Broward DUI Lawyer Blog

While the tone of a recent WINK News "investigation" was all agasp at the prospect of drunk driving defendants winning the right to driver through Florida's administrative hearing process,, the report highlights the benefits of seeking to retain your right to drive through the state's administrative review process.

Hiring an experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI defense attorney can assist not only in the criminal case but in the administrative review that will determine your driving rights.

Anyone charged with DUI in Florida has 10 days to request an administrative review hearing through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. There, a hearing officer will decide whether to uphold the driver's license suspension.

In 2009, a total of 5,200 drivers were successful in having their suspensions lifted. Of the 48,000 DUI arrests in Florida each year, less than half request the hearing. Meaning about 1 in 4 of those are successful in getting a suspension lifted. Some had suspensions lifted despite having BAC levels three and four times over the legal limit.

"Remember there are very strict guidelines that law enforcement officers have to follow when they're using these devices," DHSMV spokesman David Westberry said. "They have all kinds of testing and standards that they have to adhere to as far as whether they give valid tests."

In other cases, drivers were given their license back simply because the arresting officer didn't show up at the hearing.

Continue reading "Administrative hearings often result in lifting of DUI driver's license suspension" »

A Tampa Bay Army veteran has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison as the result of a Florida drunk driving accident, according to Channel 10 News.

Veteran Broward County DUI Lawyer Carlos Canet frequently encourages defendants to seek the advice of an experienced and qualified drunk driving defense attorney at the earliest stages of a case. This is particularly critical in the wake of a serious or fatal crash. Authorities continue to seek maximum penalties against those charged with fatal drunk driving crashes. Elected judges are all too often happy to comply.

And, unfortunately, efforts by law enforcement to thoroughly investigate a crash sometimes end when it is alleged that one of the drivers is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Typically, a defendant is facing many years behind bars and prosecutors are often not inclined to deal unless an aggressive defense lawyer backs them down. By thoroughly investigating a DUI Manslaughter or DUI homicide case, a drunk driving defense lawyer may:

-Be able to show a defendant was not responsible for causing the accident, or was only partially at fault.

-Work to prove a defendant was not legally intoxicated.

-Fight the results of breathalyzer examinations or field sobriety tests.

-Challenge the search and seizure of evidence.

-Challenge the actions of officers at the scene.

-Call into question the training of officers or maintenance and operation of a breathalyzer machine.

-Work to seek a reduction or dismissal of the charges.

-Fight for alternative sentencing options.

-Reach an agreement with prosecutors that is in a defendant's best interest.

In this case, the 41-year-old Riverview man said he spent the morning drinking beer and taking medication before getting behind the wheel. Authorities say the drive home resulted in a 30-minute rampage down Florida Avenue in Tampa, which resulted in five crashes. The two women were killed in separate accidents.

The defendant hit one of the women's vehicles, pushing her into a utility pole. He later crashed head on into a vehicle driven by a 20-year-old at Florida Avenue and Mohawk.

The judge sentenced him to 21.3 years in prison and 23.7 years of probation on DUI manslaughter charges.

Continue reading "Decades in prison after Florida DUI manslaughter conviction" »

DUI manslaughter charges in Miami have been filed against a driver accused of running down two people waiting at a Miami-Dade bus stop, NBC News reported.

It will be critical for a veteran Miami drunk driving defense lawyer to thoroughly review the facts and circumstances surrounding this case. Florida drunk driving law (316.193 (3) F.S.) provides for a penalty of up to 15 years for DUI manslaughter. A conviction of DUI manslaughter/leaving the scene of an accident carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison.

Police say the 48-year-old driver struck two men at a bus stop Tuesday afternoon at 79th Street and Northwest 27th Avenue and attempted to flee the scene. He was run off the road by a good Samaritan.

The men were rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where one of the men later died.

A defense attorney will need to thoroughly review the facts and circumstances surrounding this case. If it can be proven either that the defendant was not legally intoxicated or that he was not at fault in the accident, he cannot be convicted of DUI manslaughter. An experienced defense lawyer will also work to challenge evidence in the case, including the results of any field sobriety tests or breathalyzer examinations as well as any evidence seized as a result of the investigation and arrest.

Continue reading "Miami DUI Manslaughter charges filed after accident at bus stop" »

E! Online reports that Jeffrey Donovan, the star of USA Network's "Burn Notice" will avoid jail and plead guilty to a lesser charge in the wake of his drunk driving arrest in Miami.

A veteran Miami DUI defense attorney is frequently successful in seeking a reduction of drunk driving charges, particularly for first-time offenders. But even in cases where a defendant faces a subsequent offense, a review of the evidence often reveals problems or technical issues with a case that will allow an experienced attorney to convince a prosecutor to lower the charges.

In this case Donovan reportedly agreed to plead guilty to reckless operation. He was sentenced to six months probation and fined $1,000. Pleading to a reduced charge has a number of benefits. Chief among them is he avoids having a drunk driving conviction on his record, which would come with steep penalties, including the likelihood of jail time, in the event of a future arrest.

Police say the 42-year-old actor nearly crashed his Audi into a police cruiser on his way home from the hotel Fountainbleau in July 2009. He told the officer he had consumed Benadryl with three glasses of wine and he refused to take the breathalyzer examination.

Continue reading ""Burn Notice" star pleads to reckless operation in wake of Miami DUI arrest" »

A judge issued a blistering reprimand of the Broward Sheriff's Office in dismissing a Fort Lauderdale DUI charge against a local attorney, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

As we report often on our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog, only about half of those charged with DUI in Florida are convicted in any given year. A Fort Lauderdale defense lawyer should always be called to fight the charges. As this case illustrates, if law enforcement's actions are this poor with an attorney, a local motorist may not stand a chance without the help of a good attorney.

The judge ruled a member of the DUI Task Force showed "blatant disregard" for the agency's policies during the 2008 arrest. Issues with the arrest as cited by the judge include: That the deputy failed to read the defendant his Miranda rights before questioning him; that the officer "unduly influenced and coerced" him into taking roadside sobriety tests after he refused; and that the officer failed to properly preserve evidence in the case.

Police were called to the scene when the former prosecutor turned defense attorney crashed into a building sign near Federal Highway and Southeast Sixth Street.

The arresting officer knew the audio recording equipment in his cruiser was faulty but failed to have it properly repaired. The recording failed during the officer's interaction with the defendant, prompting the judge to rule the defendant was denied his right to all the evidence in the case.

The sheriff's office refused to comment on the ruling.

Continue reading "Police chastised as judge dismisses Fort Lauderdale DUI charge" »

In a lab in Waltham there is a device under development that illustrates the length the government is willing to go to when it comes to intruding into the lives of those charged with drunk driving in Fort Lauderdale or elsewhere in the nation.

Broward DUI defense lawyers are frequently faced with defending a client with previous convictions, which should have been properly contested at the time. A DUI conviction on your record just makes it that much more likely you will be stopped, questioned and arrested again. And, of course, the tiered nature of Florida's drunk driving laws make a subsequent charge that much more serious. We are also frequently counseling motorists on the need to fight a charge because of the additional restrictions being constantly proposed and passed into law.

This is one of those times.

The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, or DADSS (and my aren't the feds clever?) is an alcohol detection system designed to be installed into a car by the manufacturer. The $10 million in research and development is an initiative by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS).

The government is vague about its use. But we can presume at a minimum it will be a long-term replacement for ignition interlock devices. Installing it as a required option in all automobiles would be another option, though the government doesn't want to launch that battle with the ACLU at this early stage of development.

"What we're doing is developing technology that won't interfere with sober drivers, will require virtually no maintenance or upkeep and will have such precision that it only stops a driver when their blood alcohol content is .08 BAC or higher, which is the illegal limit for drunk driving in every state," said Shane Karr, a vice president with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. "Now that we have actual prototypes, a tremendous feat in itself, we'll be working to identify the gaps in performance between these prototypes and the precise standards we've identified as true technology requirements. This will point the way forward for the next phase of research."

The device will either test for alcohol on the breath through a passive cabin test or by touch, such as a thumbprint. The next stage of development is practical demonstrations, which could begin later this year.

Continue reading "Big Brother like a permanent house guest for those convicted of DUI in Fort Lauderdale" »