Florida's implied consent law and DUI testing
A DUI conviction in Sarasota County can come with a number of penalties such as fines, community service, imprisonment, DUI school, license revocation, and probation. A DUI conviction could also cost someone their job, prevent them from working in certain occupations and interfere with other aspects of their life.
June 22, 2013
Florida's implied consent law and DUI testingArticle provided by Burzynski & Young
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A DUI conviction in Sarasota County can come with a number of penalties such as fines, community service, imprisonment, DUI school, license revocation, and probation. A DUI conviction could also cost someone their job, prevent them from working in certain occupations and interfere with other aspects of their life.
When you are stopped by law enforcement and are under the suspicion of drunk driving, it is important for you to understand what your rights are, what types of DUI tests are used, and how you can defend yourself.
Florida's implied consent law
When you received your Florida driver's license and signed it, you became subject to something called an implied consent law. This means that you agreed to submit to a breath , blood or urine test to determine blood alcohol content if an officer asks you to take one. If you refuse, your license is automatically suspended for a year and the suspension can be extended to 18 months if you refuse more than once.
You are also protected by the Fourth Amendment which says that you can't be subjected to any unreasonable search without a proper warrant. However, state implied consent laws generally meet the standard of a reasonable search. Recently, the law changed regarding blood draws without a warrant for the purpose of obtaining a driver's blood alcohol content. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a man's constitutional rights were violated when a law enforcement officer suspected the man of drinking and driving and forced the driver to undergo a blood test without trying to get a warrant. The justices found that police must obtain a warrant before requiring a blood-alcohol content test in non-emergency situations.
DUI tests
A law officer may conduct a number of tests to determine if you have had too much to drink. For example, they might ask you to try to count backwards, walk in a straight line, test your coordination, and even conduct a breath test at the scene. If they have a reason to think that you might be drunk they will ask you to take a field sobriety and/or blood alcohol test.
Each test is designed with the goal to measure the amount of blood that is in your system. With a breath machine, you breathe into it and it calculates the amount of alcohol in your lungs. The blood test determines how much alcohol you have in your blood and is considered extremely accurate since alcohol automatically enters your bloodstream. The urine test is also used to figure out how much alcohol is in your blood.
Defending yourself against a DUI
Putting together a good defense plan can help you prove that you were not over the legal limit. This plan can include:
-Your medical records
-Medications prescribed to you
-Eye-witnesses
-Studies that show the unreliability of some blood-alcohol tests, such as a breath test
If you face drunk driving charges, contact an experienced DUI attorney who can best protect your rights and put together the best defense possible.