DUI Wins

Oct 1, 2021	Case: 21-CT-003392	Judge Farr
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer detected a strong odor of alcohol, red/watery eyes, and she appeared unsteady. After performing various roadside tests, she was arrested for DUI.
Defense:	Issues were raised as to a lack of probable cause to arrest the defendant. The State agreed and Dropped the DUI. The defendant received no conviction on her record.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Oct 1, 2021	Case: 2021-306177MMDB	Judge Feigenbaum
Facts:	The defendant was the at fault driver in a rear end crash. Officers observed an odor of alcohol, watery eyes, and droopy eyelids. The defendant admitted to having drank 3 or 4 beers. He then performed various field sobriety tests such as the HGN (eye test), walk and turn, and one leg stand. He was arrested for DUI and later refused the breath test.
Defense:	On video, there were about four officers trying to conduct the DUI investigation. One appeared to be training the other and two others had no clue what was going on. For example, during the HGN(eye test), while one officer was administering the test, the other one was taking notes of the observations. However, the one taking notes was off to the side and couldn't even see the defendant's eyes. While giving the instructions on the walk and turn, the officer was reading off a standard instruction sheet of paper which totally confused the defendant. After reviewing the tape, the State Agreed with the firm and Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 30, 2021	Case: 21-CT-008824	Judge Booras
Facts:	A concerned citizen dialed 911 stating that the defendant was traveling erratically all over the road. The officer spotted the defendant and conducted a traffic stop. The officer then noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and he was lethargic in his movements. He then performed poorly on the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test.
Defense:	Since the officer didn't observe any type of driving pattern, the lawfulness of the stop was called into question.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 24, 2021	Case: 21-CT-003572	Judge Conrad
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving without headlights at night. Officers observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and difficulty following instructions.. She appeared unsteady, uncoordinated, and swayed. She performed various roadside tasks such as the walk and turn and one leg stand. She was then arrested for DUI and later refused the breath test.
Defense:	Many of the observations written by the officers were over exaggerated as compared to what can be viewed from the body worn cameras worn by the officers.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 23, 2021	Case: 21-CT-022318	Judge T. Brown
Facts:	The defendant was stopped after driving on the white solid line and cutting across five lanes of travel. Officers noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, dilated/watery eyes, and he had to shuffle around to find his documents. The defendant denied having anything to drink. His speech was mumbled and he was slow in his movements. After performing various roadside tests such as the finger to nose and one leg stand, he was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test.
Defense:	The lawfulness of the stop was called into question as the specifics of the driving pattern were vague and no traffic seemed to be affected.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 23, 2021	Case: 21-CT-026157	Judge T. Brown
Facts:	A concerned citizen called 911 stating that the defendant was driving recklessly by failing to maintain a single lane. When the officer spotted the defendant, he was drifting between three lanes of travel affecting other traffic. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and he swayed while he stood. He performed poorly on roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test.
Defense:	Many observations written by the officer were contradicted by the video tape leading to credibility issues.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 21, 2021	Case: 21-CT-005076	Judge Conrad
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for failure to maintain a single lane. Once stopped, the officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and red eyes. She also swayed while she stood. After performing roadsides, she was arrested for DUI. She later blew a .191 and a .189 in the breath machine.
Defense:	The legality of the traffic stop was called into question after a review of the video and police reports.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 21, 2021	Case: AEL8FXE	Judge Bedinghaus
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving and drifting in her lane. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and she fumbled with her documents. She also had a flushed face and watery eyes. After performing various field sobriety tests, she was arrested for DUI. She later refused the breath test.
Defense:	Due to the lack of specificity written by the officer about the field sobriety tests, there was a lack of probable cause.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 20, 2021	Case: 19-029972MU10A	Judge Carpenter-Toye
Facts:	The defendant was the at fault driver in crash. He made made a wide turn and hit another car. Officers observed an odor of alcohol, slow/slurred speech, and he swayed while he stood. He also had watery eyes and and he would repeat things as he spoke. The defendant refused to perform roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test.
Defense:	When a defendant refuses to perform roadside tests the officer must advise the defendant of adverse consequences before the refusal may be admitted into evidence. In this case, the firm filed a motion to exclude the refusal because the officer did not follow the law. The Judge granted the motion and the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 17, 2021	Case: 20-010874MU10A	Judge Levy
Facts:	The defendant was the at fault driver in a crash. He made an improper turn and failed to yield the right of way. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and he had no idea what had happened. The defendant refused to perform field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test. This was the defendant's Second DUI.
Defense:	Under Florida law, one can only be asked for a breath test after being arrested for DUI. Here, the officer improperly asked the defendant for a breath test prior to arrest. The firm also filed pretrial motions to exclude statements that were taken in violation of Miranda and also a motion to exclude the refusal to perform roadsides. The firm took pretrial depositions of the witnesses in which there were many inconsistent statements made by the officers. The State Dropped the Defendant's Second DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 15, 2021	Case: 19-CT-001292	Judge Gould
Facts:	The defendant was the at fault driver in a rear end crash. When officers arrived, they noticed the defendant to have an odor alcohol, the defendant admitted to having drank a mojito, he had thick tongued speech and glassy eyes. After performing various field sobriety tests such as the one leg stand and walk and turn, he was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .127 and a .126 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Prior to trial, the firm uncovered various documents on the particular breath machine that the defendant blew into. It showed that the officers never did the required inspections and the machine failed many times. A week prior to the trial date, the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 14, 2021	Case: 21-CT-031827	Judge Jacobus
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for a traffic infraction by a local police department officer. He then called for the Sheriff's office to conduct a DUI investigation. Officers observed an odor of alcohol, watery eyes, and he seemed confused. After performing the field sobriety tests, he was arrested for DUI. He later blew. a .152 and a .149 in the breath machine.
Defense:	The defendant was detained longer than necessary for the initial officer to write the traffic ticket. Thus, the issue was raised by the firm whether he was unlawfully detained too long for the DUI cop to arrive.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 14, 2021	Case: 21-CT-017703	Judge Atkin
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving the wrong way on the road and almost causing a head on collision. Officers observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, glassy eyes, and slow speech. The defendant staggered and admitted to having drank whiskey. Due to his intoxication level, roadside tests were not conducted for safety reasons. He was then arrested for DUI and later blew a .228 and a .222 in the breath machine.
Defense:	After extensive negotiations and the firm pointing out some inconsistencies in the evidence, the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 14, 2021	Case: 21-CT-000298	Judge Jeske
Facts:	The defendant was stopped after he crossed over the dotted white line on three different occasions. The officer then observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and fumbling fingers. He also had slurred speech and admitted to having drank alcohol. After performing field sobriety tests, he was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test.
Defense:	There was no reasonable suspicion to believe that the defendant was impaired for simply crossing over the line 3 times within a quarter of a mile. It could have been something as innocent as changing the radio station or looking down at one's phone for a second.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 14, 2021	Case: 21-CT-023554	Judge Jacobus
Facts:	The defendant was the at fault driver in a parking lot fender bender. The eyewitness at the scene identified the defendant as the driver. The defendant and her friend then switched seats. When officers made contact, the defendant was now in the passenger seat. She was asked to step out of the car. Once out, officers observed her to have an odor of alcohol, mumbling speech, and slow movements. She then performed poorly on roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. She later refused the breath test.
Defense:	The defendant denied ever being the initial driver involved in the crash. Questions were then raised by the firm as to the accuracy of the eyewitness’s identification.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 14, 2021	Case: 21-CT-023358	Judge Silverman
Facts:	A "BOLO" went out about a reckless driver weaving in and out of traffic. When officers spotted the defendant (the driver in question), they observed her swerving and slowing down. Upon contact, the officers observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, she fumbled with her documents, and had slurred speech. She also staggered and stumbled while outside the car. After performing very poorly on roadside tests, she was arrested for DUI. She later blew a .237 and a .236 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Issues were raised by the firm regarding the lawfulness of the traffic stop such as whether the caller was anonymous, and the amount of corroboration visualized by the officer.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 13, 2021	Case: 21-CT-011689	Judge Collins
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a single car crash. Her car ran off the road into the bushes. When officers arrived, they noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, very slurred speech, and watery eyes. She had slow/lethargic movements and swayed. She then performed poorly on roadside tests and was arrested for DUI.
Defense:	Officers had on body worn cameras. On tape, the defendant's speech was not slurred and she did not appear unsteady. They it made it seem like her performance on the field sobriety tests was worse on paper than what appeared on tape. The firm brought all this to the prosecutor's attention.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Sep 9, 2021	Case: 21-CT-000648	Judge Wansboro
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving the wrong way and having no headlight. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, a blank stare, and watery eyes. She also had constricted pupils and slurred speech. She then performed poorly on various field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. She later blew a .117 and a .115 in the breath machine.
Defense:	There was no dash camera or body worn camera. Since the reports were vaguely written, the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Sep 2, 2021	Case: 21-CT-002081	Judge Conrad
Facts:	A caller dialed 911 and stated that the defendant was driving the wrong way. A deputy located the vehicle driven by the defendant. Upon contact, the officer noticed an odor of alcohol, red/watery eyes, and slurred speech. She also had unsteady balance and her movements were lethargic. After performing poorly on the roadside tests, she was arrested for DUI. She later refused the breath test.
Defense:	Since the caller only described an alleged traffic infraction, the officer had to have seen some type of erratic driving pattern or infraction to seize the defendant. Since he did not, the lawfulness of the traffic stop was called into question.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 1, 2021	Case: 19-011331MU10A	Judge Carpenter-Toye
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and he had a cup of whiskey in the center console. The defendant also stumbled and admitted to having drank whiskey. After performing field sobriety tests, he was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .096 and a .093 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton announced ready for trial. There were numerous inconsistencies in the officer's reports, as well as the video. Also, with the .02 margin of error on the breath machine, we were able to place the defendant's breath alcohol results under the legal limit. On the morning of trial, the State Dropped the DUI and the defendant received no conviction on his record.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.