In DUI cases, the police generally observe a driver break some traffic law and then initiate a traffic stop. If the police officer claims to observe evidence that the driver is drunk or otherwise impaired, that officer will start a DUI investigation. However, the police officer in Florida does not have unlimited time to establish probable cause to make a DUI arrest. If there is an unnecessary and lengthy delay during this DUI investigation, further evidence of impairment can be suppressed.
In a DUI case just south of Jacksonville, Florida, a police officer stopped the defendant for failing to maintain his lane. The officer approached the defendant and determined that there was evidence that he was impaired from alcohol. For some reason, the first officer did not continue with any DUI investigation and called other officers to the scene. The next police officer to arrive did not have a video camera in his car so another officer was called. Twenty-five minutes after the initial stop, the officer who conducted the DUI investigation arrived to investigate the DUI. Three minutes later, he started his DUI investigation. Nothing was done during that time to advance the DUI investigation. The defendant was kept in his vehicle at the scene waiting for 28 minutes. After the DUI investigation was completed, the defendant was arrested for DUI.
The criminal defense lawyer filed a motion to suppress all of the evidence of the DUI investigation because the defendant was kept at the scene for an unreasonable period of time without evidence that he had committed a crime. That evidence did not come until at least 28 minutes after the initial traffic stop. The court agreed and suppressed the evidence. There is no bright line rule in Florida which says how long the police can keep a DUI suspect at the scene. It depends on the circumstances of the case- for instance, the reason for the delay, how much evidence the police have of DUI at each stage of the process and the length of the delay. However, in this case, there did not appear to be a legitimate reason for the delay to start the DUI investigation so 28 minutes was considered too long of a detention. If the detention is unreasonably lengthy, it is unlawful, and if it is unlawful, evidence obtained during that detention is not admissible.