Defend Your Florida DUI Urine Test Results

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A Florida law enforcement officer may request a urine test when a breath test returns at .08 or less. The officer may also be looking for evidence of substances in the blood such as marijuana, cocaine or other narcotics as well as prescription or non-prescription drugs. However, these tests may be proven unreliable or inaccurate. Your Florida DUI lawyer may determine that this evidence should be challenged as inadmissible or that the urine test is a weak link in the prosecutor’s case that can be used in your favor.

Most people do not realize that they are automatically providing consent to the State of Florida to submit to a chemical test when they drive on Florida roads.  Florida’s  "Implied Consent Law" requires individuals suspected of Driving While Intoxicated by alcohol or drugs to submit to chemical testing of their urine, breath or blood.

After you have been arrested for suspicion of DUI, Florida state laws give law enforcement officers the authority to request submission to a urine test.  Refusal to submit to urine or other chemical tests triggers automatic punishments and consequences for refusing to submit to testing.

In the State of Florida, a urine test is typically requested if a subject is suspected of Driving Under The Influence but blows under the legal limit.  A urine test is also ordered when the subject has physical impairments or the breath test equipment is non-functional or otherwise unavailable.  If you blew under the legal limit but were required to submit a urine sample, your license is not necessarily suspended since the lab (and depending on results) will take 2-4 months to test and report the results of your urine sample to the Florida DMV.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement does the testing then submits the results in a report to the arresting agency.  If FDLE finds any chemicals or alcohol in the urine sample, it is up to the arresting agency to decide whether or not they will pursue the administrative hearing or driver’s license suspension.  You will receive notification or a copy of your citation giving you notice of your driver’s license suspension.

The urine tests used in the State of Florida have the ability to detect trace amounts of the following substances:

1. Illegal narcotics such as cocaine, heroin and marijuana
2. Prescription controlled substances such as Codeine or Hydrocodone Common over-the-counter medications like cough medicine

Urine tests are not designed to measure the level of intoxication and cannot accurately pinpoint the exact time in which the alcohol or narcotics were consumed.  An experienced Florida DUI lawyer will likely retain a qualified pharmacological expert or toxicology expert to assist your DUI defense attorney in explaining the problems with the test results at pre-trial motions or during your trial.

Problems The Prosecution Has To Address With Urine Test Evidence

1. DUI urine tests are the least scientifically reliable
2. Inability to measure Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) levels
3. Inability to prove drug “intoxication” or impairment
4. False positives results

Urine tests are a very unreliable method for the prosecution to prove intoxication or impairment.  Urine tests are susceptible to human error and contamination which will make the resulting false positive urinalysis result inadmissible in a lot of Florida DUI cases.  Moreover, the use of strict procedural protocol is hard to prove.  If challenged by an experienced Florida DUI lawyer, urine tests often can be successfully excluded as inadmissible at trial.
Florida DUI lawyers understand that any admission of a urine test will be prejudicial to your defense.  This is because it allows the jury to become aware of a defendant’s past drug use which by itself may convince a jury that the defendant is guilty regardless of whether or not the test failed to prove impaired driving.

If you have been arrested and charged with a DUI and have submitted a urinalysis, call our 24/7 Florida DUI helpline at (800) 687-2252 to speak with an attorney.  All phone calls are answered 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  You may also search our Florida DUI Lawyer directory for a local Florida DUI attorney to discuss your case (by appointment only).