Most of us know someone who has been stopped and asked to submit to field sobriety tests, but many people are unclear regarding the circumstances that permit a police officer to request that a person submit to field sobriety testing. Under Florida DUI law, an officer must have “reasonable suspicion” that a person is driving under the influence of alcohol or engaging in or having recently engaged in some other criminal violation to legally request a person submit to field sobriety testing. Unless an officer has reasonable suspicion when he requests field sobriety testing, a subsequent DUI arrest may be illegal. If reasonable suspicion exists, the officer can briefly detain a driver long enough to conduct a DUI investigation. The purpose of a DUI investigation is to confirm whether there is probable cause to support a Florida DUI arrest.
A Florida DUI attorney will carefully investigate a police officer’s alleged factual basis for claiming that he had reasonable suspicion and may be able to have your DUI charges reduced or dismissed if the officer did not have a sufficient legal basis for conducting Field Sobriety Testing.
It usually requires a number of signs of intoxication to satisfy the reasonable suspicion standard and create a sufficient legal grounds of having a driver submit to field sobriety testing. The smell of alcohol on a driver alone is generally not sufficient. The Florida Supreme Court provided guidance on what is required to constitute reasonable suspicion to conduct field sobriety testing. The Florida Supreme Court in State vs. Taylor underscored the following signs of intoxication:
- Loss of balance when exiting vehicle
- Red watery eyes
- Slurred speech
- Odor of alcohol from driver
- High rate of speed prior to stop
The court concluded based on this combination of signs of intoxication that this was “more than enough to provide [the officer] with reasonable suspicion that a crime was being committed [i.e. DUI].” Subsequent courts have added a flushed face to this litany of indicators that may constitute part of the basis for reasonable suspicion to conduct field sobriety testing. Likewise, a driver’s admission that he has been drinking will typically suffice to create reasonable suspicion. It is fairly clear based on Florida court decisions that while the smell of alcohol is not sufficient in itself to constitute sufficient legal basis to conduct field sobriety testing the officer need not observe all of these signs to justify field sobriety testing. Courts have found that a traffic violation combined with bloodshot eyes and the odor of alcohol is sufficient.
Many of these factors are subjective and may be caused by many things other than being intoxicated. Further, most police reports read like a rote recitation of these signs of intoxication. An experienced Florida DUI attorney will carefully investigate the facts of your case, interview witnesses and cross-examine the officer to determine whether the officer really had reasonable suspicion to request you submit to field sobriety testing. If the officer did not have sufficient legal grounds, this may provide an effective defense to your DUI charges, which may lead to dismissal or reduction of your DUI charges in Florida. However, you should NEVER admit to drinking because this will typically justify field sobriety testing making the issue of the legal sufficiency to conduct field sobriety testing unavailable as a defense strategy.
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Hiring a Florida DUI attorney to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Law Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 or search our directory of DUI lawyers in Florida for a law firm near you (by appointment only).
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