The Defendant drove to her ex husband’s house where she appeared drunk. The ex husband called the police and upon arrival, the officers made contact with the Defendant. The ex husband told the officers that the Defendant had driven there and was drunk. The officers instituted a DUI investigation. The Defendant performed poorly on roadsides and was arrested for DUI. At the jail, the Defendant gave a breath sample of .307 and .314 (almost 4 times the legal limit). The Firm immediately contacted the State Attorneys Office after being hired and pointed out that the 4th District Court of Appeal had ruled that an independent witness calling in an impaired driver (without the officer’s personally viewing the driving or defendant being in actual physical control) it results in an unlawful arrest for DUI. The Officer wrote in his report that he based his investigation on the ex husband’s statement. The State of Florida, after initially filing the charges for Driving Under the Influence, agreed with the Firm and dismissed the charges for DUI.
DUI & Criminal Division
