Suit claims Florida violates due-process rights of drunken driving suspects
A would-be class-action lawsuit filed on Wednesday accuses the state of Florida of violating the due process rights of drunken driving suspects.
The suit, filed on behalf of Alfredo Crespin of Winter Garden, challenges the state’s automatic suspension of driving privileges after a DUI arrest, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The suit was filed by Orlando lawyers David Oliver and Stuart Hyman.
According to the suit, arrestees who want to challenge a license suspension have to appeal to an employee of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Those employees rule against suspects 95 percent of the time in a process akin to a “kangaroo court,” the suit says.
Drunken driving suspects are allowed to apply for temporary licenses for business or employment purposes, part of a system in which the state collects $60 million a year from the suspects, the suit says.
