268) FL’s Accident Report Privilege and DUI Cases ~

Описание: FL’s Accident Report Privilege and DUI Cases?

If you’re involved in a traffic crash in FL then you’re required by statute to give information about the accident to the investigating police officer. You must provide your name, address, license number, insurance and registration documents, and you also need to provide a statement about the accident itself to law enforcement.

In any case, DUI or not, in order to make sure that compliance with your accident reporting obligation doesn’t violate your 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, the FL Legislature enacted F.S. 316.066(4), the Accident Report Privilege, which essentially designates any and all of your statements about the accident to be "privileged" - or inadmissible - during any subsequent hearing or trial. So the Accident Report Privilege grants immunity to any person making a statement during the course of a traffic crash investigation.

In order for any of your statements to be admissible in a subsequent DUI case you must have first been informed that the accident investigation is over and a criminal investigation has begun... we refer to this as the officer “changing hats”.

To be admissible the cop has to say something along the lines of "the accident investigation is over and I am now beginning a criminal investigation for DUI." Further, if they wanna be sure that your statement is admissible then they’re gonna have to read you Miranda.

Also the accident report privilege only applies to statements; it doesn’t effect a cop’s ability to testify as to their observations (like smelling alcohol on your breath or your being unsteady), and it has no bearing on the results or admissibility of field sobriety or breath tests.

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