Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v. Begera
On second-tier certiorari, the Fifth DCA quashed a circuit court order that had overturned a driver's license suspension for refusal to submit to a breath/blood/urine test. The circuit court had relied on Trimble to find the documentary evidence 'hopelessly in conflict' regarding the timing of arrest versus refusal, but the Fifth DCA held the discrepancy was resolvable by other evidence in the record and thus the circuit court applied the incorrect law by effectively reweighing the evidence.
Key facts
- Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles suspended a driver's license for refusal to submit to a breath/blood/urine test following a DUI arrest.
- A hearing officer upheld the suspension, but the circuit court on first-tier certiorari review quashed the suspension, finding the documentary evidence regarding the timing of arrest versus refusal was hopelessly conflicting.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This decision clarifies the application of the Trimble 'coin-flip' standard in DUI implied-consent license suspension proceedings, an issue that recurs frequently in formal review hearings and circuit court certiorari… — full analysis with a trial
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