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State2/11/2004
icating substance. If the suspect refuses the breath test, his or her driver's license is suspended for at least one year.
The DHSMV hearing officer who reviewed Possati's case was limited to reviewing (1) whether the arresting officer had probable cause to believe Possati was driving while intoxicated, (2) whether Possati was placed under lawful arrest for driving while intoxicated, (3) whether Possati refused to submit to a breath test requested by the officer, and (4) whether, when he refused the test, he was given the proper warning that his license would be suspended. See § 322.2615, Fla. Stat. (2001). The third and fourth points were undisputed and answered affirmatively by the record.
Thus, the sole question before us is whether the record reflects that the arresting officer had probable cause to believe that Possati was driving while intoxicated. A finding of probable cause would be dispositive of both the first and second points above. See D'Agostino v. State, 310 So. 2d 12, 15 (Fla. 1975)(" n order to make a valid arrest probable cause must exist prior thereto.").
"Probable cause" is "a reasonable ground of suspicion supported by circumstances strong enough in themselves to warrant a cautious person in belief that the named suspect is guilty of the offense charged." Johnson v. State, 660 So. 2d 648, 654 (Fla. 1995). Probable cause for a DUI arrest must arise from facts and circumstances that show a probability that a driver is impaired by alcohol or has an unlawful amount of alcohol in his system. State v. Kliphouse, 771 So. 2d 16, 22 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); see also § 316.193(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2001).
Possati argues that the smell of alcohol on his breath alone was insufficient to constitute probable cause. See Kliphouse, 771 So. 2d at 23. This, however, was not the sole basis for a probable cause determination in this case. In combination, the smell of alcohol on Possati's breath, his observably bloodshot and watery eyes, and, most significantly, the uncontested fact that he had just crashed his car into a parked police vehicle, were more than sufficient to establish probable cause for a lawful DUI arrest by the arresting officer. Therefore, Possati's refusal to take a breath test, under the plain language of the statute, justified the suspension of his driver's license. Accordingly, no inquiry into the admissibility of Officer Abad's testimony or police report was needed. The hearing officer had competent, substantial evidence for sustaining the suspension of Possati's driving privilege in Officer St. Surin's testimony without even considering the testimony of Officer Abad.
Thus, we conclude that the circuit court departed from the essential requirements of law by not following the clearly established dictates of the statute, which, under the facts of this case, are dispositive of the issue of Possati's license suspension. Instead, the circuit court seemingly went astray in its analysis by addressing possible due process violations regarding testimony that was wholly unnecessary for a probable cause determination. In so doing, the court made Possati exempt from the requirements of the DUI statute without any legal basis for doing so. That, we think, was a manifest injustice.
We therefore vacate our earlier denial and grant DHSMV's petition for writ of certiorari quashing the circuit court's decision. We remand to the circuit court with directions that the respondent's driver's license be suspended forthwith for his refusal to submit to the breathalyzer test.
Petition for writ of certiorari granted.
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