Refusal to Submit to DUI Testing (Criminal Refusal)

In Jacksonville, Florida, not only can a driver be charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI), but he or she may also be charged with Criminal Refusal if he or she refuses

Criminal Refusal/Refusal to Submit to Testing (Fla. Stat. ß 316.1939):

• For the crime of criminal refusal, the following must be present:
  1. The law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that the defendant was driving while under the influence to the extent that he or she was impaired.
  2. The law enforcement officer arrested the defendant for driving while under the influence (unless a blood test was properly requested without an arrest, see Florida Statute 316.1932(1)(c)).
  3. The defendant was informed that:
     1. a refusal would result in his or her driver license being suspended for one year for a first refusal or 18 months or a second or subsequent refusal, and
     2. if this was a second or subsequent refusal to submit to testing, he or she could be charged with a misdemeanor.
  4. The defendant refused to submit to testing.
  5. The defendant driving privilege had been previously suspended for refusing to submit to testing.
• Criminal Refusal is a first degree misdemeanor.