Broward DUI Lawyer Blog

If not for the serious injury to a child and the charge filed against the defendant, this news story could be something borne out of The Three Stooges.

According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, a Fort Lauderdale man faces a charge of aggravated child abuse in connection with allegations that he used a saw to cut a cast off his son's arm.

Florida seems to always be full of strange news stories and many of them involve the criminal justice system. But many cases are more than meets the eye. Having an experienced Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney by your side is critical in defending these types of allegations; a right that everyone is afforded.

The 33-year-old man faces a charge of aggravated child abuse, which is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. According to Florida Statute 827.03, the burden of proof for aggravated child abuse is when a person:

• Commits aggravated battery on a child;


• Willfully tortures, maliciously punishes, or willfully and unlawfully cages a child; or


• Knowingly or willfully abuses a child and in so doing causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child.

While these may be simple terms, proving them in a court of law may be difficult.

"Willfully tortures and maliciously punishes" are terms that may be difficult to prove. The newspaper reports that the man got home and retrieved a 10-inch circular saw from his truck and tried to cut the cast off. In the process, the top of the 15-year-old's right thumb was cut off and the middle finger of the right hand was almost entirely cut off as well.

The newspaper reports that it's unclear why the man tried to remove the cast. He gave a statement to police and was taken into custody. Along with the more severe injuries, the teen had a three-inch-long cut along his hand.

In some cases, proving "permanent disability" and "permanent disfigurement" can be difficult to prove. In this case, the teen required emergency surgery to repair the damage. But in other cases where this charge is alleged, it may be possible to prove that injuries are repairable and that they were caused by accident and not on purpose.

In any criminal case, an experienced defense attorney will file motions and work to suppress evidence that the state wants to present in its case against the defendant. This can include a statement coerced by detectives that violates a defendant's rights, evidence, such as DNA, financial records or video surveillance that were improperly obtained by detectives or other pieces of evidence.

Getting that tossed out of a case can help a defendant and can open the window to prosecutors dropping the charges altogether or coming up with a better plea offer.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Man Faces Child Abuse Charge After Trying to Saw Son's Cast Off" »

A Sunny Isles Beach paralegal was arrested and charged with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from her Fort Lauderdale law firm, The Miami Herald reports.

Regardless of the charge brought by authorities, every criminal defendant has the right to a fair trial. And that trial includes having access to an aggressive Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Lawyer who is able to challenge every aspect of the charges filed by the state.

According to the newspaper, the 53-year-old paralegal faces more than 80 felonies that include grand theft and forging documents. A lawyer in New York, but who isn't licensed to practice law in Florida, the woman allegedly stole money from her firm, including pilfering from a lawyer who was on his deathbed.

The woman's lawyer alleges that the firm, which handles business and property litigation, pressured prosecutors into filing criminal charges as a way to aid in a civil lawsuit the firm has filed against her.

Prosecutors allege the woman transferred more than $82,000 from the firm to pay off three credit card accounts belonging to her husband in 2008 and 2009. She allegedly also stole $56,000 from a lawyer for her and her husband. And the state believes she transferred $31,000 from the lawyer's credit card account to the law firm's account, which was meant to cover up earlier thefts from her employer. At the time, the lawyer was hospitalized with a terminal illness.

In Florida, grand theft can be punished as a first-degree felony, which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, according to Florida Statutes 812.014.

Grand theft is defined as taking the property of another if the property is $100,000 or more, if it's cargo worth $50,000 or more or if a getaway vehicle is used or causes damage to property while committing the crime.

Forgery, under Florida Statutes 831.01, is falsely making, changing or otherwise tampering with a long list of documents defined in the statute. It is punishable as a third-degree felony, which means a possible prison sentence of five years.

Obviously, both of these charges are serious. But they also require proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the state must provide before a judge or jury. An aggressive Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Lawyer will fight all aspects of the charges. What must be shown is exactly why the state believes the person was able to transfer the money around and proof that the money was sent to personal accounts against the law.

But in order to even get that far, many aspects of the investigation can be challenged. Police and prosecutors can't just get whatever information they want without following the rules of the court in accessing it. It's possible that broken rules and missed procedures can result in information being suppressed -- or kept out of consideration for the jury. And that can be advantageous for the defense.

Continue reading "Paralegal Charged With Allegedly Embezzling from Fort Lauderdale Law Firm" »

Attorneys statewide, including Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyers, have been trying to obtain access to the Intoxilyzer 8000 software source code.

CMI Inc, of Owensboro, Ky, has fought the attorneys' efforts, fearing access to the code would exploit the inaccuracies and unreliability of the product that law enforcement relies on to secure convictions against those facing DUI charges in Miami and elsewhere.

Attorneys have been fighting for most of the last decade to obtain this information. The first attempts came while the Intoxilyzer 5000 was in use and continued after 2002, when the 5000 was withdrawn and the 8000 came into use.

Despite issuing subpoenas to the company, it claims the source code is proprietary property and some Florida courts accepted it. But a breakthrough happened recently in Sarasota, where an attorney obtained a subpoena forcing the company to turn over the source code. After several losing appeals, the company has been forced to comply, though it hasn't been quick to do it.

The source code is the actual programmed instructions that guide the breathlyzer machine in its various functions. So, in order to know exactly how the device works, examination of the code is necessary. It is crucial that attorneys have access to the information in order to adequately present problems that may exist.

While the company may argue that it is information that could hurt business if the secret got out, Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer Carlos Canet believes it is critical to examine on behalf of DUI clients. His firm has brought the source code challenge to courts in Broward County on behalf of many DUI clients. A hearing is scheduled seeking to suppress breath test results based on problems with the Intoxilyzer source code in a South Florida DUI case. It's just one more step he takes in aggressively fighting for the rights of clients facing drunk driving charges in Broward County and the surrounding area.

There have been many cases throughout the country where prosecutors have considered dropping charges against DUI defendants because of problems with these devices. In some cases, manufacturing defects cause problems, such as registering a high blood-alcohol content level in cases where the driver hasn't had that much to drink. In other cases, police have failed to properly maintain the devices and they aren't properly calibrated, leading to similar problems.

At the root of the problem are the devices and the criminal justice system's reliance on them in the first place. These devices don't measure a person's blood-alcohol content level, but only provide an estimation. And studies have shown that many factors can influence the device's output, such as weather conditions, what a person has to eat and the gases that travel in a person's breath, as well as other conditions.

Our firm will continue to fight these devices and their admission into criminal cases throughout South Florida. Without fighting these devices, DUI defendants don't get a fair trial, a basic right that all Americans have. And our firm is dedicated to aggressively and diligently representing clients charged with crime.

Continue reading "Broward DUI Lawyer Fighting To Crack Intoxilyzer Code in DUI Cases" »

A Lake Worth teenager was recently arrested and charged with two counts each of DUI manslaughter, two counts of vehicular homicide and one count each of causing or contributing to serious bodily injury while under the influence, and causing or contributing to injury to person or property while under the influence, The Palm Beach Post reports.

DUI manslaughter charges in Fort Lauderdale are punishable by up to 15 years in prison per count. Same with vehicular homicide. And juveniles charged with DUI-related crimes face challenges because a conviction can sometimes disqualify teens from scholarships, college admission, jobs and other benefits. Hiring an experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI Defense Lawyer is critical to making sure a person is properly defended in court.

The 18-year-old facing the charges is being held on $25,000 bond, with the option of supervised release, The Palm Beach Post reports. The charges related to a February accident along Lake Osborne Road in West Palm Beach when the driver allegedly lost control of his Ford F-150 truck and crashed into a tree. Two other teens were killed and a third injured.

A fourth passenger, along with the driver, was not hurt. The driver told the newspaper after the crash he had consumed just one beer and was driving friends home at the time. The road was wet, the newspaper reports.

If he makes bond, the defendant must not possess or consume alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription drugs without a prescription, operate a motor vehicle, violate the law or go to a bar or liquor store.

What is evident is that even without a conviction, this defendant faces a laundry list of conditions just to be free before he even gets to trial. That's what often happens in cases of DUI manslaughter and sometimes other DUI-related felony charges.

What is also a trend in Florida courtrooms is prosecutors charging someone with both DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. In this case, the defendant faces both charges for each person who died in the crash. This is possible because the state is allowed to present evidence to prove either crime in the hopes that one sticks with the jury.

The charges are somewhat different but both involve the death of a person by way of vehicle. The difference being that DUI manslaughter involves the use of alcohol above the state's .08 blood-alcohol content limit. Both charges are punishable by up to 15 years in a state prison and DUI manslaughter requires at least four years in prison, upon conviction.

So, fighting these charges aggressively, by challenging eye witness accounts, re-creating the scene and hiring experts to examine and testify on behalf of the client, digging into field sobriety or breath testing results and other areas are all things that go into defending a client facing these charges.

The first step is not to make any statements to officers or anyone else if you are facing these types of charges or are being investigated. While some people think that's an admission of guilt, it isn't. That is exercising your rights. Consult with Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyers before doing anything, so we can help you in defense of these charges.

Continue reading "Lake Worth Teen Faces Charges of DUI Manslaughter, Vehicular Homicide in February Crash" »

Many Americans have shown outrage that Casey Anthony, an Orlando woman accused of killing her daughter in 2008, was found not guilty of murder and will be set free after serving time in jail, ABC News reports.

Despite the case being tried in the media and in the eye of the public, it is a great victory for the criminal justice system. Our system is the best in the world and it requires the state to prove the charges it brings against a person. This means the police and the state cannot simply arrest someone and send them to prison without proof. Even if you think the worst of Anthony, better that one guilty person go free than that the state be allowed to assert criminal charges without proof against anyone it wants.

In short, it's the price of freedom and the price of democracy.

In the summer of 2008, 2-year-old Caylee Anthony went missing. Her mother, 23-year-old Casey Anthony, failed to immediately report her missing to police. After 31 days, she finally reported her daughter missing and police began investigating. She spun a series of lies to detectives, including that she worked at Universal Studios, that she left her daughter with a babysitter, when her daughter went missing and that her daughter was still alive.

In December of that year, police found the child's decomposed body near the family's house. At her trial, Anthony was convicted of lying to police, but her jury fond her not guilty of murder or manslaughter in her daughter's death. Her defense lawyers contended that the girl drowned in the family swimming pool and that it was an accident.

The state had no way to disprove that theory and failed to meet their burden of proving the charges beyond all doubt. Therefore, the jury did the right thing and found Casey Anthony not guilty of murder or manslaughter.

But the public outcry has been harsh. People have staged protests and an Oklahoma woman who slightly resembles Casey Anthony was attacked even though Casey Anthony wasn't yet released from jail at the time.

To take it a step further, more than 1 million people have signed a petition to make not reporting a child missing within 24 hours or a child death within 1 hour a felony charge. Radley Balko of The Huffington Post recently opined why "Caylee's Law" is such a bad idea. While the law is being proposed on a federal level, more than a dozen state lawmakers are preparing bills to create the law in different states.

Jumping to knee-jerk reactions never makes good law, but there's no doubt that politicians will jump at the chance to get some good publicity and issue press releases on their efforts to stop a similar crime in the future. People tend to overreact to verdicts of high-profile cases, while their circumstances are so rare from the day-to-day court cases that go on throughout Fort Lauderdale or anywhere else in the country.

But while every case may not get the attention or outrage of the Casey Anthony case, every defendant has the right and requires an aggressive defense attorney, one who will review all aspects of the case and prepare for trial on behalf of the client.

Continue reading "Casey Anthony Verdict A Victory for the Criminal Justice System in Florida" »

A Miami woman was killed after two vehicles crashed on Interstate 95 in Daytona Beach, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.

Miami DUI manslaughter is the most serious charge a person can face related to driving, as it involves the death of another person while the driver was above the legal blood-alcohol level limit of .08. Unlike simple DUI, DUI manslaughter can put a person in prison for up to 15 years and possibly longer if other, accompanying charges are filed. This is why hiring a Miami DUI Attorney with decades of experience is so important.

In the Daytona Beach case, the woman was the front-seat passenger in an SUV that was heading northbound on the highway. According to the news report, the driver of a sedan hit the rear of the SUV, causing it to veer out of control and roll over. It's unclear if the driver of the SUV was injured.

The driver of the sedan is charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide, which brings up an interesting point. In Florida, more and more prosecutors are charging defendants with both of these charges in an accident where only one person dies.

While many people may look at that and become confused about how a person could be charged with two crimes that involve a death. It allows prosecutors to try to prove both crimes even though a person can only be convicted of one of the charges.

In Florida, vehicular homicide in Florida Statutes 782.071 is defined as "the killing of any human being, or the killing of a viable fetus by any injury to the mother, caused by the operation of a motor vehicle by another in a reckless manner likely to cause death of, or great bodily harm to, another.

And DUI manslaughter, in Florida Statutes 316.193 (3) means anyone who, if their blood-alcohol content level is .08 or higher, operates a vehicle and causes "the death of any human being or unborn quick child." This charge carries a mandatory four-year prison sentence.

Both crimes are punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Sadly for defendants, filing both charges in a case gives the state a big advantage because they are able to show a jury evidence that can lead to a conviction of either crime. While this rarely happens in other types of crimes, it has become routine in DUI cases.

And so it becomes extremely important to make sure you have an aggressive attorney standing by your side, challenging every piece of state evidence. Whether it's the breathalyzer testing done at the scene, the field sobriety tests that the officer gave and whether the officer is properly trained, or finding inconsistencies in the eye witness accounts, our firm will study the case and figure out your best avenue of defense.

DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide can be complex charges to defend and so it's important to begin working on the case as quickly as possible in order to present the best defense. If you are arrested and charged with these crimes, call our firm immediately.

Continue reading "Miami Woman Killed in DUI Manslaughter Crash in Daytona Beach" »