The Defendant was stopped for speeding by Officer John Hanson of the Pembroke Pines Police Department DUI Task Force. The Officer approached the vehicle and noticed the Defendant to have the odor of alcohol on his breath, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and was unstable while standing unassisted. The Defendant admitted to consuming four drinks while at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The Defendant was then asked to do roadside sobriety exercises and performed poorly on all of them. The Defendant could not maintain a straight line on the walk and turn and missed heel to toe on several steps. The Defendant could not say the alphabet correctly despite being given 3 opportunities to try and could not touch the tip of his finger to the tip of his nose. He could not maintain his balance at all on one leg either. The Defendant was arrested for DUI and submitted to the breath test which resulted in readings of .159/.152 g/210L. The Firm filed a Motion to Suppress the Unlawful Detention of the Defendant for roadside exercises based upon the conduct of the officer reflected on the videotape. The Judge agreed that the officer forced our client to participate in exercises (clearly voluntary under Florida Law) without first asking his consent and suppressed all of the evidence after the initial traffic stop. The State dropped all charges.
DUI & Criminal Division
