Category Archives: DUI
Beating Chemical Tests in DUI Cases
Modern Breathalyzers first appeared in the United Kingdom in 1967. By 1980, they were standard equipment for most police officers in Florida. The latest generation Breathalyzers are even more sophisticated. For example, they use fuel cells to trigger electrochemical reactions instead of crystals which usually require bodily fluid samples. Shortly after Breathalyzers appeared in… Read More »
If I Took a DUI Chemical Test, Am I Automatically Guilty?
According to the way the law is written, the answer to this question is “yes.” Like most other states, Florida has a per se DUI law. Defendants who have an alcohol concentration above .08 in their blood or breath are “impaired” as a matter of law. But as a practical matter, the answer to… Read More »
Seven DUI Checkpoint Requirements in Florida
After years of inconsistency and uncertainty, the United States Supreme Court finally legalized DUI roadblocks in Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz. These checkpoints allow officers to bypass the Fourth Amendment and detain motorists even though there is no evidence they have done anything wrong. In exchange for such broad power, police checkpoints… Read More »
BEATING A BREATH TEST IN FLORIDA
In Florida, a breath test instrument is an evidential machine used to measure, calculate, and record the breath alcohol level of a Florida DUI suspect. The most common instrument used in Florida is the ‘Intoxilyzer 8000.’ The Intoxilyzer 8000 is an infrared analyzer manufactured by CMI, Inc., based on Owensboro, Kentucky. Broadly speaking, the… Read More »
Charges Filed After Fatal DUI Wreck
Officials recently arrested a 23-year-old woman who was the driver in an earlier alcohol-related crash that killed a passenger in the other car. In January 2018, the woman lost control of her SUV as she was northbound on Morris Bridge Road. She careened into a southbound car, killing the passenger and seriously injuring the… Read More »
What You Need To Know About Drugged Driving In Florida
Alcohol-based DUI arrests usually get most of the attention in Tampa and elsewhere. Yet according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, drugged driving is a bigger problem than drink driving. That group claims that, in 2015, 43 percent of deceased motorists had drugs in their system, as compared with 37 percent who had alcohol… Read More »
Beating The Breathalyzer In A Tampa DUI
If the defendant provides a sample of breath or blood, the DUI conviction rate in Florida is as high as 90 percent in some jurisdictions. So, winning such cases in court is definitely an uphill battle. However, it is not impossible to discredit chemical samples to an extent that one juror finds a reasonable… Read More »
Winning A Circumstantial Evidence DUI Case
If the defendant provides a chemical sample, the defendant is guilty of DUI as a matter of law if his/her BAC was above the legal limit, which in Florida is .08. About the only defense in these cases is that the breath or blood sample was inaccurate, a difficult task that is daunting but… Read More »
The Difference Between Looks Drunk And Is Drunk
Largely because of the state’s refusal to submit law, Florida has one of the lowest Breathalyzer test refusal rates in the country. Refusal cases are difficult for prosecutors to win, partially because they cannot use the state’s powerful per se law and partly because there is only indirect evidence of intoxication. Typically, such evidence… Read More »
Get Good Legal Counsel When Arrested For Drunk Driving
You might have had a drink, or two. On your way home, there was a traffic stop and you were arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). You think you did it, law enforcement thinks you did it. Should you plead guilty and get it over with? No. If you are arrested for drunk… Read More »