The Defendant was stopped for traveling 31 miles over the posted speed limit at 4:15 in the morning. After noticing that her eyes were red and glassy, her speech being slurred, her fumbling through her documents and her smelling strongly of alcohol, the stopping officer called for a DUI unit. The Defendant was requested to perform roadside exercises by the DUI Trooper due to the observations from the stopping officer and his additional observations of dilated pupils and watery eyes. She admitted that she was drinking alcohol and stated she was on her way home. During the walk and turn, she did not count any steps out loud and according to the Trooper was “very wobbly and swayed heavily” as well as using her arms to balance herself. During the one leg stand, the Defendant kept putting her foot down and starting over from the beginning instead of picking up at the number she left off. During the finger to nose exercise, the officer testified that she never touched the tip of her nose at all during any attempt and was swaying from side to side and front to back in a circular motion. During the alphabet task, the Trooper testified that the Defendant was swaying front to back and side to side in a circular motion. The Defendant was arrested and gave to breath samples at the jail of a .204 and .213. She admitted to drinking Captain and Coke at a club in Palm Beach before she was arrested and admitted that she was “under the influence of alcohol”. The Firm filed a motion to suppress arguing that the Defendant was arrested without probable cause for DUI citing case law where the court needed to objectively view the video rather than using the Trooper’s testimony. The court agreed and granted the motion. The State of Florida dismissed the charges for Driving Under the Influence.
DUI & Criminal Division
