DUI Urine Test in Pinellas
If you were arrested for DUI in Pinellas County, FL, you might be asked to submit to a urine test to determine whether any controlled substances were present in your urine.
What happens if you refuse a urine test after providing a breath sample? If your breath test reading is below .08, the arresting officer might request a urine test. If you submit to a breath test but refuse to submit to the urine test, you might still be subjected to:
- an administrative suspension for the refusal with the Bureau of Administrative Review in Clearwater, FL; or
- a charge for the substantive offense of a second or subsequent refusal if DAVID reveals a prior refusal on your driving record.
As a general rule, it might be better to always submit to a urine test, especially since the results of a urine test are rarely admissible at trial.
Attorney for the DUI with a Urine Test in Pinellas County, FL
An experienced criminal defense attorney at Sammis Law Firm can help you fight a DUI urine test case in the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pinellas County.
The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm have an in Clearwater near the CJC Courthouse. Visit our office at 14010 Roosevelt Blvd Suite 701, Clearwater, FL 33762-3820. Our office is in the same office complex as the Bureau of Administrative Review (BAR) office.
If you were arrested for DUI in Pinellas County, FL, contact us for a free and confidential consultation.
Call 727-210-7004.
DUI Urine Test – Section 316.1932(1)(a)1.b.
Florida Statute Section 316.1932(1)(a)1.b., provides:
“The urine test must be incidental to a lawful arrest and administered at a detention facility or any other facility, mobile or otherwise, which is equipped to administer such tests at the request of a law enforcement officer who has reasonable cause to believe such person was driving or was in actual physical control of a motor vehicle within this state while under the influence of chemical substances or controlled substances.
The urine test shall be administered at a detention facility or any other facility, mobile or otherwise, which is equipped to administer such test in a reasonable manner that will ensure the accuracy of the specimen and maintain the privacy of the individual involved.”
To be admissible at trial under this statutory provision, the Urine Test must be incidental to a lawful arrest. If the law enforcement officer asks for a Urine Test prior to arresting the Defendant for DUI, then the test may be held to be inadmissible at trial.
The arresting officer is trained to make sure the probable cause affidavit and narrative section of the police report clearly indicate that the arrest occurred prior to the breath request.
The officer requesting the urine sample must have reasonable cause to believe such a person was driving while under the influence of chemical substances or controlled substances. The courts in Florida have found that the term “reasonable cause” equates to “probable cause.”
Read more about DUI tests in Clearwater, Pinellas County, FL.
How Long to Get the DUI Urine Test Results?
After the submission, the State Attorney’s Office should have the results back within two months if the sample was sent for analysis to the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory at 10900 Ulmerton Road, Largo, FL 33778.
Pinellas County often uses its own lab instead of sending the sample to the crime lab at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The lab will test the results sooner if one of the following circumstances occurs:
- the pending DUI is a felony charge;
- there was a traffic accident related to the submission; and
- the subject is the driver.
The request for the toxicological analysis also requires written disclosure of whether suspected controlled substances were confiscated and whether the subject admitted to using any drugs.
Where needed, either the prosecutor or a criminal defense attorney can send the specimens to an approved external laboratory for additional analyses. Also, if the BAC level exceeds 0.100 g/dl then the drug analysis will not usually be performed.
The typical analysis performed is a basic drug screen with GC-MS Confirmation and LE3-LE Immunoassay Drug Screen for:
- amphetamines;
- benzadiazepines;
- cannabinoids;
- carisoprodol;
- cocaine metabolites;
- fentayl metabolites and analogs;
- methamphetamine / MDMA;
- methadeon metabolites; and
- opiates.
The lab will also perform analyses for a “Carboxy-THC Screen and Confirmation.” The most common substance found during the urine test is “11-Nor-delta-9-carboxy-THC” which is the inactive metabolite found in the urine sometimes days or weeks after it is consumed.
Unless other arrangements are made, blood or urine specimens will be discarded after the minimum two-year retention period ends. Drug analyses and reporting are limited to identifiable controlled substances as defined by FSS 893 and 877.
The lab also issues lab reports with the blood alcohol results for specimens collected and/or analyzed in accordance with Florida Administrative Code 11D. Blood drug quantitation will be done upon request by the State Attorney’s Office. There is no correlation between urine and blood concentration, and therefore, no quantitations will be performed on urine specimens.
The three types of drug classes included in the respective immunoassay screens are specifically targeted in the analysis process:
- DUI Panel – LE3 (for cases with incident dates prior to 7/1/18)
- DUI Panel – LE5
- Non-DUI (includes sexual assault victim’s specimens).
The statistical confidence interval for drug concentrations established by in-house analysis is as follows:
- Ethanol ~ 99.7%
- All other quantitations ~ 95%
DUI specimens will be tested for GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) upon request and only if the date/time of collection is within 12 hours of the date/time of the incident and the suspect’s behavior or performance is consistent with GHB usage. Sexual assault victim’s specimens will routinely be tested for GHB if the date/time of collection is within 12 hours of the date/time of the incident.
Other drugs may be detected and/or identified using additional analytical techniques (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry).
Lab Report for Blood Alcohol used by the Forensic Lab in Pinellas County
The Laboratory Report for Blood Alcohol Analysis used by the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory typically records the following information:
- Lab Number:
- Request No.:
- Report Date:
- Request Date:
- Case Agency:
- Case Number:
- Subject:
- Item Descriptions
- Submission Date
- Analysis and Results
- Item 001-A: one (1) grey stoppered (potassium oxalate anticoagulant/sodium fluoride preservation) blood collection tube containing __ mL blood. Reported collection date/time:
- Item 001-B: one (1) grey stoppered (potassium oxalate anticoagulant/sodium fluoride preservation) blood collection tube containing __ mL blood. Reported collection date/time:
- Item 001-A: Volatiles quantitation by dual-column GC-FID
- Ethanol 0.??? g/dL
- Ethanol 0.??? g/dL
- Item 001-B: Volatiles quantitation by dual-column GC-FID
- Ethanol 0.??? g/dL
- Ethanol 0.??? g/dL
- Disposition
- Unless other arrangements are made, specimens will be destroyed after the minimum two-year retention period ends. Please contact the laboratory if an alternative disposition or additional retention is required.
- Certification
- This analyst certified that: he/she holds a valid Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Permit to Conduct Blood Alcohol Analyses; the submission documents and/or evidence items reflect the subject’s name that appears on this report; that these analyses were conducted, at a minimum, in duplicate in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 11D-8,
- Florida Administrative Code using a gas chromatographic method; and, that duplicate results agreed within 0.010 grams per 100 mL (i.e. g/dL).
- This report may be used in administrative proceedings pursuant to 322.2615, Florida Statutes. Forward within 5 days to the local Bureau of Administrative Reviews, Division of Driver’s Licences, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV).
This article was last updated on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.
