Florida Board Certified Expert in Criminal Law - Broward County DUI Defense Lawyer
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Question: Do I have a choice of chemical tests? Which should I choose?
ANSWER:
In Florida, someone who is arrested for DUI can be requested to submit to a breath or urine test. A person arrested may be asked to submit to blood test where death or serious bodily injury is involved and reasonable force may be used in order to obtain the blood sample.
Additionally, §316.1932 (1)(c) , Fla.Stat., states:
Any person who accepts the privilege extended by the laws of this state of operating a motor vehicle within this state is, by operating such vehicle, deemed to have given his or her consent to submit to an approved blood test for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of the blood or a blood test for the purpose of determining the presence of chemical substances or controlled substances as provided in this section if there is reasonable cause to believe the person was driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcoholic beverages or chemical or controlled substances and the person appears for treatment at a hospital, clinic, or other medical facility and the administration of a breath or urine test is impractical or impossible.
Also, §316.1932 (1)(c) , Fla.Stat., states:
The person tested may, at his or her own expense, have a physician, registered nurse, other personnel authorized by a hospital to draw blood, or duly licensed clinical laboratory director, supervisor, technologist, or technician, or other person of his or her own choosing administer an independent test in addition to the test administered at the direction of the law enforcement officer for the purpose of determining the amount of alcohol in the person's blood or breath or the presence of chemical substances or controlled substances at the time alleged, as shown by chemical analysis of his or her blood or urine, or by chemical or physical test of his or her breath. The failure or inability to obtain an independent test by a person does not preclude the admissibility in evidence of the test taken at the direction of the law enforcement officer. The law enforcement officer shall not interfere with the person's opportunity to obtain the independent test and shall provide the person with timely telephone access to secure the test, but the burden is on the person to arrange and secure the test at the person's own expense. Analysis of a blood sample is potentially the most accurate. Breath machines are susceptible to a number of problems rendering them often unreliable. The least accurate is urinalysis.
These questions and associated answers have been adapted to Florida law with permission from Lawrence Taylor.
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