The Defendant was seen by two independent witnesses driving all over the road, speeding and ran someone off the road in Key West. An independent police officer then witnessed the Defendant driving on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic. The Defendant was stopped. His eyes were glassy, he looked like he was in a trance and an odor of alcohol was coming from his breath. He admitted that he drank 2 Jim Beam and Diet Cokes. The Defendant was unsteady on his feet, was swaying from side to side and had slurred speech. After performing poorly on roadsides, the Defendant was arrested and placed in the back of the police car where he almost immediatley fell asleep and had to be woken up. He was taken to the jail where he refused to give a sample of his breath to determine the alcohol content. The Firm filed numerous motions including a motion to suppress for lack of probable cause to arrest, motion to exclude the HGN exercize, motion to suppress the field sobriety exercises, and motions to exclude the refusal based upon audio issues at the jail and an incorrect reading of implied consent. After setting all the motions for hearings in front of the judge, and after the State Attorney met with the arresting officer, the State agreed to dismiss the charges for Driving Under the Influence.
DUI & Criminal Division
