Navigation Criminal defense bar says alcohol-device bill may skirt due process
A bill requiring Floridians arrested for drunk driving who refuse to take a breathalyzer test to install a similar instrument in their car at their own expense may violate due process, according to Aaron Wayt, the legislative chair for the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Already, when the person refuses the breathalyzer, their license is immediately suspended through an administrative process at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. If it’s their first refusal, the suspension is for a year. For every refusal after that, the suspension is for 18 months.
Under identical House and Senate bills, HB 39 and SB 260, that suspended driver would also have to install in their car a kind of breathalyzer known as an ignition interlock device, costing between $670 and $1,610 for the first year, per a Senate staff analysis.
