI driver's blood has been considered by the United States Supreme Court in the last few years.
DUI Conviction or Adjudication still required
In Florida, a person accused of DUI has faced mandatory adjudication, also known as conviction, for many decades. In cases where the Court is not restricted, it can also withhold adjudication which means that technically a person is not convicted. The difference can have far reaching consequences. For example, a DUI cannot be expunged because of the conviction and convictions stay on a driving history for up to seventy-five (75) years. Convictions also require higher surcharges and court costs.
DUI and the Ignition Interlock Device
In DUI defense a common question or problem involves the "ignition interlock device". The law on the ignition interlock device states that the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles "shall require the placement of a department-approved ignition interlock device for any person convicted of committing an offense of driving under the influence as specified".
DUI Actual Physical Control Not Just Being the Intoxicated Owner
An element the State has to prove in a DUI is that the accused was either driving or in "actual physical control" of the vehicle. Actual physical control sounds simple enough but the question of what is actual physical control has generated some interesting case law. Of note is that if the accused was not driving or the car was not moving, then the State can still prosecute a person having actual physical control.
Traffic Crash, DUI and the Accident Report Privilege
A car accident leads to a traffic crash investigation which often time leads to criminal charges such as drunk driving or DUI. Floridians should be aware that the law requires them to cooperate with a traffic crash investigation. The intent behind the reporting requirement is to encourage true and uninhibited reporting of accidents, with the ultimate goal of making highways safer.
New York DWAI & Enhancement of Florida DUI
There are all kinds of urban myths in DUI / DWI law. In the context of a Florida DUI, a Florida appellate court has interpreted Florida law as allowing a conviction to a New York charge of driving while alcohol impaired (DWAI), section 1192 (1), to be used to enhance a Florida DUI. In addition, a conviction to a New York DWAI can be used for purposes of suspending a Florida driver's license. This strikes many as odd since the New York offense of DWAI is specifically not a DUI pursuant to New York law. Many people are surprised to learn that what one state does not consider a DUI is treated as such in Florida.
Arrested for DUI, 10 days for what?
Arrested for DUI? Before going to court, a driver's license will be suspended 10 days after the DUI arrest if the person refused to give a breath sample or sumbmitted to the test and blew over a .08. As to the license to drive, there are three options (1) request a hearing to reverse the suspension called a Formal Review Hearing, (2) request hearing for an immediate hardship license or (3) do nothing. The choice to do nothing is a choice to accept a driver license suspension. The deadline to file an election for a hearing at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) is also the same 10 day period before the suspension is imposed. The DUI citation is a driving permit for those same 10 days.
DUI Refusals
Arrested for DUI? Refusal to submit a sample of breath, blood or urine is a criminal offense in Florida if the person's license has been suspended in the past for refusing to submit to testing. An officer can request a driver to blow into the breath machine if a person is lawfully arrested. Unfortunately, officers will put people down as having 'refused' a breath test even when a person tries to blow. In the context of urine, stage fright will still be marked as a refusal.
