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Why Florida’s Intoxilyzer 8000 Can Overstate a Breath Test Result

If you were just arrested for DUI and the Intoxilyzer 8000 reported a breath alcohol level over .08, it’s easy to feel trapped by the number. Many people assume the machine must be right. But the Intoxilyzer does not measure alcohol in your blood. It estimates alcohol concentration from your breath using assumptions about clean […]

January 29, 2026

Intoxilyzer 8000 Problems – Lack of Substantial Compliance Cases in Florida

The best way to win a DUI breath test case occurs when the court excludes the breath test affidavit. On April 28, 2023, the Honorable Mary Catherine Green, County Judge in Lakeland, FL, granted a motion to exclude our client’s breath test after we alleged the machine did not substantially comply with the administrative rules. […]

January 24, 2024

Leslie Sammis Delivers Case Law Update at The Florida Bar Masters of DUI 2023 Seminar

What happens if the police officer cannot remember anything about a portion of a criminal investigation? For example, in many driving under the influence (DUI) cases in Florida, the arresting officer has difficulty remembering how the subject did on…

June 22, 2023

Florida’s DUI Diversion Pilot Program

In 2018, Florida had 43,725 criminal violations for DUI. As a way to discourage recidivism in DUI cases, make the system more fair for those arrested, and protect the public, the Florida Legislature is considering creating a state-wide statutory diversion program for DUI cases. The goal of protecting the public is best accomplished by discouraging […]

February 4, 2020

Should I take the breath test or refuse?

People sometimes ask: “If I get arrested for DUI, should I take the breath test or refuse?” The answer is: “It depends.” With recent changes in DUI law, a person should keep these things in mind. Florida’s Intoxilyzer 8000 Machines are Really Old Florida’s Intoxilyzer 8000 machines were put into service in 2006. As the […]

July 1, 2019

DHSMV Training 2017

According to the Florida Impaired Driving Coalition (FIDC) Meeting Report from August 24-25, 2017, Kathy Jimenez-Morales indicated that the BAR Class on administrative suspensions was available in an online format that could be provided to officers at the upcoming FDOT Law Enforcement Challenge. Kathy Jimenez-Morales is the Chief Counsel of Driver Licenses with the DHSMV Office […]

September 22, 2018

14 Ways to Win a Formal Review Hearing

Should you demand a formal review hearing after a DUI arrest in Florida? For anyone who can afford to hire an attorney to contest the administrative suspension, the benefits of demanding the formal review hearing often outweigh any potential downside. Let’s start with the fact that there are fourteen (14) different ways to win a […]

July 15, 2018

Is the DHSMV Training Officers on How To “Win” the Formal Review Hearing?

Congrats to Lee Lockett, a DUI defense attorney in Jacksonville Beach, FL. I cut and paste below an important ruling he just obtained after filing a petition for a writ of certiorari against the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV). The ruling is important for two reasons. First, it points out the problem […]

June 22, 2018

Tampa’s Central Breath Testing (CBT) Unit Compromised

After a DUI arrest in Hillsborough County, FL, you will be taken to a room at the Central Breath Testing (CBT) unit located within the Orient Road Jail in Tampa, FL, and asked to submit to a breath test on an Intoxilyzer 8000. For the breath test result to be admissible at trial, certain rules […]

March 24, 2018