The Defendant was seen driving a black Chevrolet Cavalier at 77 mph in a 50 mph zone. A Deputy stopped the vehicle and made contact with the Defendant. The Defendant was observed to have red watery eyes, slurred speech and odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath. The Deputy requested the Defendant perform field sobriety exercises, which he complied. On the walk and turn test, the Defendant could not keep his balance while listening to instructions, started the test before told to do so, did not touch heel to toe 3 times, lost his balance during the turn and took an incorrect number of steps. On the One leg stand test, the Defendant swayed while balancing and used his arms for balance. During the follow the pen test the Defendant exhibited all 6 possible clues indicating impairment. The Defendant was placed under arrest for DUI. A search of the Defendant revealed 2 hand rolled cigarettes in his right front pocket. The green leafy substance contained in the cigarettes tested positive for marijuana. An open 750ml bottle of vodka was also found in the Defendant’s vehicle. The Defendant was charged with DUI, possession of marijuana, open container and speeding. Results: The DUI charge was dropped along with the open container and speeding citations. A negotiated plea was reached regarding the marijuana charge which required the Defendant to only have to pay the court costs.
The defendant was stopped for driving with an expired tag. During the traffic stop, the officer learned that the defendant’s license was suspended. The defendant was charged with Felony Driving while License Suspended. The firm filed a motion to dismiss. On the day the motion was to be heard, the State dropped all felony charges.
This is a second offense for DUI. The Defendant was seen by a Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy drifting in and out of his lane on no less than 5 occasions and then straddling the lane markers with his vehicle. The Deputy then saw the Defendant swerve into the right lane almost crashing into a silver Lexus. The Deputy conducted a traffic stop and noticed the defendant had the odor of an alcoholic beverage; bloodshot glassy eyes and was belligerent. A DUI investigator arrived on scene and made the same observations as the stopping deputy and even noticed the Defendant’s speech was slurred and mumbled. The DUI investigator administered roadside exercises and the Defendant was unable to do them. The exercises were video recorded and the Defendant looked impaired by alcohol. The Defendant was arrested for DUI and refused the breath test. The Firm filed a Motion to suppress the roadside sobriety exercises based upon the fact the DUI investigator coerced the Defendant to do them even though they are voluntary under Florida Law. The Motion was granted by the judge; the videotape and all testimony concerning the exercises was excluded. The State Dropped all charges.
An officer of the Port St. Lucie Police Department made a traffic stop on our client, who was present in his car with his girlfriend and baby. The officer began to immediately question our client about his prior use of drugs and eventually received consent to search his car. The officer located the remains of a marijuana joint in the driver’s side door panel behind some paperwork. Our client adamantly denied knowledge of the substance in his car; however, he admitted on camera that he last smoked marijuana the proceeding week. Our client was arrested and faced serious consequences to his professional career as a computer engineer for a well known company. Defense counsel demanded a jury trial. The evidence, as presented by Defense Counsel, brought to light that our client’s brother was known to borrow the car and would occasionally smoke marijuana inside it. Furthermore, the evidence showed the officer failed to take necessary steps that could have proved knowledge, including testing the joint for DNA or finger prints. Lastly, the evidence suggested the officer may have used racial profiling which biased his ultimate decision in making the arrest. At the conclusion of trial, the jury deliberated for approximately ten minutes before returning a verdict of NOT GUILTY.
The defendant was charged with Felony Driving under the Influence based upon the fact he had acquired two previous DUI convictions, one of which was within 10 years of this felony offense. In this felony case, an officer of the Hallandale Police Department failing to maintain his lane and driving erratically on Hallandale Beach Boulevard and almost hit the center median. The Officer stopped the Defendant’s vehicle. The Officer made contact with the Defendant and noticed him have the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage; slurred speech; flushed face; glassy and bloodshot eyes and was unsteady on his feet. The Defendant was asked to perform roadside sobriety exercises and refused to do them. The Defendant also refused the breath test. The Firm filed a Motion to Dismiss these felony charges, which was punishable by up to 5 years in prison based on the fact that State used an invalid uncounseled prior conviction to raise this charge to felony status. The Motion was granted and all felony DUI charges were dismissed.
On August 3, 2008, the Defendant was seen pulling into a commercial warehouse area by an Officer of the Davie Police Department who was patrolling that area. The Officer witnessed the Defendant’s vehicle pull into a parking spot and shut its lights off. The Officer pulled her marked patrol vehicle and parked it behind the Defendant’s vehicle preventing it from moving. The officer approached the vehicle and noticed the Defendant appeared to have her head lying upon the steering wheel of her vehicle. The defendant was asked to exit her vehicle and the officer noticed an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the Defendant; red and watery eyes, and was unsteady on her feet. The Defendant also admitted that “she pulled off the road because she had too much to drink”. The Defendant was asked to perform roadside exercises and performed poorly. The Defendant was arrested for DUI and submitted to a breath test that resulted in readings of .127/.129 g/210L, approximately 50% over the legal limit of .08. The firm filed a Motion to Suppress based upon the unlawful seizure of the Defendant initiated by the Officer “blocking in” the Defendant’s vehicle with her patrol unit. The motion was granted and the State dropped all charges.
The defendant was stopped by a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Deputy on October 1st, 2009. The Defendant’s license was suspended due to a DUI. The Officer issued the Defendant two citations. One was not wearing his seatbelt and the other was for Driving on A Suspended License with Knowledge. The State of Florida offered the Defendant 45 days in the Palm Beach County Jail if he wished to plead guilty. The firm investigated whether the stop was lawful under the 4th Amendment and concluded it was not. The State of Florida agreed and the Prosecutor dismissed all the charges.
The Defendant was stopped by DUI Task Force Member of the Pembroke Pines Police Department for weaving within his lane and speeding 63/45. Upon making contact with the Defendant, the Officer noticed the Defendant have the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath and his eyes were bloodshot and watery and he swayed while standing unassisted. He also admitted to consuming alcohol. The Defendant then was asked to perform roadside sobriety exercises and did so poorly. The Defendant was arrested and submitted to the breath test that resulted in a reading of .114/.115 g/210L, well over the legal limit of .08. The firm obtained a videotape depicting the entire episode between the Officer and the Defendant that depicted the Officer conducting an illegal roadside exercise relevant to DUI while the Defendant was still seated in his vehicle. This illegal exercise was the sole basis that allowed the Officer to ask the defendant out of his car for further roadside investigation, which led to his arrest for DUI. The firm filed a Motion to Suppress for Unlawful Detention based upon the Officer’s illegal conduct, which was summarily granted by the Judge. All charges were dropped by the State.
The Defendant was observed by an off duty police sergeant sitting at a red light. When the light cycled to green, the Defendant’s vehicle did not move. The Sergeant checked on the Defendant and observed that he appeared to be asleep at the wheel of his car. The vehicle was in gear and running. The Sergeant was able to turn the car off and place it in the park. He could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on the Defendant’s breath. The Defendant did not awaken during the removal of the keys and the light cycled about 8 times during this interaction. A DUI investigator was called to the scene. When the DUI investigator arrived at the scene, he noticed that the Defendant’s vehicle was beyond the stop bar and 3 feet into the pedestrian crossing line. The Defendant was still asleep. The investigator was able to awaken the Defendant. The officer noted a moderate odor of alcohol on the Defendant’s breath, his speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot and watery. The Defendant’s movements were slow and deliberate as he spoke to the investigator. The Defendant agreed to perform field sobriety exercises. The Defendant could not follow the stimulus on the HGN/follow the light test. On the Walk and turn test, the Defendant started prior to being instructed, stopped walking during the exercise to balance himself, did not touch heel to toe and forgot what to do after the first series of steps. On the One Leg Stand test, the Defendant swayed, put down his foot, switched legs during the test and lost count. On the ABC test, the Defendant slurred so badly that the Officer could not understand to evaluate his recitation of the alphabet. On the counting test, the Defendant improperly recited 100 to 75 backward, by missing 76 and continued to count all the way to 62 until he was told to stop by the Officer. The Defendant submitted to a breath test, which gave the results .066 and .063. After the firm raised issues with prosecutor regarding a urine test, the State dismissed all charges against the Defendant.
The Defendant was stopped for Failure to Maintain a Single Lane by a member of the Pembroke Pines DUI Task Force. Upon making contact with the Defendant, the Officer noticed the odor of an alcoholic beverage upon the Defendant’s Breath; bloodshot and watery eyes among other obvious indicators of alcohol impairment. The Defendant was asked to perform roadside sobriety exercises and did not perform well. The Defendant was arrested for DUI and submitted to the breath test which registered .045/.041 g/210L. After the firm’s investigation into this case and relaying findings to the State of Florida, no DUI charges were filed.
Officers of the Port St. Lucie Police Department were dispatched to a bar in reference to a possible fight. Upon scene, two witnesses told the officers the Defendant punched his sister and forcefully pulled her from his car in the parking lot. The defendant was immediately arrested. The Prosecutor offered the Defendant 45 days in jail. After the Defendant hired the Ticket Clinic to represent him, Defense Counsel aggressively began investigating the alleged facts. Defense Counsel learned the witnesses were biased against the Defendant from a previous altercation. This bias may have caused the witnesses to exaggerate or be dishonest about the facts. Additionally, Defense Counsel learned the alleged victim denied being touched by the Defendant. Defense Counsel immediately filed legal documents which, if granted, would allow Defense Counsel to extensively question the bias witnesses prior to trial. The witnesses became uncooperative with the prosecution against the Defendant. The Assistant State Attorney dropped all charges against the Defendant.
The Defendant was first seen traveling in the inside lane. The officer alleged that he paced the Defendant traveling 20-25 mph in a 45 mph zone. The officer also alleged the Defendant’s vehicle was weaving within his lane and on several occasions, straddled the center white line. The Officer made a stop for suspicion of DUI. The officer, upon making contact with the Defendant, noticed an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. He also noticed that the Defendant’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy. The officer requested the Defendant perform several field sobriety exercises to which he complied. On the walk and turn test, the Defendant exhibited 4 of the 8 possible indicators of impairment. The Defendant failed to maintain his balance, did not touch heel to toe, stepped off the line and used his arms for balance. On the one leg stand test, the Defendant exhibited 2 of the 4 possible indicators of impairment. The Defendant swayed while balancing and used his arms for balance. The Defendant was placed under arrest for DUI. After being read his Miranda rights, the Defendant admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages and feeling the effects of those drinks. The Defendant then provided a breath sample of .140 and .136. Result: The firm filed a motion to suppress evidence in the case and the DUI charge was dropped by the State before the motion could be heard by the Judge.
