State of Florida v. Jeffrey McShane Hart

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: May 22, 2026
• Docket: 6D2024-2164
• Status: Published

Opinion

SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________

Case No. 6D2024-2164 Lower Tribunal No. 2024-CT-300001 _____________________________

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellant,

v.

JEFFREY MCSHANE HART,

Appellee. _____________________________

Appeal from the County Court for Orange County. Cherish Adams, Judge.

May 22, 2026

SMITH, J.

The State of Florida appeals from an order granting Jeffrey McShane Heart’s

motion to suppress evidence of his refusal to submit to a breath test. Both parties

below and on appeal concede that the facts here mirror those faced by this Court in

State v. Repple, 49 Fla. L. Weekly D1296 (Fla. 6th DCA June 14, 2024), quashed

by State v. Repple, 428 So. 3d 59 (Fla. 2025), where this Court upheld the

suppression finding that the “arresting [municipal] officer lacked authority to request

the test and that the test was therefore invalid because the test was administered outside the [municipality].” 428 So. 3d at 61. Within a few months of the parties

filing of their briefs, the Florida Supreme Court quashed this Court’s decision,

holding that Florida’s implied consent law 1 authorized a municipal officer’s request

for submission to a breath test outside of the municipality. Id. The State filed a

notice of supplemental authority in this case on February 27, 2026, attaching the

Florida Supreme Court’s State v. Repple decision. Because neither party has sought

to submit any additional briefing on this matter, it appears that both parties recognize

the clear effect of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision here. Accordingly, pursuant

to the holding of State v. Repple, 428 So. 3d 59 (Fla. 2025), we reverse the trial

court’s suppression of Hart’s refusal to submit to a breath test and remand for further

proceedings consistent with this opinion.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

TRAVER, C.J., and PRATT, J., concur.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Richard A. Pallas, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.

Ashley D. Parker, of Lindsey, Ferry & Parker, P.A., Maitland, for Appellee.

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED

1 § 316.1932(1)(a)1.a., Fla. Stat. (2020).