Criminal law — Driving under influence — Evidence — Scientific evidence — Breath test results — Daubert hearing on admissibility of breath test results from Intoxilyzer 8000 is not necessary where both Florida Legislature and Florida Department of Law Enforcement have determined that methodology and results of Intoxilyzer 8000 tests are reliable and admissible

STATE OF FLORIDA, Plaintiff, v. CHARLES ANTHONY YOUNG, Defendant. County Court, 18th Judicial Circuit in and for Seminole County. Case No. 59-2021-CT-4042-A. April 1, 2025. Debra Krause, Judge.

ORDER ON MOTION FOR DAUBERT HEARING

THIS CAUSE came before this Court upon the Defendant’s Motion for Daubert Hearing filed September 7, 2023 and the State’s Response to Defendant’s Motion for Daubert Hearing and Request to Deny Motion Without Hearing filed on February 7, 2025¹ and the Court having reviewed the pleadings, the relevant case law and the applicable statutes and rules makes the following finds of fact and conclusions of law:

In 2019, the Florida Supreme Court adopted Florida Statute §90.702 of the Florida Rules of Evidence which adopted the standard for admissibility of scientific evidence created in Daubert v. Merrel Dow Pharmaceuticals. Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993).

Daubert substantially altered the evidence landscape concerning the admissibility of scientific evidence and testimony. Prior to Daubert, scientific evidence, to be admissible, only had to meet the standard announced in Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir 1923). The Frye standard allowed scientific evidence to be admissible if it was generally accepted in the scientific community without any regard for the reliability of the evidence. After Daubert, scientific evidence is admissible only if the testimony will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence and it meets a three prong test set forth in in rule 702.² The three prong test is:

1. The testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data;

2. The testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and

3. The witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.

Additionally, the Daubert Standard requires that the Court be the “gatekeeper” to determine if the evidence will assist the trier of fact and whether it meets the three prong test and is thereby admissible. However, the Court, as the “gatekeeper” is not mandated to hold a hearing in every case that a Daubert hearing is requested. For example, if the Court finds the Motion for a Daubert hearing legally insufficient then the Court need not hold a hearing. See Booker v. Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, 166 So. 3d 189, 193 (Fla. 1st DCA) [40 Fla. L. Weekly D1291c]. Another exception which does not require the Court to hold a hearing is rooted in the concept of judicial notice. A trial court need not hold a hearing “if the expect testimony has been deemed reliable by an appellate court” Booker, 166 So. 3d at 194. This Court has found no Florida appellate case finding the Intoxilyzer 8000 either reliable or unreliable. However, this Court believes, based on the principle of comity, another exception to the requirement to hold a Daubert hearing is based upon a court taking judicial notice that another branch of government has already determined the reliability of expert testimony. This Court takes judicial notice that the Florida Legislature by enacting Florida Statutes 316.1932 through 316.1934 determined that the methodology used by the Intoxilzyer 8000 is reliable and admissible.³

As it relates to Breath Tests in Florida, the Legislature has lawfully delegated, pursuant to a statutory scheme, the ability to establish the procedures to determine whether a particular method of infrared light test to determine the alcohol content of a person’s breath is reliable and whether a particular breath instrument using this method is reliable to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), a department within Florida’s Executive Branch. As such, the courts of this state should rely on this determination of reliability as it relates to the admissibility of evidence. FDLE has complied with its statutory duty and established procedures to determine whether infrared spectroscopy and a particular instrument using infrared spectroscopy is reliable. Then FDLE applied those procedures and determined that infrared spectroscopy and a particular instrument, the Intoxilyzer 8000, are reliable. Additionally, FDLE established procedures to ensure that a particular test, utilizing the Intoxilyzer 8000, is reliable. Defense argued that even when all the FDLE procedures are followed, there are discrepancies in the results. Therefore, the methodology cannot be reliable. The Court acknowledges that there has been a statistically insignificant amount of discrepancies in results, some attributable to the subject (defendant) and some without explanation. However, these discrepancies go to the weight of the evidence not the reliability and admissibility of the evidence.

This Court takes judicial notice that both Florida’s Legislative Branch and Florida’s Executive Branch have determined that the methodology and results of the Intoxilyzer 8000 are reliable and admissible, therefore concludes that a Daubert hearing is not necessary.

Therefore, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED:

That the Defendant Motion for a Daubert Hearing is DENIED.

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¹In deciding the issue of whether a Daubert hearing is required, the Court need not address the argument in the State’s response that rule 702 does not apply as the State is not offering expert witness testimony subject to rule 702. For the purposes of this order, the Court assumes, without deciding the issue, that the results of the breath test are based upon expert witness testimony.

²For the purposes of this opinion, when referring to rule of evidence 702, the Court is referring to the Florida version of 702 found in Florida Statute 90.702.

³Most simply stated, the Intoxilyzer 8000 is an instrument (diagnostic tool) that uses infrared light absorption to measure breath alcohol concentration, analyzing the amount of infrared light absorbed by alcohol molecules in a breath sample.