I'm sorry, I have no idea where I'm at. So, you're drunk. No. You can just go to jail now. No, no, no. I'm not GOING TO JAIL. STOP. PLEASE STOP. ON FEBRUARY 16TH, 2025, Lake City Police Department stopped a woman doing 80 mph in a 45 zone in Columbia County, Florida. She admitted visiting a bar, left her license and registration there, and refused to cooperate. How's it going? Good. How are you? Great. My name is Officer Is there a reason you're driving way over the posted speed limit? I honestly have no idea where I'm at. So, you're drunk. No, no, no. I'm not at all. I'm I live in Tampa. Okay, so the speed limit back there is 45. I was doing 80 and I wasn't even catching up to you. You were gone. Oh, really? Yes. So, right now I'm going to ask you to step out of the vehicle. Do you have a driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance? Yes, I do. And you clearly smell of alcohol. Driver's license. Registration and proof of insurance. Probably got a 10-31 going on. Huh? you at 50, I flipped around and all of a sudden she bolted. Yeah. I've asked you for your registration, proof of insurance. How did I bolt? Cuz when I turned around, you weren't doing You were doing 50 mile an hour when I turned around, and then you were gone. Straight up, just gone. Well, I Honestly, I don't know where I I live in Tampa, so I don't know where like And your slurring your speech, you smell of alcohol. Step out of the vehicle. Ma'am, I'm not going to ask you again. You're going to step out of the vehicle, or I'm going to take you out of this vehicle. Walk back to the car. What's going on? What are you guys doing? You guys are driving way over the speed limit. I'm not driving. I know you're not. Let's see your hand. They're bottles of lotion, I guess I got them out here. Um let me hear this. I've asked you for your registration, proof of insurance, like three times. Okay. So, where are you guys heading to? I'm heading to my parents' house in Apollo Beach Lake. Where are y'all coming from? Apollo Beach Lake is way over there. I know. But I I just had cornea transplant in my eye, so it's really hard for me to see through this one eye so bright. So, that doesn't If you can't drive at night, you shouldn't be driving at night. I'm happy to send a letter to the DMV to take away your license. If you can't drive at night, you should not be driving. I know, but I I can't I can't help my situation. So, you smell of alcohol. Straight up, just going to be breathalyzed. I was at a bar, but Well, I can tell. >> Yeah. I can absolutely tell. I initially thought you were doing 50 mph. I have a And when I turned around, you were gone. I have no idea. My car was recording. And I was doing 80 mph trying to catch you. >> because I have no idea. So, it doesn't matter at this point. So, now I'm going to ask you to do some sobriety exercises. Okay, I I can't do whatever you're going to pull out with your flashlight. I can't do that with my eye. I can't Why not? I just had a cornea transplant. Like, what do you not understand? >> So, are you refusing to There's more than just the eye. No, there's not. You cannot do that. >> You can just go to jail. >> No, no, no. I'm not going to jail. Stop. It's okay. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Just The transplant. Just relax. And I said there's more exercises than your eyes. And you said no, clearly. No, I won't do them. >> eyes. I won't do it. I will do whatever you want. Just calm down. Just relax for a second. Relax. Right now, you're in this position because you want to be. No, I don't. I want to I want to relax, but I'm just saying I can't do anything with my Lower your feet. And I said there's more exercises And I said there's more exercises. Okay, and I will do them. >> told me no. No, I said I will do them. >> You just told me no. No, I said I can't No, I cannot do anything with flashlight. I said Stop. Tell me your situation. What's my situation? Why did Her taillight What? Because she's resisting. I'M NOT RESISTING. I'M NOT RESISTING. I I CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITH MY EYES AND A FLASHLIGHT. I just had a goddamn trampoline. LET ME OUT OF HERE. You're mine. And ma'am, you said that and I said okay. Ma'am, I said And I said I would I would say I would do everything. I would I would do everything. I said I would do it and now you're slamming to my car. Well, we tried to put you in HANDCUFFS OUT HERE. WHAT? You didn't. Because you said no. No, I said I will do everything. I will, but I cannot do anything with flashlights to my eyeballs. >> there's more exercises you Okay, AND I SAID I WOULD DO IT AND NOW NO, NO, NO. I SAID I would do it and now you're happy handcuffs. Please take me out. >> No. No. You need to calm down. So, let's look at me. Ma'am. I mean I'll do anything like a goddamn So, calm down and take a deep breath, all right? Okay, but like I'm just telling you I can't do anything with flashlights in my eyes. You explained that to me and I said okay. And I said I would do that. Hold on. I said there's more exercises >> And I said I would do that. No, you said no. >> No, I said I would do that. I would say no. No, I said no to flashlights to my eyeballs because it it's going to hurt my eyeballs. The stop is constitutionally sound. Under Florida statute 316.183, exceeding the posted limit is a traffic infraction sufficient probable cause under Warren versus United States. Once the officer detected alcohol odor and slurred speech, Illinois versus Caballes authorized extending the stop into a full DUI investigation. No Fourth Amendment violation here. Under Pennsylvania versus Mimms, the order to exit the vehicle is automatic and non-negotiable during any lawful traffic stop. Refusal to comply is not a legal option. It immediately elevates the encounter and opens the door to Florida Statute 843.02, resisting without violence. The corneal transplant claim is legally significant but narrow. NHTSA's standardized FST manual requires officers to screen for medical conditions before administering horizontal gaze nystagmus because eye surgery can produce nystagmus independent of alcohol impairment. A valid medical refusal covers that test only, not the walk and turn, not the one-leg stand. Refusing all three is not an accommodation. It is obstruction. At minute seven, the officer offered a voluntary roadside breath sample, legally distinct from the statutory implied consent demand. A portable breath test is voluntary and its results are not admissible as BAC evidence at trial under Florida law, though they can establish probable cause for arrest. Refusing this offer carries no automatic legal penalty. Hey, and I understand that this is curious. So, at this time I'm requesting a voluntary breath sample. It's 100% up to you. Man, I'm talking to you. If you don't want to talk to me, you're just going to go to jail, get charged with a DUI or refusal if you don't want to talk. Are you going to talk? >> You already read that in the affidavit. No, not yet. Yeah, now. I mean, that sounds good. Guys, we need a good job. So so listen to what he said. So I'm trying to ask you >> asked me anything but let me just like God. >> asked you >> Are you going to do anything damage to my car? I just asked you, will you give a voluntary breath sample? It's yes or no. It's 100% up to you. Why? When you guys are just being straight I didn't come here to take you to jail. That's not >> Yeah, pretty much you did. That's not at all why I came here. All I want to do is go back to my house. That is not even Hey, can I explain to What? So he's already explained to you but you did 80 something I have no idea. I'm not from around here. You did 80 something in a 45. Okay. So that's the question. Okay. You are slurring your words. Your Your eyes are bloodshot. How do you know my eyes are bloodshot? I have I have one contact in my eye and one contact's not in my eye. >> to Are you going to finish? No, you cannot say that my eyes are bloodshot because Let me read her her implied consent real quick. So >> But listen to him. You got to look at me. Ma'am. No, I'm good. Read my rights. No, so you're going to look at me while you I do this. >> No. Absolutely. Or you'll have a resisting charge on top of a DUI. Okay. Go on, baby. >> Come over here. Go on. Whatever you feel is needed. I'm now requesting that you submit to a lawful test of your breath or you perhaps for the purpose of determining its alcohol content and or the presence of chemical or controlled substances. I'm requesting you submit to a test of breath. Will you take this test? Yes or no? No. Okay. If you refuse to take the test I requested of you, your driving privilege will be suspended for a period of 1 year for a first refusal or 18 months if your driving privilege has been previously suspended for refusing to submit to a lawful test of your breath, urine, or blood. Additionally, if you refuse to take the test I requested of you, and if your driving privilege has been previously suspended for refusal to submit to a lawful test of your breath, urine, or blood, you will be committing a misdemeanor in addition to other penalties which can be imposed. Do you understand what I've just read to you? Yes, I do. Do you still refuse to submit to the test? >> Can you undo this and I'll do a breathalyzer? Do you still refuse to submit to the test? Yes or no? No, I'll do one, but will you So, the breathalyzer is at the jail. At the jail? Yes, we don't have breathalyzers in our car. Can you just please let me go home? No, you're drunk. You're I'm not letting you drive drunk. So, I'll take an >> you're going to Alligator Lake, which is real. You're in Lake City, they don't have Ubers hardly ever. No, you do. I I guarantee you do. Do you guys mind transporting? Do you guys mind transporting? I got the keys also. What's his name? Okay. You're just really drunk. I'm not even drunk. The formal demand triggers Florida statute 316.1932, the implied consent law. Any person operating a motor vehicle on Florida roads has already consented by law to an approved chemical test upon lawful DUI arrest. The officer's verbatim reading of the statutory warning satisfied the procedural prerequisite. Refusal results in a 1-year administrative license suspension independent of any criminal outcome. A second lifetime refusal is itself a separate misdemeanor under Birchfield versus North Dakota. Warrantless breath tests incident to a lawful DUI arrest are constitutionally permissible. The subject's Fifth Amendment rights do not apply. Here breath is physical evidence, not testimony per Schmerber versus California. There is no constitutional basis to refuse a post-arrest breath test. The subject's late reversal agreeing to test after her initial refusal does not erase the refusal under Florida law. Florida courts have held the refusal is legally recorded at the moment it is made. The administrative suspension stands regardless of any subsequent cooperation. The officer receives a B+. The stop, the DUI investigation, the implied consent procedure, and the use of force were all legally justified and procedurally correct. The deduction threatening arrest before fully explaining non-ocular test alternatives was premature and unnecessarily escalated the encounter. The subject receives a C+. The corneal transplant was a legitimate narrow medical defense, but it was buried under categorical refusals and physical non-compliance that satisfied the elements of resisting without violence. A valid partial defense was converted into additional criminal exposure. Three takeaways. First, a medical condition exempts you from a specific incompatible test, not the entire FST battery. Cooperate with what you can, challenge the rest in court. Second, implied consent is not a Miranda right. Refusing a post-arrest breath test guarantees a license suspension and eliminates your best opportunity to prove sobriety. Third, the roadside is the wrong place to win a legal argument. Comply with lawful orders, then fight the charge where the rules favor you. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic you would like us to discuss in the comments below. Thank you for watching.