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Breath Test Conflict May Lead to Supreme Court Case

June 15, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

DUI checkpoints can rely on relatively effective breath tests to check for alcohol-impaired drivers, but law enforcement has no equivalent to reliably test for marijuana impairment.
A DUI checkpoint.

A state appeals court Friday suppressed breath-test results in a drunken driving case because the test was administered outside the city of Maitland, where the motorist was stopped.

A three-judge panel of the 6th District Court of Appeal backed defendant Bryan Allen Repple’s argument that the evidence should be suppressed but said the ruling conflicted with a 2022 decision by the 5th District Court of Appeal in a similar case. The panel took a step known as certifying conflict, which could lead to the Florida Supreme Court taking up the issue.




The ruling said a Maitland police officer stopped Repple for speeding, smelled alcohol and saw other signs of possible alcohol use. Another officer conducted a field sobriety test and arrested Repple for driving under the influence, the ruling said. The officer then drove Repple outside the Maitland city limits to an Orange County facility, where a breath test was administered.

The test showed a blood-alcohol level that exceeded the legal limit, the ruling said. But Repple challenged the breath test by alleging that the officer “unlawfully asserted his official authority because he acted outside of his territorial jurisdiction to obtain evidence not available to a private citizen using his or her own senses.”

A circuit judge agreed with Repple, leading prosecutors to appeal. But in a 20-page ruling, written by Judge Mary Alice Nardella and joined by Judges Carrie Ann Wozniak and Joshua Mize, the panel Friday upheld the circuit judge’s decision and said “extraterritorial powers” must be provided by the Legislature.

“(Based) on the record and arguments before us, we find that the municipal officer in this case was without the power to use his official authority outside the city limits of Maitland to obtain evidence not available to a private citizen,” Nardella wrote.

–News Service of Florida

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joe D says

    June 15, 2024 at 6:46 pm

    OMG….well Governor, time to get the legislature to adjust whatever STATE wide legislation has to be changed to either train and supply EVERY Deputy on traffic duty on use of a Breathalyzer ( and show that the analyzer has been tested (?) weekly/daily for accuracy)… or allow there to be CROSS JURISDICTIONAL testing, so this LOOPHOLE can’t be used to keep intoxicated drivers on the road.

    If not, I can tell you that if you think your AUTOMOBILE insurance in Florida is high NOW, just wait until this case becomes National News! I hope this goes to the Florida (or Federal) Supreme Court…this technicality should not be allowed as a reason to dismiss a case….Only in Florida!!

  2. Celia Pugliese says

    June 16, 2024 at 8:22 am

    I do no believe this loop hole. Just give the authority to every cop anywhere to give a breath analyzer test when found justified and make it valid anywhere, by the Tallahassee lawmakers! Jeez! Stop tiding up the hands of our law enforcement in these cases! Is for all our safety! I know a family devastated here in Flagler County when their beautiful young lady daughter killed by drunk driver. They never really recovered! Justice should be for all not only for some!

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