Broward DUI Lawyer Blog

Local and state law enforcement will be on the prowl this Thanksgiving holiday weekend as they attempt to arrest as many people as possible for DUI in Fort Lauderdale.

The Thanksgiving holiday for most people in America is about spending time with family, relaxing, watching some football and enjoying some downtime. But for police officers, it is an opportunity to step up their patrols, conduct DUI sobriety checkpoints and look for people they believe may be driving under the influence.

If you are pulled over and charged with DUI, you should call an experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyer immediately. As a suspect in a criminal, you have a right to remain silent as well as the right to a lawyer. You should exercise both those rights as soon as possible.

There are some things that defendants of driving under the influence do that can ruin any chance of getting a victory in court. That's likely because we all, as children, tried to convince an authority figure we weren't guilty of committing the offense at hand. We may have tried to talk our way out of things or blamed someone else.

But as adults, this doesn't work. Police officers are trained to know when a person is lying. They use deceptive tactics to get people to talk, and confess, to crimes. If you are slightly intoxicated, your verbal skills are no match.

It is best to remain silent and ask for a lawyer. An officer may ask for you to attempt field sobriety tests by the side of the road or take a breath test. It is your choice whether or not you wish to take those tests. Failure to take them could result in a driver's license suspension or revocation. A failed test, however, could be damaging evidence in your future criminal case.

Whatever you do, don't do it alone. Consulting with an experienced lawyer is a good first step.

The driver group AAA estimates that more than 42 million people will be traveling during the holiday week, an increase from years past. This will lead to an increase in traffic, especially up and down I-95 in South Florida. That could mean a jump in accidents, which could be investigated as DUI-related.

The Florida Highway Patrol has already announced it will have more troopers on the road than they normally do. They will have "saturation patrols" statewide. Last year, troopers arrested 121 people for DUI in a four-day period statewide around Thanksgiving, the agency announced in a press release.

They also made nearly 13,000 citations for other traffic infractions in Fort Lauderdale and throughout Florida.

Any action taken by a driver, whether an accident or bad driving, will be looked at suspiciously. You may get caught in a sobriety checkpoint or you may just get pulled over if an officer suspects you have been drinking. It can lead to a very bad night.

The only way to respond is by fighting the charge through the help of an experienced Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyer.

Continue reading "Police Will Step Up Patrols and Seek DUI Arrests in Fort Lauderdale This Thanksgiving Holiday" »

With Halloween fast approaching -- signaled by orange and black decorations, candy prominently on sale at the front of stores and costume stores popping up like mad -- it's time to watch out not only for ghosts and creatures of the night, but also cops looking for DUI arrests in Fort Lauderdale.

Halloween is certainly a holiday for kids to try to score as much candy as possible, but adults get into the act, too, dressing up and going to parties, which likely will serve alcohol. Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyers encourage drivers to drink responsibly and don't give the police any reason to suspect you of driving under the influence.

The police may resort to DUI checkpoints in Fort Lauderdale during the holiday weekend in order to try to snag drivers who they believe have broken the law.

These tactics, which many DUI defense lawyers and scholars argue are unconstitutional, occur when police set up shop on a busy street or in an area where they suspect people may be spending the night drinking, like an entertainment district.

They then screen a certain number or percentage of vehicles, without probable cause and without proof that anyone has committed a crime. Then, through some formula, determine which drivers they want to look at for possibly committing a DUI.

A recent article from Beverly Hills shed some light on these operations. A police lieutenant told the city council that the main point of conducting DUI checkpoints isn't to make DUI arrests, but to make the public more aware of drinking and driving.

On top of that nugget, the lieutenant also said that the checkpoints typically cost $10,000 to operate, which is usually paid for through state grant money. It takes 25 to 30 officers for each of the seven or so checkpoints that the department sets up each year.

Of the 2,200 vehicles on average that officers see, only about 500 are stopped and screened. All told, only about one driver out of the 2,200 is arrested for DUI. Another three faces driving without a license charge, 2.5 are charged with driving with a suspended license, and less than one is charged with a drug offense.

For all that effort, money and time, there are poor results. But there is still the option that drivers could face a DUI charge if mixed up with the wrong officer in a DUI checkpoint this Halloween.

Florida State University police recently held DUI checkpoints near campus, the Tallahassee Democrat reported, and Lee County sheriff's deputies ran a checkpoint in the Fort Myers area this month, the Cape Coral Daily Breeze reported.

This shows that police still value DUI checkpoints even though they statistically do little good. The sad thing is holding these operations means there are fewer officers on the streets where the real bad guys may be committing a crime. Maybe police should re-think this tactic as we get closer to the holiday season.

Continue reading "Beware of Ghouls, Goblins and DUI Checkpoints This Halloween in West Palm Beach" »

The American Beverage Institute is calling for an end to Sobriety Checkpoints, saying such law enforcement roadblocks are ineffective. Because it is the Beverage Institute, the call will likely be ignored.

Never mind the fact that they are right. Broward County DUI defense attorneys are frequently called to defend clients against these arrests. Such charges are often beatable. The roadblocks put law enforcement and motorists at risk. But they pay overtime through state and federal grants and as long as that is the case, law enforcement will continue to trot them out each holiday weekend as a public relations tool to convince the public their tax dollars are working effectively.

The Gainesville Sun reported that the Beverage Institute contends the roadblocks are ineffective because chronic drunk drivers can easily avoid them, while drivers who have had moderate amounts to drink are often intimidated and often arrested.

There is also increasing evidence that technology -- including Facebook, Twitter and text messaging-- permits the location of checkpoints to spread like wildfire, making them even less effective with each passing year.

Fewer than 1 percent of DUI arrests in Florida occur at sobriety checkpoints.

Motorists have been subjected to the checkpoints since a Florida Supreme Court ruling in 1986 and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1990 upheld their legality despite their infringement on a motorist's rights against unreasonable search and seizure. In a nod toward those rights, the courts ruled the roadblocks must obey strict guidelines, including:

-Use of specific plan drafted by supervisors that restricts the discretion of field officers.

-Plan must spell out technique for selection of vehicles, detention of motorists, duty assignments and disposition of detained vehicles.

-Adequate lighting, warning signs and signals must be used to help protect motorist safety and police officers must be clearly identified.

-The degree of intrusion and length of detention must be held to a minimum.

The court also ruled law enforcement must determine the road blocks are significantly more effective at combating drunk driving than other available means. Law enforcement continues to argue that is the case.

The Beverage Institute has joined the chorus of boos.

"Roadblocks target moderate drinkers instead of the root cause of today's drunk driving problem -- hard core alcohol abusers," ABI Managing Director Sarah Longwell said. "Police tactics should focus on stopping dangerous drunk drivers, not responsible drinkers."

Continue reading "Group calls for end to Sobriety Checkpoints in South Florida" »

We may be into the leftovers, in so far as the Thanksgiving feast is concerned, but authorities are still gearing up for what is expected to be one of the busiest weekends of the year for sobriety checkpoints and drunk driving enforcement.

Whether you are watching football at your favorite sports bar, or celebrating the long weekend with friends and family, law enforcement is promising to conduct the type of increased enforcement that frequently leads to unfair or marginal drunk driving arrests in Broward County and the surrounding area.

The Florida Highway Patrol is promising to use administrative personnel, Reserve Officers and volunteers to conduct enforcement efforts.

"The Florida Highway Patrol is committed to making Florida's highways safe, and we plan to do that by bolstering our forces to reduce the number and severity of crashes," said FHP Director, Colonel John Czernis.

Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyers know such officers frequently lack the necessary training to properly conduct a DUI stop or make a drunk driving arrest.

Sobriety checkpoints will be another law enforcement favorite this weekend and throughout the upcoming holiday season. As we reported recently on our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog, failure to follow specific guidelines when conducting checkpoints can result in the reduction or dismissal of the resulting charges.

We encourage you to enjoy the holidays responsibly and don't hesitate to pick up the phone and give us a call in the unfortunate event you are cited for drunk driving. The charges are often beatable, particularly for first-time offenders, those stopped as a result of a sobriety checkpoint, and those stopped during enhanced enforcement efforts through the holiday season.

Continue reading "Weekend of football and family -- Stay safe, beware of sobriety checkpoints, call if you need DUI defense in Fort Lauderdale" »

With the holiday season just around the corner, Fort Lauderdale drunk driving defense lawyers remind motorists it is the time of year when officers are out in force looking for drunk drivers. The added emphasis frequently involves so-called "sobriety checkpoints" and other questionable or marginal arrests on the part of law enforcement.

The Herald Tribune reported recently that a judge dismissed a DUI case in Sarasota County after the sheriff's office was found to have improperly conducted the law enforcement roadblock.

It is the second time in a year that DUI checkpoint arrests have been dismissed in Sarasota because of the sheriff's department's apparent inability to follow the law. The latest ruling could open the door for additional defendants to challenge their arrests at three checkpoints where the sheriff's office used the same plan.

DUI checkpoints are a violation of your basic right to privacy, and to be free from unlawful search and seizure. In a nod toward the Constitution, courts have placed strict guidelines on how they must be operated. Each checkpoint must have an operations plan. Specific training is required and numerous rules must be followed. Those arrested for drunk driving at a sobriety checkpoint in Fort Lauderdale, Miami or West Palm Beach, should consult an experienced DUI defense lawyer.

In this case, Sarasota's plan required drivers who were selected to perform field sobriety tests to also submit to a breathalyzer, even if the field sobriety tests revealed no evidence of intoxication. This is another indication, as we frequently report, of the worthlessness of field sobriety testing. Too often, motorists think successful completion will permit them to go on their way. In reality, an officer has typically already decided to arrest them for drunk driving and is simply gathering evidence of their guilt.

The judge ruled officers had no right to detain motorists at that point and that the plan failed to meet "constitutional muster."

Under the plan, motorists who tested between .05 and .08 were also not permitted to leave, even though Florida law considers .08 to be the legal threshold at which a driver is intoxicated.

The judge also took exception to officers asking drivers where they had come from and where they were heading.

The checkpoint guidelines were also reworked in January 2009 after 13 drunk driving cases were thrown out. Two judges ruled the 2008 guidelines gave law enforcement too much power.

Continue reading "Dismissal of sobriety checkpoint arrests illustrate motorists' rights when stopped by law enforcement roadblocks in Fort Lauderdale and Miami" »

A Labor Day weekend sobriety checkpoint in Hialeah Gardens involved 30 police officers and resulted in three arrested for DUI, the Miami Herald reported.

Of course that is not exactly how the Herald reported it -- mostly the paper talked about how "heartfelt" roll calls and "zero tolerance" and the dangers of drunk driving. But when a SWAT Team is sent in to make an arrest, there are usually not 10 officers per defendant. Our Miami DUI defense attorneys frequently report on the low success rate and high cost of these roadblocks.

The article spent some time on the night's strangest occurrences, including a guy who pulled to a stop with a beer in his hand; a car full of marijuana smoke; and a woman who blew through the stop hollering she had SunPass, only to be arrested for 138 unpaid SunPass violations.

Of course, the stop was at Northwest 103rd Street at the onramp to the Palmetto Expressway and motorists are not expecting to find 30 officers with activated emergency lights. The real miracle is that many more accidents do not occur. Our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog recently reported an officer was hit while conducting a sobriety checkpoint ... out in front of the police station.

Last weekend's checkpoint also included officers from Medley, Virginia Gardens, Key Biscayne, Hialeah, Miami-Dade Public Schools and North Miami. A total of 575 vehicles were inspected, 85 citations were issued and three arrests were made for DUI.

A total of 17 arrests were made in all. Many of those non-alcohol arrests will likely be reduced or dismissed if the defendants hire an experienced attorney to argue that they should not have occurred as the result of a sobriety checkpoint stop.

Continue reading "SWAT Team sends fewer officers per arrest than Miami-Dade DUI Checkpoints" »

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" »

Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer Carlos Canet and our entire staff wish you a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July weekend. Be careful, and know that traffic is expected to be heavy and authorities will be out in force conducting sobriety checkpoints and stopping motorists for suspicion of drunk driving.

The Sun-Sentinel reports that six percent more motorists are expected to be on the road this weekend than during Fourth of July a year ago.

And law enforcement roadblocks -- or sobriety checkpoints as they like to call them -- will be a fan favorite this weekend. There is more than a little irony in the fact that law enforcement will be celebrating Independence Day by setting up road blocks that skirt a citizen's rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

The News Herald recently published an opinion chastising the Florida Highway Patrol for repeatedly publishing the same locations for possible checkpoints -- sometimes with more than two dozen locations listed -- which does little more than mock the law requiring law enforcement to provide advanced notification of when and where such roadblocks will occur.

Anyone stopped and charged with drunk driving at a sobriety checkpoint in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach or the surrounding area, should contact our office to discuss your rights. Law enforcement must adhere to strict standards for such arrests to be valid. And a Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney can frequently work to have the charges reduced or dismissed.

Field sobriety tests and breathalyzer examinations are another area of Florida DUI law that calls for the careful scrutiny of a qualified attorney. Motorists often mistakenly believe that field sobriety tests are used by an officer to determine whether or not a motorist is intoxicated -- and that a successful performance will result in the motorist avoiding arrest. This is rarely, if ever, the case. Field sobriety tests are a tool used by a law enforcement officer to collect evidence of your guilt. The results are nothing more than the opinion of an officer whose job it is to collect evidence ... of your guilt!

And, as we reported on our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog, the company that manufactures the breathalyzer machine used in Florida is defying a court order to turn over the computer code used in the machine to defense attorneys who have requested it. The result is that many Florida DUI cases that rely heavily upon the breathalyzer results are being successfully defended.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer wishes each of you a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July" »

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" »