Broward DUI Lawyer Blog

A Port Charlotte man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison as the result of a 2009 South Florida drunk driving accident that claimed the life of a 7-year-old girl, the Miami Herald reported.

Authorities say the 25-year-old defendant was driving on a license that had been suspended for another DUI arrest when he ran a red light and crashed into a car carrying a man and his two young daughters. The crash occurred in February 2009 at the intersection of Toledo Blade Boulevard and State Road 776.

The girl died 10 days after the crash. The defendant blamed faulty brakes for causing the accident. He was found to be under the influence of several substances at the time of his arrest and was in possession of oxycodone and Xanax. He was convicted of DUI manslaughter, two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury and two counts of DUI property damage.

Defending a client against a Florida DUI manslaughter charge requires an experienced defense attorney to build a defense against both the DUI charge and the allegation that the defendant was responsible for the accident. Unfortunately, if you are determined to be intoxicated at the scene of an accident, law enforcement will be inclined to blame you for causing the crash. An experienced defense attorney will conduct a complete review of the circumstances, which may include an accident reconstruction. In this case, the defense presented evidence that the setting sun made it difficult to see the red light and the oncoming traffic.

If it can be determined that you were not intoxicated or that you did not cause the accident, you cannot be convicted of DUI manslaughter under Florida law.

Continue reading "Man sentenced to 30 years for DUI manslaughter in death of 7-year-old Port Charlotte girl" »

The maker of a popular breathalyzer machine is apparently defying a court ruling that permits defendants to examine the evidence against them, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports.

The 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled last week that the company must honor subpoenas by defendants seeking the computer code inside the Intoxilyzer 8000. Judges in Sarasota and Manatee counties had ruled that defendants have a right to examine evidence against them.

Fort Lauderdale DUI Defense Lawyer Carlos Canet has been at the forefront of challenging the validity of breath test results as well as the training of officers involved in conducting field sobriety and breathalyzer examinations. Thousands of defendants are convicted of Florida DUI each year based on the results of breath tests -- or worse yet, the results of field sobriety tests, which amount to nothing more than an opinion that you are intoxicated by an officer whose job it is to collect evidence of your guilt.

However, the manufacturer of the machines, CMI Inc., of Kentucky, claims the code is a trade secret and has thus far refused to comply with the subpoenas. Meanwhile, the paper reports that prosecutors have had to dismiss or reduce charges in cases where the breath test results were the most compelling evidence against a defendant.

The court ruling means the company must disclose the code or continue the fight. Meanwhile, experienced DUI lawyers will continue to seek to have the results excluded from trials. The company has said it has not decided how to proceed but will not disclose valuable secrets that are central to its business.

The machine is the only breath test approved for use in Florida. Appealing to the Florida Supreme Court is one option. The company may also seek to disclose the code to the courts under an agreement that will protect it from disclosure. It's hard to see how that would work -- every DUI defense lawyer in the state would have the right to receive the information in building defenses for clients.

Continue reading "Appeals court rules breathalyzer manufacturer must disclose code to courts at request of DUI defense lawyers" »

A woman told authorities that polo mogul John Goodman had wanted her to leave the bar with him to get some cocaine minutes before he is accused of causing a deadly Palm Beach drunk driving accident, according to the Palm Beach Post.

While it is the kind of salacious detail that the media loves to report, it should never see the inside of a courtroom. An experienced Palm Beach DUI defense lawyer will fight to keep such irrelevant details from ever being presented to a jury. And, should a judge allow it to be heard, such details could provide grounds for an appeal. In other words, the fact that someone claims that a defendant might have been interested in looking for drugs has absolutely no relevance to the issue of whether he caused a fatal car accident while intoxicated.

Goodman, 46, is accused of running a stop sign in his Bentley and causing the fatal DUI accident that claimed the life of a 23-year-old man. The man's car went upside down into a canal. Goodman is charged with DUI manslaughter, failure to render aid and vehicular homicide.

As we reported on our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog, Goodman was arrested following an investigation into the Feb. 12 car accident and is free on $100,000 bail. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Court records indicate his blood-alcohol level was .177, more than twice the legal limit of .08 for drunk driving in Florida. A wrongful death lawsuit filed in the case claims the victim might have been saved had Goodman attempted to render aid. The Player Club Bar and Restaurant, where Goodman was allegedly drinking, has also been named in the suit.

Friends told investigators that a friend usually drove Goodman home but left early that evening. He left shortly after 1 a.m. The crash happened minutes later at Lake Worth Road and 120 Avenue South.

Goodman's attorneys contend police reports include only part of the story and have omitted details favorable to the defendant. This frequently occurs and is a primary reason why anyone facing a drunk driving charge should make a detailed report to share with an experienced defense lawyer. Law enforcement's job is to gather evidence of your guilt. Especially in cases where they determine you have been drinking, any attempt at building a defense will be your responsibility.

Continue reading "Salacious details in Palm Beach DUI accident case good for the media; irrelevant in a court of law" »

A 51-year-old Orlando truck driver faces a South Florida DUI charge after authorities allege he was driving his semi under the influence of alcohol.

Hiring a Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer experienced in defending the rights of commercial drivers is particularly critical when a truck driver is accused of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Florida's drunk driving laws allow for charges against a commercial driver who has a blood-alcohol level of .04 or above -- half the legal limit of .08 that applies to most motorists on the road. Violators, or those who refuse to submit to a BAC test, face a one-year license suspension. A repeat offense can lead to a permanent revocation of a commercial driver's license. And there are no provisions for a hardship license.

In this case, the Florida Highway Patrol alleges the driver's blood-alcohol samples tested .127 and .123. He was charged with two counts of DUI.

Police say the trucker was stopped after two passing motorists complained that a semi trailer had nearly run them off the road. The semi was stopped on I-75 just north of the Alachua-Marion County Line. In such cases an experienced Florida DUI attorney may challenge the probable cause for stopping the trucker, arguing that law enforcement did not witness any violations and may not have even stopped the correct tractor trailer.

In this case, the trooper does report that the semi was drifting out of its lane, though that is a favorite allegation often made by law enforcement to justify probable cause for a traffic stop.

Continue reading "Hiring an experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI defense attorney critical for commercial drivers" »

While we certainly hope the trooper makes a full recovery, a case out of Orlando illustrates the absurdity of conducting Florida DUI checkpoints.

The Florida Highway Patrol reports that a trooper was struck by a motorist who allegedly attempted to avoid a DUI checkpoint being conducted in front of the Highway Patrol headquarters in Orlando. The Sun-Sentinel reports the passing driver struck the trooper in the arm before speeding off. Troopers gave chase but the driver has not been located.

The trooper was not seriously injured.

First of all, how many drunk drivers are busy cruising past the highway patrol's Orlando headquarters? Secondly, why would you establish a DUI checkpoint in front of the building? Couldn't a trooper sit in the parking lot and watch for impaired motorists? Checkpoints can be dangerous. Law enforcement is interrupting the normal flow of traffic, usually at night, and motorists are not prepared for people walking in the road and lines of stopped traffic.

The Orlando media reported that the accident happened when the driver moved to the third of three lanes of traffic, where law enforcement had cars stopped for inspection -- presumably on the shoulder of the road. Since law enforcement typically uses the shoulder of the road for traffic stops, it seems unlikely a motorist would have planned his escape by moving over to the side of the road. We think it just as likely the driver was trying to get out of the way and was attempting to determine what was happening.

A Fort Lauderdale drunk driving defense lawyer should always be contacted when a motorist is arrested as a result of a law enforcement roadblock, or so-called "sobriety checkpoint." Police must follow specific guidelines when conducting such checkpoints. When they don't, an experienced attorney can frequently get the charges reduced or dismissed.

As we reported on our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog earlier this year, a report by The News-Press in Lee County found that 200 people were arrested during 37 checkpoint operations last year. Those arrests accounted for fewer than 1 in 100 motorists who were charged with DUI in 2009, yet required dozens of officers (frequently working for overtime pay). Meanwhile, law enforcement noted repeat offenders are not likely to face significant jail time because of fiscal constraints within the criminal justice system.

Continue reading "Arrests at South Florida DUI checkpoints should always be handled by an experienced attorney" »

A 42-year-old man is facing a Florida BUI manslaughter charge after being accused of boating while intoxicated and causing a fatal Delray Beach boating accident, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

The Deerfield Beach man's blood-alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit of .08 when the boating accident occurred on May 8, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. An experienced Fort Lauderdale BUI Attorney should always be contacted to defend the rights of someone charged with boating under the influence of alcohol. Authorities are required to follow specific guidelines when making an arrest. Those guidelines are frequently not followed in drunk driving cases, particularly those involving boating offenses.

In this case, the charges come more than a month after the defendant was charged with vessel homicide. He is accused of ramming his 35-foot speedboat into a navigation marker on the Intracoastal Waterway. A 31-year-old passenger was killed after being thrown overboard.

Authorities report that the boat was traveling at 30 mph when it crashed near Atlantic Avenue at 2:30 a.m., though the media accounts say it is unclear whether the area has any speed restrictions. The defendant was arrested and released from Palm Beach County Jail two days later on a $25,000 bond. He also faces charges of reckless operation of a motor vehicle and violating navigational rules.

We reported last month on our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog that the son of a former Miami Dolphins owner was sentenced to two years in prison after being charged with boating under the influence in Fort Lauderdale. The sentence was for a probation violation. A trial on the boating charges had been scheduled for later this year.

On Monday, Robert Ray Huizenga was sentenced to 18 months in prison by a Broward Circuit Court Judge. The sentence will run concurrent to the two-years in prison he is already serving, according to the Daily News.

Continue reading "BUI manslaughter charges result from fatal Delray Beach boating accident " »

Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a bill into law that will permit motorists convicted of a fourth DUI in Florida to regain their driving rights. The governor's website notes he signed the bill into law along with 25 other laws.

While the media has not begun reporting that the measure has been signed into law, it is sure to be big news. A spokeswoman in the governor's press office confirmed to Broward-DUI-Lawyer.com that the measure has been signed. We originally reported last month that the proposal had been passed as part of a larger transportation bill sent to the governor for his signature.

Previously those convicted of a fourth offense for drunk driving in Florida faced a lifetime driving suspension. The measure was supported by the family of a man convicted of four DUIs; the family hired a lobbyist in Tallahassee to push for the change in law. The law had a substantial chance of passing because it was inserted into a bill with other important transportation measures.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving also supported the measure, saying it was better to regulated repeat offenders than to allow them to fall off the radar and drive without a license. MADD estimates there are about 30,000 Floridians with four or more convictions for drunk driving and about half of them drive anyway.

Those convicted of DUI manslaughter may not be eligible and 10 years must have passed since the previous DUI. Those applying must also not have been cited for driving with a suspended or revoked license.

Continue reading "Governor signs law allowing four-time Florida DUI offenders the chance to obtain driving rights" »

The Daytona Beach News Journal won a journalism award last week for it's series "Beating the DUI Rap," examining the reasons why nearly half of all Volusia County DUI charges are dismissed or reduced.

Our Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer Blog reported recently that Broward County has one of the lowest DUI conviction rates in the state. The News-Press in Fort Myers also recently published a report about the low conviction rate of those charged with DUI in Lee County. Unfortunately, the media seldom spends much time talking about the many legitimate reasons such charges are dropped or dismissed.

Hiring an experienced South Florida DUI attorney frequently results in a great outcome for defendants. As the News-Journal stated "DUI defendants who hire private attorneys enjoy excellent prospects of avoiding a DUI conviction, especially if they've never been charged with DUI before." Of the 15,240 DUI charges reviewed by the paper, 64 percent of defendants who hired an attorney had their charges dropped or dismissed.

The paper found that only about 30 percent of cases represented by a public defender resulted in a reduction or dismissal of the charges. Given that the average cost of a DUI conviction is about $10,000, counting fines, court costs, increased insurance premiums and other fees, hiring an experienced drunk driving attorney is well worth the money.

An experienced attorney will carefully review police reports and available video evidence when building a defense. The reasons for the traffic stop and a host of specific rules governing breathalyzer tests and field sobriety examinations often provide legitimate means for a defense.

The paper also said more defendants are refusing such tests. Even though they will lose their driver's license under a 90 day suspension, the lack of test results often prevents a prosecutor from proving DUI. What the paper spends less time discussing is the highly subjective nature of field sobriety examinations -- you are drunk because an officer said so -- and the fact that the tests are primarily meant to gather evidence of your guilt, not determine whether or not you are innocent.

Continue reading "Hiring an attorney frequently leads to a reduction or dismissal of South Florida drunk driving charges" »

A 51-year-old man is facing Palm Beach County DUI charges after authorities say he drove his car onto the sidewalk and plowed into half a dozen pedestrians outside a nightclub.

The Palm Beach Post reported the Key Largo man drove off East Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach and struck the people standing outside Delux nightclub shortly after midnight Saturday. The driver reportedly knocked down a light pole before driving into a group of people standing on a crowded sidewalk, according to police.

He was charged with multiple counts of DUI causing serious injury and transported to the Palm Beach County Jail. Under Florida law, each charge carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. An experienced Palm Beach DUI lawyer will need to contest the charges on a number of fronts.

For each victim, the prosecutor must prove the injuries were serious. They also must prove that the defendant was driving drunk and that he was responsible for causing the accident. If any element cannot be proved, a defense attorney can seek to have the charges reduced or dismissed. Additionally, how a defendant is sentenced can have a major impact on the potential penalties in the event of a conviction.

ABC 25 reported officers found a black Ford Mustang on the sidewalk when they arrived at the scene and about six pedestrians had been injured. Several of the victims were taken to Delray Medical Center for treatment.

Continue reading "Police allege Palm Beach DUI accident injures six outside nightclub" »

Authorities say a Miami drunk driving accident seriously injured two police officers Saturday night, the Miami Herald reported.

A 61-year-old woman was charged with two counts of driving under the influence with serious bodily injury and DUI property damage. She was released on $12,000 bond late Saturday afternoon. Police were at the scene of a carjacking early Saturday morning when they say the defendant plowed her 1999 Ford Taurus into a group of officers in the Allapattah neighborhood. The accident sent two officers, who were outside their vehicles, flying through the air as the Taurus crashed into a nearby police car, NBC Miami reported.

A 35-year-old Miami police sergeant suffered head injuries and a possible spinal cord injury and was in recovery following surgery. A 45-year-old sergeant was treated for broken ribs and a broken clavicle.

Under Florida law, DUI with serious bodily injury is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. To prove the charge, prosecutors must prove both that the defendant was drunk and that she was at-fault in the accident.

CBS 4 reported the accident happened at Northwest 17 Avenue and Northwest 41 Street shortly before 2:30 a.m. The officers were apparently on foot and helping to set up a search perimeter at the time of the crash. Police say a number of cruisers were parked with their lights activated when the woman drove into the scene.

Continue reading "Miami DUI accident blamed for seriously injuring two police officers" »

A man has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after being charged with DUI with serious bodily injury in connection with a South Florida drunk driving accident, the Marco Island Eagle reported.

A 55-year-old woman was paralyzed as a result of the construction zone accident on I-75 in Naples, near the entrance to Alligator Alley. The crash occurred on Jan. 27, 2008; the defendant was driving a Snap-on Inc. van when he rear-ended the victim's Toyota Camry. The company paid a $24 million settlement to the victim's family. She was hospitalized for two months and spent several weeks in a coma. She is paraplegic and suffers from brain injuries.

Hiring defense lawyer experienced in representing clients facing criminal charges for a DUI accident in South Florida is critical to protecting your rights. As this case illustrates, jail time, job loss and civil lawsuits frequently result from serious or fatal drunk driving accidents.

The defendant's blood-alcohol level was .145, over the limit of .08 in Florida. He pleaded no contest in March to DUI with serious bodily injury; six charges of DUI with damage to person or property were dropped.

The settlement paid by Snap-On was confidential but revealed by the defendant's Miami DUI defense lawyer, who was requesting a reduced sentence from the judge. He told the judge the defendant had been both fired from his job and sued for damages by the victim's family. The attorney told the court that the defendant had been traveling and working long hours at his job and had been sober and attending AA meetings and church since the accident.

Continue reading "Naples DUI accident ends with prison time, $24 million settlement" »

A man charged with felony DUI in Palm Beach County cannot be punished for failure to appear at a court date he did not know about, the Miami Herald reported.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled the defendant could not be held responsible for missing the court date. He had initially been charged with misdemeanor DUI in Palm Beach but those charges were dropped so that the state could file a felony drunk driving charge.

The court also ruled pretrial detention may not be ordered based on failure to appear unless the court finds a defendant willfully missed a court date. The high court ruled that the trial court erred in ordering detention without finding that conditions of release could not be established without presenting a risk of harm to the community or a substantial risk that the client would not appear at trial.

Gone are the days when law enforcement can lock you up and "throw away the key." As the Supreme Court ruled in this case, unless you are charged with a capital offense or a crime punishable by life in prison (and, even then, there must be substantial evidence or presumption of guilt), you are entitled to pretrial release on reasonable conditions.

Of course, what is reasonable? It's fair to say that those arrested for DUI in South Florida sometimes raise the ire of law enforcement with post-arrest antics. In other cases, especially when a serious or fatal DUI accident is involved, a defendant is frequently treated unfairly. But a judge may not react to a police report or the circumstances of an alleged crime by unreasonably detaining a suspect. Hiring an experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyer can help protect your rights, as well as your livelihood and your ability to assist in building your defense.

In this case, the court found that the defendant attempted to attend his court date for misdemeanor DUI, but was told the charges had been dropped. He never received notice of the felony DUI charges or a new court date. Notice was apparently sent to the home of a girlfriend while he was traveling for employment. He was then arrested, hauled into jail, and detained without reasonable conditions being established for his release.

Continue reading "Supreme Court rules against unreasonable detention in Palm Beach drunk driving case " »

Two veteran Hollywood police officers have been arrested on charges in connection with falsifying evidence in a South Florida DUI accident, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

While this case is an extreme example, it is important to remember that law enforcement is not on your side when it comes to being arrested on a Fort Lauderdale drunk driving charge or in connection with a serious accident. Motorists sometimes think that by completing field sobriety tests they may be determined not to be intoxicated. Generally, an officer has decided to arrest you for drunk driving from the moment he smelled alcohol or otherwise decided for himself that you were intoxicated. Field sobriety tests and other evidence gathered by law enforcement is meant to prove your guilt.

Likewise, statements and police reports compiled by law enforcement may frequently leave out evidence that could help your defense. Documenting everything you can remember about the circumstances of your arrest, and sharing those details with a Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyer, is essential to properly defending yourself against a drunk driving charge.

In this case, the two officers, ages 37 and 43, surrendered on Wednesday to authorities at the Broward County Main Jail. Both are charged with four counts of official misconduct, four counts of falsifying records, one count of conspiracy to commit official misconduct and one count of conspiracy to falsify records. Each man had bail set at $100,000 and remained in jail on Wednesday night.

The charges stem from a February 2009 car accident in which one of the officers rear-ended a Hollywood woman while driving his patrol car. The officer's personnel file listed eight other crashes in his 12 years on the force, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Other officers responded, including a crime scene technician.

Several were caught on a cruiser's dashboard camera discussing how to doctor the scene to absolve the officer from responsibility for causing the accident.

The woman was arrested and charged with DUI. Prosecutors later dropped the charges against her after evidence from the dashboard camera became public. The other officer, a 22-year veteran of the force, wrote in a report that the woman abruptly hit her brakes, causing the officer to rear-end her car.

Both officers were fired in January, along with three other police department employees who were on the scene, including a sergeant and a crime scene technician.

Continue reading "Hollywood officers arrested and charged with doctoring evidence in DUI case" »