Under Florida law, although you do have the constitutional right to refuse a DUI breath test, you can also lose your right to drive in Okaloosa County and Walton County based on the refusal to submit.
Your constitutional right is that you cannot be compelled to incriminate yourself by submitting to a breath test.
However, in Florida, you do not have a constitutional right to drive on the state highways. That is considered a privilege, and therefore subject to administrative restrictions.
In the Intoxilyzer room, after a stop for DUI, the cop will tell you that if you refuse the test, you automatically lose your driver’s license for a year. However, that is not exactly true.
If the suspension is upheld, your could lose your full, unrestricted driver’s license to one year, but on a first offense DUI, you could still be allowed to obtain a permit to drive for hardship or business purposes, which includes driving to and from work or school.
If you refused a DUI breath test in Okaloosa County, Walton County, Fort Walton Beach or Destin, speak to an attorney as soon as possible.
Call me at (850) 362-6655 for a free consultation.
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Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547
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Destin, FL 32541
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