Facts: The Defendant was pace clocked traveling 62 in a 40 mile per hour zone and observed weaving within his lane. He then made a blind turn at an intersection without looking at 25 miles per hour. The officer made contact with the defendant and smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath, he had bloodshot/glassy eyes and slurred speech. When asked for his license and registration, he fumbled through his glove compartment documents for about a minute before he told the officer that he didn’t have his registration. When asked if he had been drinking he said he had one with dinner and then changed his story to having several beers throughout the day but stuck to the “one beer per hour rule.” He was asked to step out of his car where the officer said he was unsteady on his feet. When asked to submit to roadsides the defendant asked what would happen if he didn’t do them. The officer told him that he would have to make his decision based upon what he saw at the time and may have to arrest him for DUI. The Defendant then turned around and put his arms behind his back and said, “well I guess it’s time to go to jail.” After being taken to the jail, the Defendant was asked to submit to a sample of his breath to determine the alcohol content and he refused. He could not recall what road he was on and joked around constantly with the officer on video. The State of Florida offered 120 days in jail along with a 10 year license suspension before trial. The Firm took the deposition of the Lieutenant who had also observed the driving pattern. He also made observations of the Defendant on scene which were inconsistent with what the arresting officer testified to. The State failed to call the Lieutenant to the stand so the Firm did. During closing arguments, the Firm’s position was that the State failed to give the jury the entire story and didn’t want them to hear the holes in their case. The jury returned a verdict in 3 minutes of not guilty.
DUI & Criminal Division
