On August 3, 2008, the Defendant was seen pulling into a commercial warehouse area by an Officer of the Davie Police Department who was patrolling that area. The Officer witnessed the Defendant’s vehicle pull into a parking spot and shut its lights off. The Officer pulled her marked patrol vehicle and parked it behind the Defendant’s vehicle preventing it from moving. The officer approached the vehicle and noticed the Defendant appeared to have her head lying upon the steering wheel of her vehicle. The defendant was asked to exit her vehicle and the officer noticed an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the Defendant; red and watery eyes, and was unsteady on her feet. The Defendant also admitted that “she pulled off the road because she had too much to drink”. The Defendant was asked to perform roadside exercises and performed poorly. The Defendant was arrested for DUI and submitted to a breath test that resulted in readings of .127/.129 g/210L, approximately 50% over the legal limit of .08. The firm filed a Motion to Suppress based upon the unlawful seizure of the Defendant initiated by the Officer “blocking in” the Defendant’s vehicle with her patrol unit. The motion was granted and the State dropped all charges.
The defendant was stopped by a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Deputy on October 1st, 2009. The Defendant’s license was suspended due to a DUI. The Officer issued the Defendant two citations. One was not wearing his seatbelt and the other was for Driving on A Suspended License with Knowledge. The State of Florida offered the Defendant 45 days in the Palm Beach County Jail if he wished to plead guilty. The firm investigated whether the stop was lawful under the 4th Amendment and concluded it was not. The State of Florida agreed and the Prosecutor dismissed all the charges.
The Defendant was observed by an off duty police sergeant sitting at a red light. When the light cycled to green, the Defendant’s vehicle did not move. The Sergeant checked on the Defendant and observed that he appeared to be asleep at the wheel of his car. The vehicle was in gear and running. The Sergeant was able to turn the car off and place it in the park. He could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on the Defendant’s breath. The Defendant did not awaken during the removal of the keys and the light cycled about 8 times during this interaction. A DUI investigator was called to the scene. When the DUI investigator arrived at the scene, he noticed that the Defendant’s vehicle was beyond the stop bar and 3 feet into the pedestrian crossing line. The Defendant was still asleep. The investigator was able to awaken the Defendant. The officer noted a moderate odor of alcohol on the Defendant’s breath, his speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot and watery. The Defendant’s movements were slow and deliberate as he spoke to the investigator. The Defendant agreed to perform field sobriety exercises. The Defendant could not follow the stimulus on the HGN/follow the light test. On the Walk and turn test, the Defendant started prior to being instructed, stopped walking during the exercise to balance himself, did not touch heel to toe and forgot what to do after the first series of steps. On the One Leg Stand test, the Defendant swayed, put down his foot, switched legs during the test and lost count. On the ABC test, the Defendant slurred so badly that the Officer could not understand to evaluate his recitation of the alphabet. On the counting test, the Defendant improperly recited 100 to 75 backward, by missing 76 and continued to count all the way to 62 until he was told to stop by the Officer. The Defendant submitted to a breath test, which gave the results .066 and .063. After the firm raised issues with prosecutor regarding a urine test, the State dismissed all charges against the Defendant.
The Defendant was stopped by DUI Task Force Member of the Pembroke Pines Police Department for weaving within his lane and speeding 63/45. Upon making contact with the Defendant, the Officer noticed the Defendant have the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath and his eyes were bloodshot and watery and he swayed while standing unassisted. He also admitted to consuming alcohol. The Defendant then was asked to perform roadside sobriety exercises and did so poorly. The Defendant was arrested and submitted to the breath test that resulted in a reading of .114/.115 g/210L, well over the legal limit of .08. The firm obtained a videotape depicting the entire episode between the Officer and the Defendant that depicted the Officer conducting an illegal roadside exercise relevant to DUI while the Defendant was still seated in his vehicle. This illegal exercise was the sole basis that allowed the Officer to ask the defendant out of his car for further roadside investigation, which led to his arrest for DUI. The firm filed a Motion to Suppress for Unlawful Detention based upon the Officer’s illegal conduct, which was summarily granted by the Judge. All charges were dropped by the State.
The Defendant was stopped for Failure to Maintain a Single Lane by a member of the Pembroke Pines DUI Task Force. Upon making contact with the Defendant, the Officer noticed the odor of an alcoholic beverage upon the Defendant’s Breath; bloodshot and watery eyes among other obvious indicators of alcohol impairment. The Defendant was asked to perform roadside sobriety exercises and did not perform well. The Defendant was arrested for DUI and submitted to the breath test which registered .045/.041 g/210L. After the firm’s investigation into this case and relaying findings to the State of Florida, no DUI charges were filed.
Officers of the Port St. Lucie Police Department were dispatched to a bar in reference to a possible fight. Upon scene, two witnesses told the officers the Defendant punched his sister and forcefully pulled her from his car in the parking lot. The defendant was immediately arrested. The Prosecutor offered the Defendant 45 days in jail. After the Defendant hired the Ticket Clinic to represent him, Defense Counsel aggressively began investigating the alleged facts. Defense Counsel learned the witnesses were biased against the Defendant from a previous altercation. This bias may have caused the witnesses to exaggerate or be dishonest about the facts. Additionally, Defense Counsel learned the alleged victim denied being touched by the Defendant. Defense Counsel immediately filed legal documents which, if granted, would allow Defense Counsel to extensively question the bias witnesses prior to trial. The witnesses became uncooperative with the prosecution against the Defendant. The Assistant State Attorney dropped all charges against the Defendant.
The Defendant was first seen traveling in the inside lane. The officer alleged that he paced the Defendant traveling 20-25 mph in a 45 mph zone. The officer also alleged the Defendant’s vehicle was weaving within his lane and on several occasions, straddled the center white line. The Officer made a stop for suspicion of DUI. The officer, upon making contact with the Defendant, noticed an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. He also noticed that the Defendant’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy. The officer requested the Defendant perform several field sobriety exercises to which he complied. On the walk and turn test, the Defendant exhibited 4 of the 8 possible indicators of impairment. The Defendant failed to maintain his balance, did not touch heel to toe, stepped off the line and used his arms for balance. On the one leg stand test, the Defendant exhibited 2 of the 4 possible indicators of impairment. The Defendant swayed while balancing and used his arms for balance. The Defendant was placed under arrest for DUI. After being read his Miranda rights, the Defendant admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages and feeling the effects of those drinks. The Defendant then provided a breath sample of .140 and .136. Result: The firm filed a motion to suppress evidence in the case and the DUI charge was dropped by the State before the motion could be heard by the Judge.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint about a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, deputies met with the Defendant and his wife and began an investigation. The deputies determined the couple was arguing about changing their baby’s diaper. According to the deputies, the Defendant grabbed his wife by the throat and squeezed until she could not breathe. Additionally, the deputies believed the Defendant would not allow his wife to leave their apartment. The Defendant was arrested and charged with a felony. After meeting with the Defendant, Defense Counsel recognized the evidence was weak and seemed to suggest the wife may have been the primary aggressor as she grabbed a knife at one point. Additionally, it appeared the wife did not support the deputies’ charges. Defense Counsel immediately filed legal documents attempting to persuade the State Attorney’s Office not to file formal charges. The State Attorney Office agreed with Defense Counsel and dismissed all charges against the Defendant.
A Sergeant with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office observed the Defendant while driving a vehicle make a wide right turn and travel on the wrong side of the road for approximately 50 ft. The Sergeant then noticed the Defendant stop for a red light 20 ft. prior to the intersection. After making a traffic stop, the Sergeant smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the Defendant. An officer specializing in DUI was called to the scene. In addition to smelling an odor of alcohol, the DUI officer also noticed the Defendant had bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech. Additionally, the Defendant continued searching for his registration after he had already given provided it. The Defendant performed the field sobriety tasks poorly to where the officer indicated in his report that it was “obvious” the Defendant was impaired. After being arrested, the Defendant refused to provide a breath sample. Defense counsel reviewed the evidence and advised the Defendant to fight the DUI charge by taking it to trial. On the day of trial, moments before the jury was to be selected, the Assistant State Attorney dropped the DUI charge.
Three Officers from the Plantation Police Department responded to a rear end collision in which the Defendant was involved. Upon the arrival of the officers, the Defendant was found asleep at the wheel of his vehicle with the motor running and he was unresponsive to the officers’ attempts to wake him. The Defendant was dazed, confused and disoriented upon waking up. The Defendant was asked to exit his vehicle and was extremely unsteady on his feet and “appeared to be intoxicated” according to the arresting officer. The defendant had a heavy odor of an alcoholic beverage and stated he “drank just a little”. The Defendant refused to submit to roadside sobriety exercises and refused to submit to a breath test. All DUI charges were dropped on 6/9/08.
The Defendant is a 46 year old male who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease. The Defendant’s symptoms in the form of shaking, stammering of his speech and a head tilt that are readily visible. The Defendant was traveling on Southeast 12th Avenue in Deerfield Beach. An accident unrelated to the Defendant was down the road and was being investigated by BSO and was being filmed for a television show “Police Women of Broward County”. As the Defendant was slowly driving due to traffic from the accident up ahead, a female officer being filmed for the television show came from nowhere, pounded on the Defendant’s window and ordered him to pull over immediately. The Defendant drove 20-30 feet and pulled over on his own. The female officer made contact with the Defendant and noticed the odor of an alcoholic beverage from a beer he had just opened by the Defendant before being stopped; bloodshot eyes, “slurred speech”, among other indicators of impairment. A DUI investigator was called to the scene and asked the Defendant to perform roadside exercises and he did so poorly> The defendant was then arrested for DUI and for Felony Fleeing and Eluding for failing to Stop immediately at the request of the female officer. After an investigation by the firm, it was established that the female officer exaggerated her behavior for purposes of her appearance on television and that the defendant’s performance during roadside exercises was caused by his Parkinson’s Disease. We were also able to prove that the only alcohol consumed was one sip of the beer he had just opened. All Criminal charges were dropped by the State.
The defendant was involved in a 3 car accident. The Officer arrived and stated he witnessed client exiting vehicle. He smelled the odor of alcohol when speaking with the defendant and noticed he was swaying as well. He proceeded with a DUI investigation in which the defendant failed the field sobriety exercises and blew a .142. We filed a motion to suppress because the officer could not testify that the defendant was driving at the time of the accident. The State dismissed the case.
