The defendant was stopped for speeding, expired tag and having a broken side view mirror. After being stopped the officer noticed the strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, flushed face and slurred speech. Once out of the car, the defendant was very unsteady and had trouble walking to the rear of his car. The defendant admitted to drinking a couple of drinks and coming from an unknown bar. Roadside exercises were offered and refused and the defendant was arrested. Once at the police station, according to the arresting officer, the d0efendant became enraged, banging his head on the metal door, spitting on the wall and urinating in his cell, then rubbing his hands in the urine. The breath test was refused. Acquitted of DUI by jury after 15 minutes of deliberations.
The defendant was involved in a traffic accident where the defendat struck a house with his vehicle and fled the scene. The officer approached the defendant in a parking lot close to the site of the accident, upon where he found the defendant sleeping in his vehicle. The defendant refused breath testing. DUI charge dropped.
A deputy of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office alleged he observed our client drinking a beer in the parking lot of a bar. The deputy claimed he grabbed our client to arrest him for violating the County’s Open Container Ordinance. The defendant allegedly resisted the deputy’s arrest by striking him in the head and body numerous times. Our client fled to a nearby wooden lot to hide, but was later apprehended by a K-9. Later, out client was alleged to have admitted to “fighting” the deputy. The State Attorney’s Office made a plea offer of 26 months prison to three felony charges. Once hired, Defense Counsel immediately began working on a defense. Through research, Defense Counsel learned that the Defendant did not actually violate the open container ordinance because the particular ordinance only applies to convenience stores and vacant properties, not bars or restaurants. Therefore, the deputy was actually making an illegal arrest. Furthermore, through defense counsel depositions, it was determined there was no evidence of the defendant striking the deputy such as injuries or witness testimony other than that of the deputy himself. Defense Counsel was also able to track down numerous witnesses who were present in the parking lot and could testify favorably for the Defendant. Lastly, Defense Counsel learned that another deputy was fired by the Sheriff for harassing another citizen a few weeks later while using our client’s name as a reference. This fact showed a possible trend of harassment in this particular area and for our client. Defense Counsel set the case for trial and subpoenaed the Sheriff himself to testify in favor of the Defendant’s case. On the day of trial, Defense Counsel convinced the prosecutor to resolve the case with only misdemeanor charges and NO JAIL TIME.22/01/2010
The Defendant was seen driving a black Chevrolet Cavalier at 77 mph in a 50 mph zone. A Deputy stopped the vehicle and made contact with the Defendant. The Defendant was observed to have red watery eyes, slurred speech and odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath. The Deputy requested the Defendant perform field sobriety exercises, which he complied. On the walk and turn test, the Defendant could not keep his balance while listening to instructions, started the test before told to do so, did not touch heel to toe 3 times, lost his balance during the turn and took an incorrect number of steps. On the One leg stand test, the Defendant swayed while balancing and used his arms for balance. During the follow the pen test the Defendant exhibited all 6 possible clues indicating impairment. The Defendant was placed under arrest for DUI. A search of the Defendant revealed 2 hand rolled cigarettes in his right front pocket. The green leafy substance contained in the cigarettes tested positive for marijuana. An open 750ml bottle of vodka was also found in the Defendant’s vehicle. The Defendant was charged with DUI, possession of marijuana, open container and speeding. Results: The DUI charge was dropped along with the open container and speeding citations. A negotiated plea was reached regarding the marijuana charge which required the Defendant to only have to pay the court costs.
The defendant was stopped for driving with an expired tag. During the traffic stop, the officer learned that the defendant’s license was suspended. The defendant was charged with Felony Driving while License Suspended. The firm filed a motion to dismiss. On the day the motion was to be heard, the State dropped all felony charges.
This is a second offense for DUI. The Defendant was seen by a Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy drifting in and out of his lane on no less than 5 occasions and then straddling the lane markers with his vehicle. The Deputy then saw the Defendant swerve into the right lane almost crashing into a silver Lexus. The Deputy conducted a traffic stop and noticed the defendant had the odor of an alcoholic beverage; bloodshot glassy eyes and was belligerent. A DUI investigator arrived on scene and made the same observations as the stopping deputy and even noticed the Defendant’s speech was slurred and mumbled. The DUI investigator administered roadside exercises and the Defendant was unable to do them. The exercises were video recorded and the Defendant looked impaired by alcohol. The Defendant was arrested for DUI and refused the breath test. The Firm filed a Motion to suppress the roadside sobriety exercises based upon the fact the DUI investigator coerced the Defendant to do them even though they are voluntary under Florida Law. The Motion was granted by the judge; the videotape and all testimony concerning the exercises was excluded. The State Dropped all charges.
An officer of the Port St. Lucie Police Department made a traffic stop on our client, who was present in his car with his girlfriend and baby. The officer began to immediately question our client about his prior use of drugs and eventually received consent to search his car. The officer located the remains of a marijuana joint in the driver’s side door panel behind some paperwork. Our client adamantly denied knowledge of the substance in his car; however, he admitted on camera that he last smoked marijuana the proceeding week. Our client was arrested and faced serious consequences to his professional career as a computer engineer for a well known company. Defense counsel demanded a jury trial. The evidence, as presented by Defense Counsel, brought to light that our client’s brother was known to borrow the car and would occasionally smoke marijuana inside it. Furthermore, the evidence showed the officer failed to take necessary steps that could have proved knowledge, including testing the joint for DNA or finger prints. Lastly, the evidence suggested the officer may have used racial profiling which biased his ultimate decision in making the arrest. At the conclusion of trial, the jury deliberated for approximately ten minutes before returning a verdict of NOT GUILTY.
The defendant was charged with Felony Driving under the Influence based upon the fact he had acquired two previous DUI convictions, one of which was within 10 years of this felony offense. In this felony case, an officer of the Hallandale Police Department failing to maintain his lane and driving erratically on Hallandale Beach Boulevard and almost hit the center median. The Officer stopped the Defendant’s vehicle. The Officer made contact with the Defendant and noticed him have the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage; slurred speech; flushed face; glassy and bloodshot eyes and was unsteady on his feet. The Defendant was asked to perform roadside sobriety exercises and refused to do them. The Defendant also refused the breath test. The Firm filed a Motion to Dismiss these felony charges, which was punishable by up to 5 years in prison based on the fact that State used an invalid uncounseled prior conviction to raise this charge to felony status. The Motion was granted and all felony DUI charges were dismissed.
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 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.
