The defendant was discovered by police driving a vehicle after a clerk warned officers on the scene of a person drinking beer in the parking lot. Officers then made contact with the defendant and discovered that he had signs of impairment. The officers then detained him for over an hour while they waited for a DUI investigator to arrive at the scene. At which point roadside sobriety exercises were conducted and the defendant was taken to jail where he gave a breath sample in excess of the legal limit. Defense counsel filed a motion to suppress the DUI investigation based upon the fact that the defendant had been detained for too long on too little evidence. The defendant was cleared of all DUI charges and the case was dropped.
A suspicious call came in regarding a vehicle parked in the field in front of a church. The first officer on scene and second officer on scene approached the vehicle which had hit a curb and drove off the road to the final resting point. The vehicle missed a sign and a big tree by inches and came to a final stop in the grass. There were tire track marks leading from the road to the location where the car was parked. The vehicle was in park and the defendant was laying in the drivers seat with the engine running and the lights on. The officers banged on the window, yelled the defendant’s name and even shook the vehicle to try and wake up the defendant. One of the officers even reached in and shook the defendant to try and wake him up. At that point, the officer reached in to turn off the engine and was going to call Fire Rescue. The Defendant then woke up and the officers smelled alcohol, noticed red glossy eyes and that the defendant had a flushed face. The Defendant was asked to submit to roadsides where he performed extremely poorly. All roadsides were captured on camera. The Defendant was arrested and taken to the Breath Facility where he refused to give a sample of his breath. The Firm took the case to trial and argued that the Defendant (1) was not driving and (2) did not have the “capability” to operate the vehicle at the time the officers arrested him and was therefore not in “actual physical control” of the vehicle. The jury came back with a verdict of Not Guilty.
Florida Highway patrol responded to a crash on I-4 near the I-275 exit. Upon the trooper’s arrival, he encountered the Defendant who had been the victim of a hit and run accident. The trooper observed a strong odor of alcohol, slurred speech and lethargic movements on the Defendant. The Defendant agreed to perform field sobriety exercises, which he did so unsatisfactorily. The Defendant was then arrested for DUI. The Defendant refused to submit to a breath test. DMV Results: The firm was able to get the DMV to invalidate the 1 year suspension for refusing to submit to a breath test allowing the Defendant to get his driver’s license back immediately with no restrictions. Criminal Case Results: The firm filed a motion to suppress and the State dropped the DUI charge.
On May 31st at the intersection of Bruce B. Downs and Fletcher, a Deputy observed the Defendant and another motorcyclist stopped at a red light. The Defendant began revving his engine and when the light turned green both motorcycles accelerated at a rapid pace, squealing their tires as they pulled away from the stop light. The Deputy was able to pace the vehicle traveling approximately 60 mph in a 45 mph zone. After stopping both motorcycles, the Defendant was charged with racing on a highway and driving while license suspended with knowledge. Result: The case was set for trial and the state dropped both charges.
The defendants vehicle failed to maintain its single lane of travel. The defendant was stopped and investigated for DUI. The defendant refused breath and road exercises. Motion to suppress was granted. State's appeal affirmed. DUI charged dropped
The Defendant was stopped after an officer could not see the temporary tag the Defendant had placed in the window of his vehicle. Upon running the Defendant’s information, the officer determined that the Defendant’s license was suspended. The Defendant was arrested for Driving while license suspended with knowledge. Result: The case was set for a non-jury trial and the State dismissed the charges against the Defendant.
The Defendant was traveling through a gas station parking lot when he began to back up. While driving in reverse, the trailer on the Defendant’s truck struck the canopy that covers the gas pumps. After the impact, the Defendant left the scene. The defendant was arrested later and charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage more than $50. Results: State dropped the charge against the Defendant.
The defendant was accused of failing to return a rental car valued at approximately $30,000.00. The State was provided with a defense witness list and ample evidence indicating that it was legally impossible for the defendant to have done so by the Firm. The State dismissed all charges based upon this evidence.
The Defendant was traveling through a gas station parking lot when he began to back up. While driving in reverse, the trailer on the Defendant’s truck struck the canopy that covers the gas pumps. After the impact, the Defendant left the scene. The defendant was arrested later and charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage more than $50. Results: State dropped the charge against the Defendant.
The Defendant was seen by law enforcement leaving a bar. As the Defendant left the bar in a drunken state he obnoxiously asked the officer “Hey, officer what you doing? … waiting to pull over all the drunk people leaving the bar?” The defendant walked to his vehicle that was parked in the parking lot, got inside, and began to back out of the parking space. The Defendant was then stopped by officers as he backed his car out of the space. The officers already noticed the defendant to be extremely impaired as he left the bar. Upon closer contact, they noticed that the defendant had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, bloodshot eyes, flushed face, severely slurred speech and was having difficulty holding a conversation. The Defendant was then asked to perform roadside exercises and was unable to come close to doing any of them remotely correctly. The Defendant was arrested for DUI and gave a breath test at almost three times the legal limit, .220/.225. The Defendant contended all along that he only went to his car to sit while he waited for a cab that he had called before he left the bar and the cop was just after him for the obnoxious remark he had made earlier. The firm presented the Defendant’s phone records to the state showing he had called a cab and it made no sense that he would have moved the car, as the Defendant also claimed. The State Dropped all charges.
The Defendant was stopped for walking on the street where a sidewalk was present. After the Officer warned the Defendant about the infraction of walking on the street where a sidewalk was present he then requested permission to search the Defendant. The officer stated that Defendant consented to a search of his person and as a result of the search the officer discovered marijuana and other drug paraphernalia. Defense counsel motioned to exclude the drugs and other evidence that resulted from the search, and reasoned that the consent given by Defendant was not voluntary. All charges were dismissed.
The defendant was pulled over for going through a stop sign at 15 mph. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer noticed an odor of alcohol coming from the driver. The defendant admitted to having 3-4 beers and a DUI specialist was called to complete a DUI investigation. The officer requested that the defendant perform 4 different field sobriety exercises. At the conclusion of the exercises, the defendant was arrested because the officer determined that too many clues of impairment existed. At the breath testing center the defendant provided a breath sample of .167 (twice the legal limit). Based on the firm's recommendation, the defendant elected to take his case to trial. After the jury was chosen, the State of Florida dropped the DUI.
