State v. Bender
The State appealed a county court order suppressing a DUI defendant's pre-arrest statements and suppressing her arrest for lack of probable cause. The Fourth District reversed, holding that the officer's failure to immediately give Miranda warnings when the crash investigation transitioned into a DUI investigation did not render the defendant's subsequent on-scene and transport statements per se inadmissible, because she was not yet in custody under Berkemer v. McCarty. The court also held the trial court erred by suppressing the arrest itself since the defendant's motion never challenged the legality of the arrest, depriving the State of notice.
Key facts
- Defendant was involved in a vehicle crash and was questioned by a law enforcement officer who transitioned from investigating the accident to investigating potential DUI.
- The defendant made pre-arrest statements during the on-scene investigation and during transport, and performed field sobriety exercises without receiving Miranda warnings.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This opinion reinforces that Florida courts apply the fact-specific Berkemer custody analysis to DUI roadside encounters rather than a bright-line rule requiring Miranda warnings the moment an officer announces a shift… — full analysis with a trial
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