Broward DUI Lawyer Blog

Miami-Dade officials are moving closer and closer to implementing a red-light camera program despite concerns that not only could it add more cases to an already overcrowded judicial system, but also cause more accidents.

The Miami Herald reports that the city is considering a red light camera system even though the son of Mayor Carlos Gimenez is a lobbyist for American Traffic Solutions, the company that handles most red light camera programs in South Florida.

Red light traffic cameras have come under fire in recent years as there has been a large-scale debate about whether they are effective. Supporters, like police departments, say they are beneficial because they cause drivers to think twice before plowing through an intersection for fear they will have their license plate photo taken and receive a ticket in the mail.

Opponents say that very scenario could cause more accidents because people who would normally go through a yellow light might slam on their brakes, causing more accidents and possible injuries. There is also a growing concern that these big-brother tactics are solely a means for cash-strapped cities to make a buck under the guise that it will keep streets safer.

Traffic tickets in Fort Lauderdale seem like no big deal. A few tickets are issued, people pay the fines and don't think twice. But if these tickets linger, they can be turned into a warrant for an arrest. The more tickets a person receives, the closer he or she can come to losing their driver's license. This can lead to a misdemeanor or a felony charge of becoming a habitual traffic offender.

Fort Lauderdale traffic ticket lawyers have seen many otherwise law-abiding citizens get wrapped up in traffic ticket problems, which can just be frustrating as they hike insurance rates and cause problems with a person's license.

Yet Miami-Dade officials are continuing to look at bringing these cameras to intersections countywide. The Herald reports that the mayor's son will not work on any county programs, and the mayor said he will delegate the issue to others as to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

Florida cities and counties have begun using red light cameras more and more in recent years, despite lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the programs. Nearly 30 cities in Broward and Miami-Dade counties use red light cameras.

The fines can run as high as $158 for a red-light runner. If the person doesn't pay, it can spike to $273, plus points that go against a person's license, the newspaper reports.

That can lead to serious cash for cities, but also major headaches and bills for drivers. But some cities, such as Hialeah and North Miami Beach, implemented the programs only to quash them after deciding the headache of running the cameras wasn't worth the hassle.

Let's hope more South Florida cities take note of the potential problems and don't just look at these programs as an instant money-maker. If people are being put at risk for injury as well as financial hits, it could hurt the cities in the long run just to make a few quick bucks.

Continue reading "Red Light Cameras in Fort Lauderdale Could Cause Traffic Ticket Nightmares" »

Buckle-up and take note drivers, the Florida Highway Patrol issued a recent statement putting Florida drivers on alert that a statewide drunk driving and traffic enforcement crackdown will run from Aug. 20 through the end of the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 6.

The effort also coincides with the beginning of the new school year, as vehicle traffic increases and Florida families return from vacation, students head back to school and seasonal residents begin to arrive.

According to a recent Florida Highway Patrol press release, during the crackdown the FHP will participate in the nationwide Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) over the four-day holiday weekend starting Sept. 3. The goal of this program is to deter unsafe drivers, enforce safe traffic conditions and more quickly assist motorists in need.

Operation C.A.R.E. is a coordinated effort involving all 50 state police and highway patrol units and will include all uniformed personnel and officers who are otherwise normally assigned to administrative duties. An additional influx of volunteer troopers from both auxiliary and reserve teams will supplement the workforce.

What this means to the average motorist is that the patrol is spending federal grant dollars it must use or lose. As a result, significantly more troopers will be on the road and law enforcement roadblocks -- or sobriety checkpoints as they like to call them -- will be commonplace through the Labor Day weekend.

While celebration with friends and family is encouraged during this last summer holiday, the FHP in presence and enforcement practices plans to aggressively monitor and cite or remove from all State roadways distracted, otherwise impaired and drunk drivers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach were the top three deadliest counties for a combined number of nearly 700 motorists killed in both alcohol-related and non-alcohol related crashes. Together these three counties saw 174 fatal crashes that authorities content were alcohol-related.

The American Safety Council indicates that Labor Day is ranked among the deadliest days for drivers while September ranks fifth in the Top 5 deadliest months.

While statistics continue to show that sobriety checkpoints arrest fewer than 1 percent of the state's 175 daily DUI offenders -- and are a poor use of tax dollars and law enforcement manpower -- their continued use as a public relations tool is a virtual certainty.

Many times, sobriety checkpoint arrests are very defensible. Law enforcement must follow strict rules in publicizing the stops and in operating the roadblocks. These rules are in addition to the strict guidelines that must be followed in administering breathalyzer and field sobriety tests. An experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney will fight checkpoint charges on all fronts and a reduction or dismissal of the charges is often possible.

Continue reading "The Florida Highway Patrol announces drunk driving enforcement effort in South Florida" »

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" »

A defendant facing multiple counts of DUI Manslaughter in Miami has requested to be segregated from other inmates after being beaten in jail, CBS4 reported.

Gabriel Delrisco, 40, requested the judge order him moved to a private cell at a court hearing on Wednesday. He is facing three counts of DUI manslaughter with culpable negligence and one count of battery on an emergency medical care provider. DUI manslaughter in Florida is a second-degree felony carrying a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Authorities say he was driving drunk when his Chevy Trailblazer SUV slammed into the back of a minivan stopped at a red light on US-1 at SW 211th Street. Three children in the van -- ages 10,7 and 4 -- died in the crash. Investigators report that Delrisco's blood-alcohol level was .239, nearly three times the legal threshold of .08 for drunk driving in Florida.

The Florida Highway Patrol reports that Delrisco has a long list of traffic violations, including 26 traffic infractions and a previous conviction for DUI in 2001, for which his license was suspended for six months.

In 2008, a total of 1,169 people died in alcohol-related traffic accidents in Florida, accounting for about one-third of the 2,983 traffic fatalities reported statewide, according to the Florida Department of Public Safety.

Former Lafayette County Sheriff Dewayne Walker, 49, was charged with DUI in May of 2008 after being pulled over for driving 27 miles over the speed limit. According to Suwanee County court records, this offense was his third DUI and he had already been removed from office twice for public drunkenness.

Walker allegedly refused alcohol tests and refused to sign the traffic citation. Inevitably he was charged with felony DUI, but earlier this week under a plea settlement accepted on Wednesday, Walker walked with just a misdemeanor.

As part of his plea deal for this third DUI, walker has been mandated to use a breath-test Ignition Interlock Device to start his vehicles.

Walker was sentenced to a year of probation, house arrest for 45 days, and six months of a revoked license. He must also finance the Ignition Interlock Device for his vehicle.

During Walker's third term as sheriff, in August of 2002, it first became public that Walker had a drinking problem. At the time, Jeb Bush was governor, and suspended Walker from his $88k position as sheriff because of the multiple incidents related to Walker's public drunkenness and alcohol problem.

After a 30-day alcohol rehab program, Bush reinstated Walker as sheriff on March 22, 2003. Walker was suspended for a second time by Bush only 4 weeks later, after he was arrested in Tampa for DUI.

What is important to know about DUI driving while intoxicated, drunk driving or driving under Influence criminal charges? It is important that your DUI attorney conduct an immediate investigation of the accident, including the following:

• Interview with witness statements and the results of the sobriety test and breathe on the site.


• A complete copy of the file of the court of drunk driver, to safeguard all the statements made with reference to the amount of alcohol consumed.


• Review of the criminal defendants.


• The video of the patrol on the sobriety test at the site and the arrest and analysis, photographs and measurements of the vehicles involved.


• Some evidence may be destroyed, lost or misplaced, so you must quickly contact our office so that your lawyer can obtain and preserve evidence about the case.

Florida law provides that a drunk driver may be punished for operating a motor vehicle when his power is normal under the influence of alcohol or chemical substances, as described in Florida Statutes. The law also stipulates that compensation can be monetary compensation to punish the negligent conduct. The compensation allowed by the courts of Florida to punish the defendants is called damages.

In a driver who operates a vehicle when your blood alcohol is in excess of 08 are presumed to operate a vehicle when his normal faculties are impaired. Therefore, if someone operates a vehicle (car, truck, motorcycle) with an alcohol level of .08 or more, that person is presumed that the driving under the influence and is usually punished with a DUI. If you have been involved in a DUI case in the Miami or Fort Lauderdale call a DUI attorney immediately before is too late. Carlos Canet is an experienced aggressive DUI Attorney in Fort Lauderdale.

South Florida and Broward County DUI Defense Attorney Carlos A. Canet has taken on those local judges that do not want to give his clients a fair hearing for their claims seeking suppression of their breath test results. Carlos A. Canet is a well known South Florida DUI Defense Attorney, who defends clients arrested for DUI in Miami-Dade County, Broward (DUI) County and Palm Beach (DUI) County. It is his intention to appeal all of those orders that have stricken the defense motion to suppress to the 4th District Court of Appeal in Palm Beach County.

There is also a plan in place if those judges that are targeted choose not to participate in the direct appeal process. Mr. Canet can request that those county court judges that have chosen not to strike his motion to declare that the issue is a matter of great public importance and thereby give jurisdiction to the appellate court. Should the targeted county court judges chose not to declare the issue as a matter of great public importance the remedy would be to file a petition for writ of mandamus to the appellate court. Mr. Canet is currently engaged in the process of preparing that petition on behalf of DUI clients whose rights have been violated.

There is no legal reason for a qualified local county court judge to defer ruling on issues of such great local importance to those accused of a Broward DUI. DUI Defense Lawyer Carlos A. Canet is continuously working to protect and defend his client's rights.

Carlos A. Canet frequently updates citizens informed of changes to Florida DUI laws and procedures. Florida legislature has begun efforts to increase the severity and punishments for Florida criminal traffic offenses, such as DUI, that were formerly considered misdemeanors. Florida penalties for fleeing and eluding, DUI, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and racing on the highway are under evaluation, with some changes already in effect unbeknownst to most Florida residents.

Fleeing and eluding a police officer was once punishable by a year in county jail and was rarely imposed. Instead of jail time, defendants were most often punished with community service, an apology letter to the officer and probation. Dramatically, the offense of fleeing and eluding a police officer is now punished as a third-degree felony, carrying a potential five-year state prison sentence, a $5000.00 fine, a record as a convicted felon and a two-year license suspension.

The updated reckless driving charges indicate that an alleged incident of reckless driving including serious bodily injury is charged as a third degree felony. In the event a death results, the offense is charged as vehicular homicide, which is second-degree felony.

Racing on the highway remains a first-degree misdemeanor with a new twist. There is now an automatic one-year revocation of the driver's license for a first offense, and two-year revocation for a second offense.
Still a first-degree misdemeanor, leaving the scene of an accident becomes a third-degree felony in the event of a serious injury; a second-degree felony should a death result.