DUI Wins

Jul 26, 2013	Case: 2013-CT-002164-A-O-X	Judge Blechman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving erratically and crossing over a concrete median into oncoming traffic. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and blood-shot eyes. According to the officer, he performed poorly on all the roadside tests displaying several signs of intoxication. He was then arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .167 and a .165 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton pointed out to the State that there were certain issues involving the video tape used by the police in the case.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jul 25, 2013	Case: 12-013057MM10A	Judge Diaz
Facts:	The police were called to an apartment complex in reference to a disturbance. A security guard also observed the defendant to be heavily intoxicated. When police arrived, they observed the defendant in her car. Upon exiting, the officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, glassy eyes, and slurred speech. The officer also noticed the defendant to have difficulty with her motor skills. According to the officer, she failed the field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. Police also found the defendant in possession of marijuana and charged her with that crime. After her arrest, she refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton took pre-trial depositions of all the witnesses in the case. After taking their testimony in the depositions, the firm filed a pre-trial motion to suppress. In our motion, we alleged that the defendant had been unlawfully detained by the police without any reasonable suspicion of a crime. The possession of marijuana charge was also dismissed.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jul 24, 2013	Case: 2013-CT-000499	Judge Martin
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for making a wide turn and almost striking an officer's patrol car. The officer noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slow speech, and red eyes. He admitted to having a couple of glasses of wine. According to the officer, he failed the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .125 and .121 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jul 24, 2013	Case: CT-7156-XEP	Judge Myers
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding and following another car too closely. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol and blood-shot/glassy eyes. The defendant refused to perform the roadside tests on video tape and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jul 24, 2013	Case: 2013-CT-000749-A-E-X	Judge Barlow
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a traffic crash and left the scene. The defendant pulled into a parking lot and the civilians he crashed into subsequently blocked him in so he could not drive away again. The defendant exhibited signs of intoxication in front of them. The civilians then removed the defendant from the vehicle until the police came to the scene. The officer noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, blood-shot eyes, slurred speech, and unsteadiness. He failed the roadside tests and the officer actually had to prevent the defendant from falling on at least two occasions. He was then arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton announced ready for trial.
Result:	On the morning of jury trial, the State Dropped the DUI.

Jul 19, 2013	Case: 2013-CT-003565-01XX-LD	Judge Abdoney
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding and weaving. The defendant had an odor of alcohol, mumbled speech, and blood-shot eyes. The defendant also had a "blank look" on his face and swayed when outside the car. The defendant refused to perform the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he refused the breath test.
Defense:	During a pre-trial investigation conducted by Parks & Braxton, it was discovered that the police department who arrested the defendant was under investigation.
Result:	The DUI was dismissed.

Jul 12, 2013	Case: 2012-CT-018370AXXX	Judge Bryson
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and red eyes. The defendant also admitted to drinking numerous beers. According to the officer, he failed the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest for DUI, he blew .142 and .143 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jul 12, 2013	Case: 2012-CT-000163AXXX	Judge Bryson
Facts:	The defendant was stopped running a stop sign. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and glossy eyes. According to the officer, he failed the video taped roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .090 and .087 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jul 10, 2013	Case: CT-006598-XEP	Judge Dominguez
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol and red/glassy eyes. The defendant then refused the roadside tests on video tape and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jul 10, 2013	Case: 2013-CT-004458-A-O	Judge Barlow
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, red eyes, and and he admitted drinking at a bar. According to the officer, he failed the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he tested positive for alcohol on the breath machine. However, the officer believed that the defendant was actually impaired by a chemical and/or controlled substance.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial. The firm pointed out the State that they could not prove by which specific substance allegedly impaired the defendant as required by Florida Law.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jul 9, 2013	Case: 11-016545MM10A	Judge Brown
Facts:	The defendant was observed by the police walking very "uneasy" to her car. She was arguing with another person about who was actually "less drunk" to drive. A traffic stop was then conducted in a parking garage. The officers observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, blood-shot eyes, and uttering statements about her impairment. The defendant almost fell over while performing the roadside tests and then she was arrested for DUI. After her arrest, she refused the breath test. This was the defendant's Second DUI.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton took the deposition of the back-up officer. At deposition, the officer revealed that he did not have an independent recollection concerning the specifics of the investigation. The firm filed a motion to exclude his testimony which was granted by the court. The firm also discovered that the chief investigating officer was under investigation for a law violation.
Result:	The DUI was dismissed.

Jul 9, 2013	Case: 11-027071MM10A	Judge Robinson
Facts:	The defendant was initially seen in a parked car of a closed business. The keys were in the ignition and the engine was running. The first officer stated that he observed a strong odor of alcohol as well as bloodshot eyes. He further alleged that the defendant could barely speak and he stumbled out of the car. He called for a DUI officer who subsequently conducted an investigation and arrested the defendant for DUI.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton filed a motion to suppress for an unlawful arrest. At the motion, the first officer testified exactly as stated above. He went on to testify that the defendant was in "pretty bad shape". However, the second officer testified completely different. He stated that there were no problems with the defendant's speech or balance. Based on a lack of credibility of the witnesses, the motion to suppress was granted.
Result:	The DUI was dismissed.

Jul 8, 2013	Case: CT-006770-XFA	Judge Myers
Facts:	The defendant was stopped according to the officer's reports and testimony for making a wide turn, weaving, and going through a thru lane while another car was present. The officer also testified that the defendant was continuously weaving and also committed some traffic infractions. The entire driving pattern and DUI investigation was captured on video tape. Once stopped, the officer noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, glassy eyes, and slurred speech. According to the officer, he failed the field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .135 and .130 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton filed a pre-trial motion to suppress the lawfulness of the initial traffic stop. In our motion, we alleged that there was no probable cause to believe that the defendant committed any traffic infractions, nor was there any reasonable suspicion that the defendant was driving while impaired. The Judge watched the video tape, reviewed the case law, looked at any applicable statutes, and also listened to the officer get impeached numerous times by the defense about his reports and the video tape on cross examination. The judge Granted the motion and threw out all of the evidence.
Result:	The DUI was dismissed.

Jun 27, 2013	Case: 2013-CT-003941-A-O-X	Judge Tynan
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, heavy eye lids, glassy eyes, and he admitted to having one or two drinks. The defendant also swayed and was lethargic. According to the officer, he failed the video taped roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, the defendant tested positive for alcohol on the breath machine, but the officers believed he was actually impaired by a chemical and / or controlled substance. The officers then requested the defendant to provide a urine sample to which he complied.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial. The State could not prove by which specific chemical and / or controlled substance the defendant allegedly impaired the defendant as required by Florida Law.
Result:	The DUI was dismissed.

Jun 27, 2013	Case: 2012-CT-00838	Judge Moore Stens
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for running a red light. The defendant then hit a small tree after driving the wrong way. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and blood-shot eyes. According to the officer, the defendant failed all the roadside tests due to her high level of intoxication. She was then arrested for DUI. After her arrest, she blew a .225 and .221 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 26, 2013	Case: CT-6726-XFA	Judge Greco
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving and nearly striking a curb. The officer noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, blood-shot eyes, and slurred speech at various times. The defendant also had slow and deliberate movements. The defendant refused to perform the roadside tasks and was then arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he refused the breath test. This was the defendant's Third DUI.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 25, 2013	Case: CT-9843-XBN	Judge Conrad
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a traffic crash where it was determined by police that the other driver caused the crash by failing to yield. Front air bags were deployed in the defendant's car and hit him in the face. The officer on scene noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, mumbled speech, and watery eyes. According to the officer he failed the physical roadside tests which were not video taped. He was then arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .115 and .113 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton pointed out to the State that the defendant did not contribute to the cause of the crash in any way. We also pointed out to the State that the officer who was administering the physical roadside tests to the defendant, such as the walk and turn and one leg stand, right after he was hit in the face with an air bag may have caused any unsteadiness observed by the officer.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 20, 2013	Case: 6042-XEM	Judge Newman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding and weaving. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slow reactions, and slurred speech. The defendant also stumbled as he exited the car. The defendant could not even perform two of the three roadside tests due his level of intoxication. He was then arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .161 and .159 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 18, 2013	Case: 2012-CT-003563AXXX	Judge Eissey
Facts:	The defendant was the at fault driver in a traffic crash whereby he crashed into a barrier wall. The lead officer on scene observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, unsteadiness, the defendant was disoriented, and he admitted drinking. The defendant was transported to the hospital by fire rescue due to his injuries as he was bleeding profusely. The lead officer then met the defendant while he was in a hospital bed due to his injuries. Since the officer could not take the defendant to jail for for a breath test, he requested a blood sample from the defendant. The defendant complied to the officer's request. The blood was then sent to the toxicology lab and revealed a blood alcohol level of .178 and .177. Once the officer was later notified that the blood alcohol level was over the legal limit, the State then charged the defendant with DUI.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton took a pre-trial deposition of the lead officer. At deposition, testimony was taken under oath from the officer who ordered the blood draw. It was pointed out in sworn testimony that the blood lab analysis request form that the officer sent with the the defendant's blood vile to the lab had a totally different age, height and weight versus the actual defendant's age, height, and weight. Medical records of the defendant were also ordered by the defense from the hospital which also showed that the attending nurse observed no odor of alcohol on the defendant, no slurred speech, and no signs of intoxication at all while he was in the emergency room. That completely contradicted the lead officer's observations. The firm announced ready for jury trial.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 17, 2013	Case: 6650-XEM	Judge Ortiz
Facts:	The defendant was first scene in his car in an alleged high crime / prostitution area. Officers then saw a woman subsequently get in and out of his car after an unknown period of time. They then followed the defendant and conducted a traffic stop. Once stopped, officers observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, sluggish movements, and blood-shot eyes. They then called for a DUI Unit to come and further investigate. The defendant admitted to drinking and failed every road side test. He was then arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .114 and .117 in the breath machine. This was the defendant's Second DUI.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton filed a pre-trial motion to suppress the lawfulness of the traffic stop. In our motion, we alleged there was no reasonable suspicion of a crime which would give rise to legally stopping the defendant's vehicle. The Judge agreed, Granted the motion, and threw out all of the evidence.
Result:	The DUI was dismissed.