The Police conducted a traffic stop on the Defendant for swerving outside of his lane. The officer ordered the Defendant to place his hands on the steering wheel. The Defendant refused, and kept reaching into the backseat area of his vehicle. The officer removed the Defendant from the vehicle and attempted to pat him down for weapons. The Defendant tensed up and refused to comply. The officer ordered him to comply, and the Defendant cursed at him numerous times and continued to resist. The officer arrested him for Resisting Arrest Without Violence. The attorney for the firm investigated the case and filed a motion to suppress. On the day of the motion, the State Attorney dismissed all charges.
The Defendant was driving his car when the vehicle he was operating crashed head on into a tree. The defendant crossed into the opposing lane of traffic and struck the tree with no tire marks on the road. Fire rescue was attending to the Defendant and they indicated that he told them he had been drinking. The Defendant was taken to the hospital where the officer met him. He admitted he was with friends and drank 4-5 beers. He smelled like alcohol and consented to a blood draw upon request from the officer. The results came back with a blood alcohol level of .235 and .234 (almost 3 times the legal limit). A medical blood was also taken from the Defendant which yielded approximately the same results. The Firm took depositions of all of the state witnesses including the officers involved, medics and nurses. After a 2 hour hearing, the judge assigned to the case agreed with the Firm that the legal blood would not be admissible in court should the case proceed to trial. Furthermore, the Firm pointed out problems with the case on the day before the trial regarding the medical blood. The State of Florida dismissed the charges for DUI the day before the trial after almost two years of the firm vigorously fighting for our client.
The Defendant's vehicle was stopped for failing to use a turn signal. Thereafter, officers obtained cocaine from the interior of the car pursuant to an alleged lawful search. The Defendant also admitted to owning the cocaine and other ilicit drugs. A motion to suppress was filed. The defendant was required to be sent to prison if sentenced on these charges. The motion to suppress was granted. Case dropped by the State on 6/30/06.
The Defendant was stopped for driving 51 mph in a 35 mph zone. He had a strong odor of alcohol coming from him and bloodshot/watery/droopy eyes. He was slurring his words and was swaying side to side out of the car. He consented to roadsides where performed poorly and even jumbled the alphabet. He was taken to the breath facility and he refused to give a sample of his breath. After receiving the videos, the Firm had a conference call with the DUI intake case filing lawyer. The Firm convinced the State of Florida to dismiss the charges for Driving Under the Influence.
The Defendant was observed by the Port Orange Police Department traveling on the wrong side of the road for approximately one quarter of a mile. The Defendant smelled like alcohol from two feet away and had slurred speech and bloodshot, glassy eyes. The Defendant was asked to exit the vehicle, had to use the vehicle to support herself, staggered while walking and swayed while standing. She performed so poorly on the Field Sobriety Exercises that they were stopped for safety reasons and the Defendant was placed under arrest for DUI and taken to give a breath sample. During the breath test the Defendant did not give a sufficient volume of breath to activate the machine and after numerous requests was deemed to have refused. After lengthy negotiations with the State we were able to convince the State to drop the DUI charge.
The Defendant was seen by a security guard driving into a parking lot and it came to a stop in a lane where the signals were going on and off. The driver briefly opened the door and the lights turned off. When the officer got there, the vehicle was off and the defendant was sleeping in the driver’s seat of the car. The keys were on the street next to the driver’s side door. The door was partially open. The defendant smelled of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy and his speech was slurred. He could not get up on almost 3 occasions when the Defendant was told to get out of the car. He was unsteady on his feet and could not maintain his balance. He was asked to perform roadsides and he stated no. He was arrested and taken to jail where he blew a .317 and a .309. The Firm took case law to the office of the State Attorney establishing the fact that the defendant was arrested without probable cause for DUI. The State of Florida agreed and dismissed the charges for Driving Under the Influence.
The Defendant ran a red light in front of oncoming traffic and was driving 80 mph in a 35 mph zone. The Defendant had glassy red eyes and denied drinking any alcohol even though he smelled like it. He then admitted to drinking 2 vodkas. A DUI unit responded and noticed that the defendant had mumbled and “very slurred” speech. He was asked if he wanted to perform roadside tasks to which he refused. He was told that the refusal would be held against him in court and he still refused them. He was arrested and in the back of the car continually cursed over and over again. He was transported to the breath facility where he refused to submit a sample of his breath. The Firm spoke with the intake department at the State Attorney’s office after retrieving the roadside and jail videos very quickly. After speaking with them about the inconsistencies in the videos and the reports, the State of Florida agreed to drop the charges for Driving Under the Influence.
The Defendant ran a stop sign and swerved into the left lane. Then the vehicle began to straddle the right divider line and accelerate while swerving back and forth violently 3 times and traveled 70 mph in a 35 mph zone. After being stopped the defendant had an odor of alcohol on his breath and admitted to drinking 4 drinks in the last 7 hours. He was unsteady on his feet stumbling and swaying the entire time. He consented to roadsides where he performed poorly. After being arrested, he was brought to the jail where he refused to provide a sample of his breath. The Firm pointed out inconsistencies with the video evidence and the reports and convinced the State of Florida to drop the charges for Driving Under the Influence on the day before the trial.
The police were dispatched out to an animal complaint regarding pit bulls attacking other dogs in the neighborhood. When the officers arrived, there was a Mercury parked in the driveway with the windows down and the engine running. The officer observed, in plain view, a small white cigarette butt in the cup holder that appeared to be a marijuana joint. Contact was then made with the owner of the dogs and the owner of the Mercury. When asked about the cigarette in the cup holder, the defendant admitted that it was marijuana and that it was his. He said he got stressed out and forgot he left the joint there. The State of Florida attempted to require that the Defendant plead guilty to the criminal charges for possession of the marijuana. However, because of the legal issues surrounding the Defendant’s admissions, the State of Florida could not use the defendant’s admissions against him. Therefore, they could not prove that he, in fact, possessed the drugs. At the first court date, the State dismissed all criminal charges against the Defendant.
The Defendant made an abrupt right turn from Federal to Dixie Highway where there was a no right turn signal. The driver then made an abrupt lane change and almost struck the edge of the sidewalk. The vehicle then continuously began to swerve to the right and on several occasions the tires traveled across the solid white lines almost striking the sidewalk. The trooper initiated a traffic stop at about 1:45 a.m. and asked the defendant where he was going. He said he was going to checkers to eat and that he was coming from his house. His eyes were bloodshot and glassy and he had an odor of alcohol coming from his breath. When asked if he had drank, he said no. The Defendant performed poorly on the first two roadsides and then refused to perform the Finger to Nose and Rhomberg Alphabet by stating “just take me to jail.” The Defendant was arrested and asked to submit to a breath test which he refused. The Firm pointed out to the State that there were many weaknesses in the case regarding the roadside video and Breath Alcohol Testing Video. After months of negotiations, the State of Florida agreed to dismiss the charges for Driving Under the Influence.
The Defendant was clocked going 70 in a 35 mph zone. The officer witnessed him swerving in the road and slowing down rapidly and then failing to stop at a stop sign. The officer then activated his siren to conduct a welfare check on the car and the Defendant backed over a concrete block in a parking lot. After getting out of the vehicle, the officer observed that he was unsteady on his feet and stumbling around. His eyes were red and glassy and he smelled like alcohol. His face also appeared flushed. He admitted to drinking 2 beers. The Defendant performed poorly on roadside exercises and was arrested. After being arrested, the officers found a Gatorade bottle which had liquid in it that smelled like alcohol. When taken to the breath facility, he was asked to submit to a sample of his breath and he refused. The firm negotiated with the State Attorney’s office pointing out the video from the jail that depicted a person who did not look or sound like the person described in the reports. After these talks, the State of Florida agreed to dismiss the charges for Driving Under the Influence.
The Defendant was passed out in his car at a light when an officer made contact with him. His foot was on the break and the car was on. His head was tilted down and would not respond initially to police contact. The officers had to rub his sternum to wake him up. The defendant said he just dropped his mom off and was on his way to a night club. However, he was actually traveling away from the night club he said he was going to. He had slow speech and was dazed and disoriented. His eyes were bloodshot and glassy and he smelled like alcohol. He was swaying back and forth out of the car and did not want to do the tasks initially. When asked how much he had to drink, he said “not much”. The officer who administered the HGN was a certified drug recognition expert and noticed numerous signs of impairment with the Defendant’s eyes. Additionally, he performed poorly on the remainder of the roadsides and could not finish the alphabet. When he was arrested and taken to jail, he refused to submit to a sample of his breath. The Firm filed supplemental discovery proving the Defendant had driven all around the State on during the day he was arrested for work. Additionally, the video evidence contradicted much of the police reports. After extensive negotiating over a 3 month period, the State of Florida finally agreed to dismiss the charges for Driving Under the Influence.
