Just after midnight in June 2024, police in Sag Harbor, New York stopped Justin Timberlake after they said he ran a stop sign and drifted out of his lane. The officer reported the smell of alcohol, bloodshot and glassy eyes, slow speech, and a poor showing on the field sobriety tests. Timberlake told the officer he had one martini and was following his friends home, then refused the breathalyzer three times. He was charged with DWI, and months later he pleaded down to driving while ability impaired, a non-criminal violation in New York, with a fine, community service, and a 90-day license suspension.
The interesting part for Florida drivers is the refusal. People assume that turning down the breath test is the safe move. In Florida it is a fork in the road with real consequences on both sides. Here is how it works.
This is general commentary on a publicly reported, resolved case. It is not legal advice, and The Safir Lawyer does not represent Mr. Timberlake.
One drink is not the test
The “I only had one” line is common, and it misses how the law works. A Florida DUI does not turn on how many drinks you had. It turns on whether your normal faculties were impaired, or whether your alcohol level was 0.08 or higher. That is why the officer’s notes about the eyes, the balance, and the field sobriety exercises matter so much in a refusal case. With no breath number, those subjective observations become the heart of the State’s proof, and they are very much open to challenge.
Refusing the breath test in Florida
Florida’s implied consent law says that by driving you have already agreed to a breath, urine, or blood test if you are lawfully arrested for DUI. Refuse, and your license is suspended for a year on a first refusal, eighteen months if you have refused before. That suspension happens through the DMV side of the case, separate from the criminal charge, and it moves fast.
The refusal can be used against you
Refusing is not a silent exit either. Florida lets the State tell the jury that you refused the test and argue that you did it because you knew you were impaired. There are good answers to that argument, confusion, bad instructions, fear, a medical issue, but you should know going in that the refusal becomes part of the story the prosecutor tells.
And a second refusal is its own crime
Here is the part that surprises people. In Florida, if you have refused testing before and lost your license over it, a second refusal is not just a DMV problem. It is a separate criminal charge, a misdemeanor that rides on top of the DUI. So the refusal that feels like the cautious choice can add a charge rather than avoid one.
Even with a refusal, cases come down
Timberlake refused and still pleaded to a lesser, non-criminal offense. New York calls that lesser charge driving while ability impaired. Florida has no exact match, but it reaches similar ground by reducing a DUI to reckless driving or routing a first case into diversion. A refusal makes a case harder for the defense in some ways and harder for the State in others, since there is no number to anchor the impairment. It complicates the fight. It does not end it.
What this means in Florida
If you are stopped for DUI in Florida, the choice to blow or refuse is one of the most consequential calls you will make, and it is a bad one to make alone at the roadside. Whichever way it went, the case is still built on the stop, the field tests, and the procedure, and every one of those is contestable. That is the ground I work.
Charged with a DUI in the Tampa Bay area?
Whether you blew or refused, a DUI case is still built on the stop and the testing, and both can be challenged. Let’s look at yours.
About the author
Rory Safir is one of a handful of ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in Florida, an NHTSA qualified field sobriety instructor, and a former Assistant Public Defender in Tampa. He trained on the same gas chromatography instruments the State labs use, which is why he reads breath and blood evidence the way an analyst does.
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Common Questions
What happens if I refuse a breath test in Florida?
Refusing triggers a driver license suspension, a year on a first refusal and eighteen months if you have refused before. The refusal can also be used against you as evidence, and a second refusal is a separate crime.
Is saying I only had one drink a defense to DUI?
No. A Florida DUI turns on whether your normal faculties were impaired or whether your alcohol level was 0.08 or higher, not on how many drinks you say you had.
Can the prosecutor tell the jury I refused the test?
Yes. Florida allows the State to introduce a refusal and argue it shows consciousness of guilt. There are ways to explain a refusal, but you should expect it to be part of the case.
Can a DUI still be reduced if I refused testing?
Yes. A refusal complicates a case but does not doom it. Without a number, the State leans on subjective observations, and a reduction to reckless driving or a diversion program may still be possible.