The Defendant was driving on Federal Highway when an officer heard music loudly coming from his car. The Defendant was pace clocked traveling 56 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone for 4 blocks. After being stopped, the Defendant would not look at the officer without him being told to do so, but instead just stared straight ahead as the officer spoke to him. The officer noticed that the defendant smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot. The Defendant admitted to coming from O’Briens Bar in Boca Raton and that he had a couple beers within the last 2 hours. The Defendant performed poorly on roadside tasks and then was arrested where he refused a breath test. The Firm filed a motion to suppress arguing that the video depicts the officer approaching the Defendant traveling at a speed of 56 miles per hour. Additionally, the Firm filed a second motion which depicts the defendant performing well on the roadsides arguing that the officer lacked probable cause to arrest him. After receiving the motions, the State of Florida declined to file any charges against the defendant on the very next day.
On April 18, 2007, the Defendant was stopped for a routine traffic violation. Upon meeting with the Defendant, the Deputy learned that the Defendant did not have valid insurance. The Defendant was issued a criminal violation of knowingly providing invalid insurance. The Defendant did not set a courtdate as required for this type of citation so a warrant was issued for her arrest. The firm filed a motion to withdraw the warrant and set the case for trial. Result: The State Dismissed the charge against the Defendant.
On January 30, 2011 at 2:57 am, a Tampa Police Officer observed the Defendant driving on Kennedy Blvd. After following the Defendant for a short distance, the Officer initiated a traffic stop for weaving and drifting within her lane. Upon making contact, the officer noted a distinct odor of alcohol on the Defendant’s breath. The Defendant’s eyes were bloodshot and she had an unsteady appearance. Field sobriety exercises were performed unsatisfactorily and the Defendant was arrested for DUI. The Defendant provided a breath sample of .133 and .129. The firm filed a motion to suppress the breath test and field sobriety exercises based on an illegal detention. Result: Before the motion could be heard, the State dropped the DUI charge.
The Defendant was traveling 75 in a 45 mile per hour zone and sped past the officer who was traveling the speed limit. This was all captured on video. After being stopped, the Defendant was dazed and disoriented. His eyes were bloodshot and glassy and he had an obvious odor of alcohol coming from his mouth. He continued to make irrational statements as the officer spoke to him. His speech was slurred and started saying that someone with a loud exhaust pipe was playing with him. The Defendant handed the officer a Wachovia Bank credit card instead of his license, registration and insurance. First he said he had nothing to drink, then he said three beers and was trying to go home. When he got out of his car he was unsteady of his feet and had to hold the car for support. He stumbled where he was standing and then said “come on, I don’t want to refuse, just take me to jail.” He then said his attorney told him no and wasn’t playing this game and was continuing to slur his words. He kept putting his hands on his head and could not tell the officer where he even was. Additionally, he then said he did nothing wrong and began walking back to his car. He was arrested and began going into severe mood swings and had to be reminded of why he was arrested. He called the officer a “Skinhead” and other derogatory names. At the jail he was combative and violent in the holding cell to the point where he had to be restrained. The Firm carefully reviewed all of the documents and took sworn testimony from the arresting Officer. An affidavit was filled out alleging that the Defendant refused a breath test. The Defendant was never requested to take one. Additionally, after sworn testimony was taken, the arresting officer did a supplemental report changing his story from his original report and adding additional facts. After presenting all of this to the State Attorney, the DUI charge and Refusing to submit to the breath test were dismissed. Additionally, after an initial offer of over one year in prison, the Defendant was not convicted of any felony charges did not receive a day in jail.
The police were flagged down by a motorist indicating that a car had been stopped in the middle of an intersection for a lengthy period of time. When the officer pulled behind the defendant’s car and turned on his emergency lights, the defendant drove into the wrong lane and headed towards oncoming traffic. Four cars had to swerve out of the way to avoid a collision. When the officer made contact with the defendant, he noticed the odor of alcohol on his breath, his eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred. The defendant admitted to drinking 4 beers at a bar that he had left just prior to being pulled over. The defendant refused to perform the roadside exercises. The officer arrested him for DUI and brought him to the BAT facility for a breath test. While at the BAT, the defendant performed poorly on 3 sobriety exercises and refused to take the breath test on video. The firm took the case to trial and jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty.
On July 26, 2010, the Defendant was driving home and crashed into a vehicle that was parked behind another vehicle that was being loaded onto a flatbed truck. The Defendant exited his vehicle and ran off to his home that was only a short distance away. Witnesses were brought from the scene to the Defendant’s home and identified the Defendant as the driver who was involved in and caused the crash. Other persons at the scene of the crash, were severely injured. Based on the firm’s investigation of the case, the state dropped all charges.
The defendant was traveling at a high rate of speed. He pulled behind a marked Broward Sheriff’s Office vehicle that had its emergency lights activated. He exited his vehicle, but forgot to put it into park. His car rolled forward striking the police car and causing damage. The police officer made contact with the defendant and noticed that he had trouble maintaining his balance and had the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. The defendant admitted to having 2 or 3 beers, and his blood alcohol content was over the legal limit. This was the defendant’s second arrest for DUI. The Firm developed defenses and prepared for trial. Less than a week before trial, the State dropped all charges relating to the DUI.
The Defendant was charged with Petit Theft and Resisting an Officer Without Violence while on probation for DUI. In addition, the Defendant was alleged to have not completed her community service hours and not paying certain fees in a timely fashion. A warrant was issued for the defendant's arrest with a “no bond hold”. After lengthy negotiations with the State Attorney's Office, the Firm surrendered the Defendant in open court and she was released without having to turn herself into jail pending the outcome of the violation. The Firm had lengthy discussions with the State Attorney regarding medical defenses to the charged crimes of Petit Theft and Resisting Arrest Without Violence. After resetting the court dates for the new charges and the violation of probation, the State Attorney agreed to dismiss the affidavit for violation of probation and drop all the pending criminal charges against the Defendant.
The defendant was driving his vehicle North on North County Road when he passed a deputy and looked at him with a dazed and confused look. The vehicle was slowing down and speeding up and he was drifting out of his lane. When he got to the next light, he turned without signaling and was stopped by the officer. The officer noticed that the defendant had red, glassy eyes, had an odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage coming from his breath and his speech was slurred. He was unsteady of his feet when he got out of the vehicle and had a difficult time opening the glove compartment and getting his documents out of his wallet. He told the officer that he had 2 or 3 drinks. During the walk and turn, the defendant lost his balance. During the instructional phase, used his arms for balance, took ten steps instead of the instructed nine, made an improper turn, stepped off the line, took 12 steps back instead of 9. During the one leg stand, the defendant immediately lost his balance, put his foot down several times, used his arms for balance, and swayed while standing. During the finger to nose, the defendant did not keep his eyes closed as instructed, failed to return his arms to his side and did not touch his finger to his nose. The defendant was arrested for a DUI and was taken to the Breath Alcohol Testing facility where he gave 3 samples of his breath. The first sample was a volume not met sample, the second was a .169 and the third was a .193. The firm filed a motion to suppress the evidence in the case based upon the stop being unlawful and in violation of the clients 4th Amendment Right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Result: State dropped the DUI charge.
The Defendant’s wife worked for a company for a period of 2 years. The Defendant owned his own landscaping maintenance service. During that period of time the Defendant’s wife worked for the victim, she directly wired over $450,00.00 worth of money from the company she worked for to creditors of the Defendant’s and the Defendant’s wife and family members. These monies were used to pay credit card bills, mortgage payments, car payments, tuition for the Defendant’s daughter and numerous other family bills. Through discovery, the Firm discovered that none of the monies were moved into either the personal account of the Defendant or the Defendant’s business bank operating account. Additionally, the Firm took the Deposition of the Officer as well as the accountant who discovered the wrongdoing on the part of the wife. After listing the Defendant’s wife as a witness, the State of Florida set her down for a sworn statement. On the day of the Calendar Call (a week before the trial), the State of Florida announced that they would be dropping the charges against the Defendant because they were not able to prove the allegations against him. All charges were dropped against the Defendant.
The Defendant was driving with his father on Florida’s Turnpike when he fell ill with food poisoning. The Defendant's father, who did not have a valid driver’s license due to immigration complications, decided to drive so he could get his son safely home. A Trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol pulled the father over for speeding. The trooper not only wrote a criminal citation to the father for No Valid Driver’s License, but the trooper also wrote the son a criminal citation for Allowing an Unauthorized Person to Drive, even though he was laying in the back ill. The Firm’s Treasure Coast Attorney immediately discussed the case with the prosecutor and explained the surrounding circumstances. The prosecutor dropped all charges.
The defendant was charged with Driving on a license that was not valid. The officer cited as the reason for the traffic stop that there was a necklace obstructing the view of the client in his vehicle. The Firm filed a motion to suppress the stop and the State Attorney agreed with the grounds for said motion and dismissed all charges.
