| Oct 24, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-502000 | Judge Gagliardi |
| Facts: | The defendant was the at fault driver in a crash whereby she made a wide turn and hit another car. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, thick tongue speech, and bloodshot eyes. She admitted to having consumed 4 to 5 drinks. She performed poorly on the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. After her arrest, she blew a .107 and a .107 in the breath machine. | |
| Defense: | There was no video at the scene. The officer's reports were very vague as to the specifics of the defendant's performance on the roadside tests. Also, the defendant was not administered the breath test for a few hours after her arrest. Thus, there was no way to extrapolate back as to whether she was above or below .08 at the time of driving. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
Parks & Braxton, PA: Miami DUI Lawyer | Criminal Defense
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OUR RECENT DUI VICTORIES
| Oct 22, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-012250 | Judge Conrad |
| Facts: | The defendant was the at fault driver in a rear end crash. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, watery eyes, a pale face, and she was off balance. She also had slurred/thick tongued speech. She refused to perform field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. She later refused the breath test. This was the defendant's Second DUI. | |
| Defense: | Under Florida law, a breath test can only be requested after arrest. Here, the officer asked for a breath test prior to arrest. Thus, the defendant's refusal to provide a breath test would have been inadmissible. Also, the officer never gave the defendant any adverse consequences when she refused roadside tests. Thus, her refusal to perform field sobriety tests would have also been inadmissible. The state Dropped the defendant's second DUI. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 21, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-013949 | Judge Myers |
| Facts: | The defendant was found passed out at an intersection traffic light. Multiple attempts were taken to try to awaken her. After breaking the window to get her up, the officer observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. She was extremely off balance and couldn't perform all the field sobriety tests. She was arrested for DUI and later refused the breath test. The defendant also has another open DUI pending. | |
| Defense: | Due to the video tape not being provided in a timely fashion, the firm was able to get the State to Drop the DUI. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 17, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-030556 | Judge Babb |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for weaving. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, a flushed/red face, and bloodshot eyes. The defendant could not recall how much alcohol he had drank. After performing the roadside tests, he was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .144 and a .140 in the breath machine. | |
| Defense: | The defendant was coerced into taking a breath test. Specifically, the officer told him that if he blew under a .08, he would only get a ticket. The defendant was led to believe that he could be released from custody if he agreed to blow in to the machine. An officer cannot dangle freedom when trying to obtain a breath test. One will not be unarrested once taken in to the jail after being arrested for DUI. Thus, the breath test results would have been excluded. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 17, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-032878 | Judge Babb |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for traveling at a slow rate of speed and leaving the roadway twice into the grass. Upon contact, the officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and watery eyes. She stumbled, staggered, swayed, and was clumsy. She admitted she should not have been driving. She performed poorly on the field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. She later blew a .126 and a .125 in the breath machine. | |
| Defense: | The lawfulness of the traffic stop was called into question. Here, no traffic was affected by her slow driving and the leaving the road two times. She also did not endanger anyone with her driving. Thus, there was no probable cause to effect the traffic stop. The State Dropped the DUI. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 17, 2019 | Case: 2019-CF-035695 | Judge Koenig |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, glassy/bloodshot eyes, and he admitted to having consumed two beers. After performing the HGN (eye test), one leg stand, and walk and turn exercises, he was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test. In a search subsequent to arrest, the officer also discovered cocaine and the defendant as charged with felony possession. | |
| Defense: | In order to lawfully request a defendant to perform roadside tasks, there must reasonable suspicion of a crime. In other words, there must be some evidence that the defendant was impaired. Here, there was no erratic driving, no balance issues, and no speech issues. Thus, all the field sobriety test would have been inadmissible. The State Dropped the DUI and firm is working on trying to get the felony dismissed. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 16, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-005001 | Judge Mcneil |
| Facts: | The defendant was found passed out in his car at a gas pump. It took numerous attempts to try to awaken the defendant. Upon awakening the defendant, the officer observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and glossy eyes. After performing the field sobriety tests, he was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test. | |
| Defense: | The officers’ reports were very vaguely written. The video of the defendant contradicted many of the observations on the reports. The week before trial, the State Dropped the DUI. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 15, 2019 | Case: AAZ7LUE | Judge Riba |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for speeding and driving without lights. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, watery eyes, and a flushed face. After performing numerous roadside tests, he was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .081 in the breath machine. | |
| Defense: | Based on the margin of error built into the breath machine, the State was unable to prove that the defendant was above the legal limit of .08. The State Dropped the DUI. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 15, 2019 | Case: AALFX2E | Judge Riba |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for weaving. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and he had slow reactions. He also had a flushed face and admitted to having drank gin and tonics. According to the officer, he failed the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test. | |
| Defense: | The officer exaggerated the defendant's alleged impairment on the field sobriety tests. His video contradicted all the reports. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 15, 2019 | Case: 18-028556MU10A | Judge Gottlieb |
| Facts: | The police received a call regarding an intoxicated woman who just left a bar. At the same time, a call was placed to 911 regarding a female who was being followed by a man. The police located both vehicles with the woman parked on the side of the road with the engine running. The officer approached the female and observed characteristics of impairment. Specifically, he observed a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, as well as slurred speech. The initial officer called for a DUI task force officer. The DUI officer arrived and conducted field sobriety tests. The defendant was arrested and blew .087 in the breath machine. In addition, the defendant provided a urine sample and tested positive for three (3) controlled substances. | |
| Defense: | Parks & Braxton filed a motion to compel the 911 call. It was later revealed that the 911 call was destroyed. Depositions were taken from both officers. In deposition, the officers agreed that they should have investigated the male who was parked behind the defendant. Parks and Braxton filed a motion to dismiss based on a necessity defense. Specifically, the defendant was legally entitled to commit a DUI in order to avoid the greater harm of being assaulted by the man who was following her. The Prosecutor agreed and subsequently dropped the DUI. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 15, 2019 | Case: 2493-XBG | Judge Nunez |
| Facts: | The defendant was the at fault driver in a rear end crash. Officers noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, thick tongued speech, and he was stumbling around. He also swayed and admitted to having drank beer. He performed poorly on the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test. This was the defendant's Second DUI. | |
| Defense: | Although the defendant performed the walk and turn, one leg stand, and HGN (eye test), nothing was captured on video tape. All the officers had body worn cameras but not one roadside task was on tape. This lack of evidence was presented to the State and they Dropped the DUI. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 10, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-039403 | Judge T. Brown |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for driving on a flat tire at a very low speed. The officer noticed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and he stated he had consumed 3 beers. The defendant appeared slow, clumsy, he swayed, and he also staggered. After performing the field sobriety tests, he was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .103 and a .102 in the breath machine. | |
| Defense: | There is a .02 and a .005 margin of the error with the breath machine. Here, the firm was able to place both of the defendant's breath test results under the legal limit. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 8, 2019 | Case: 2019-CM-003455 | Judge Gutman |
| Facts: | The defendant's car was struck in a ditch. When police arrived, the defendant and her boyfriend were on the scene. Upon contact with the defendant, the officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, glassy eyes, and slurred speech. For some reason, the defendant walked away from the police and jumped in her boyfriend's vehicle. Officers immediately stopped her and pulled her out of the truck. She then became verbally abusive and refused to perform any field sobriety tests. She was arrested for DUI and later refused the breath test. This was the defendant's Second DUI within five years. | |
| Defense: | Parks & Braxton pointed out to the State that there was not enough evidence to place in her in actual physical control. The officers yanked her out of the driver seat before she could gain control of the truck. The State agreed and Dropped the defendant's Second DUI. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 8, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-008399 | Judge Farr |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for driving with no headlights. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, watery/glassy eyes, and she admitted to having consumed three vodka cranberry drinks. According to the officer, she performed poorly on the roadside tasks and was arrested for DUI. After her arrest, she blew a .109 and a .106 in the breath machine. | |
| Defense: | It was pointed out to the State by the firm that the defendant’s alleged performance on the roadside tasks, as written in the reports, was contradicted by her video tape. The tape clearly showed that she was absorbing alcohol and had a lower breath alcohol level at the time of driving. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 8, 2019 | Case: 2019-MM-001632 | Judge Woodard |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for speeding, The officer observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and thick tongued speech. He then performed numerous field sobriety tests, such as the walk and turn, one leg stand, and finger to nose. He was then arrested for DUI and later blew a .130 and a .131 in the breath machine. | |
| Defense: | There were inconsistencies between the reports and the videotapes. Thus, the credibility of the officers was called into question. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 4, 2019 | Case: 19-CT-006693 | Judge Smith |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for violating the right of way and almost causing a collision with a police officer. The officer observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and he appeared unsteady on his feet. A DUI officer was called to administer roadside tests. The defendant performed very poorly and was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .187 and a .183 in the breath machine. | |
| Defense: | During discovery, the firm uncovered that the arresting officer had been terminated for falsification of records and untruthfulness. His credibility as to whether he lied in this case was now called into question. The DUI was Dismissed. | |
| Result: | The DUI was dismissed. | |
| Oct 4, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-002080CTAXWS | Judge Roberts |
| Facts: | The defendant was the at fault driver in a rear end crash. When the officer arrived, he observed the defendant to have an odor of alcohol, bloodshot/glossy eyes, and his answers to the officer's questions were not coherent. The defendant admitted to having drank beer and there was a bottle of vodka and a 12 pack of beer in the defendant's vehicle. He performed poorly on the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused the breath test. | |
| Defense: | Parks & Braxton announced ready for trial. Just prior to the trial date, the firm uncovered that the arresting officer had been terminated after having been arrested on felony charges. The State was also late in providing any discovery such as police reports and video tapes. The firm would not waive speedy trial and moved to compel further info about officer and all discovery. Just a few days prior to trial, the State Dropped the DUI and the defendant received no criminal conviction on his record. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Oct 3, 2019 | Case: 19-009212MU10A | Judge Levy |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for inoperable tag lights and swerving. After observing an odor of alcohol, and the defendant stating he had drank 2-3 beers, the officer requested the defendant perform field sobriety tests. The defendant performed very poorly. For example, on the walk and turn, he raised his arms for balance, missed heel to toe, and stepped off the line. On the one leg stand, he raised his arms for balance and put his foot down. He was arrested for DUI and later refused the breath test. This was the defendant's second DUI. | |
| Defense: | Parks & Braxton filed a pretrial motion to suppress the evidence. In our motion, we alleged that the defendant was unlawfully detained. We argued at the motion hearing that there must be more than a mere odor of alcohol in order to detain a defendant to perform to field sobriety tests. The Judge agreed and granted the motion and threw out all of the evidence. The DUI was then Dismissed. | |
| Result: | The DUI was dismissed. | |
| Oct 2, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-005902 | Judge Myers |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for driving with no tail lights and having his daylight running lights on after dark. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and a flushed face. He stated he had drank two beers, appeared unsteady, and swayed while he stood. He was arrested for DUI after performing several roadside tasks. He later refused the breath test. This was the defendant's Second DUI. | |
| Defense: | According to the NHTSA manual on field sobriety tests, the officer is required to administer them on flat, level surface. Here, it was obvious on tape that the officer had the defendant perform the walk and turn on a downhill slope. Although the officer wrote that the defendant had no medical injuries preventing him from performing the one leg stand, that was contradicted by the video. On tape the defendant his heard telling the officer that he had hip issues. This was pointed out to the State and they Dropped the DUI. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
| Sep 25, 2019 | Case: 2019-CT-007356 | Judge Gutman |
| Facts: | The defendant was stopped for swerving into the bike lane, speeding, and almost hitting a curb. He had an odor of alcohol, glassy/bloodshot eyes, and he stated he had nothing to drink. He then performed the HGN (eye test), walk and turn, and one leg stand tests. He was then arrested for DUI and later blew a .140 and a .133 in breath machine. | |
| Defense: | Due to the fact that there were no balance problems or speech issues prior to the roadside tasks, there was a lack of reasonable suspicion to even request field sobriety tests. An odor of alcohol and bloodshot/glassy eyes are only indicators of the consumption of alcohol and not impairment. | |
| Result: | The State dropped the DUI. | |
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