A Florida appeals court says that urine tests are a reliable barometer of whether a driver was using drugs, reports the Miami Herald. The order cheered prosecutors who had been blocked from introducing evidence that defendants were driving erratically because of drugs in their system. The issue will be decided by the Florida Supreme Court.
Another Florida appellate court ruled in October 2002 that the urine tests could not be used because testing procedures aren’t regulated. Yesterday, a court in West Palm Beach ruled differently, telling judges not to discard urine test results.
Defense attorneys were critical. “I can’t understand a decision that would uphold the use of scientific evidence that has no standards,” said Richard Essen, a lawyer in a Miami-based firm that specializes in DUI defense. Miami attorney Robert Reiff, author of Drunk Driving and Related Vehicular Offenses, said, “Urine has no place in a DUI case. Why are we using a waste product to determine present impairment when all it shows is past impairment?”