The Defendant was observed by a police officer driving on Congress road. As the vehicle passed the officer, it struck the curb. The officer pulled behind the vehicle and it began to drastically slowed down. After turning on his lights, the vehicle continued slowly for about a block and then stopped in the road. The officer noticed the defendant was very disoriented and very confused. She stated multiple times without questioning that she had been drinking. She dropped all of her documents on the floor. In slow, mumbled and slurred speech, the Defendant began speaking to the officer about unrelated issues to her driving. She smelled like alcohol and had trouble standing. She performed poorly on roadside exercises and was transported to the breath facility. Her actions at the breath facility were all captured on video. The Defendant cursed and screamed at the officer on video for approximately 10-15 minutes until she blew a .209 and .229 (almost three times the legal limit). The Firm filed a motion to suppress arguing that the Defendant was stopped without any probable cause of a traffic infraction and no reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. The officer testified at the hearing and was cross examined by our Firm. He was impeached with his sworn testimony from the administrative hearing and impeached with his own police reports. The Judge granted the motion. The State filed a notice of appeal and the Firm was retained to handle the appeal. After sending a letter to the State Attorney regarding the findings of credibility at the motion to suppress and after reviewing the issues with the State Attorney’s Office Appellate Department, the Appeal was voluntarily dismissed. The State of Florida could not move forward against the Defendant on any criminal charges.
DUI & Criminal Division
