Category: DUI

Criminal Defense, DUI, Legal Blog, Recent News

Goodman Hearings

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In the ongoing Palm Beach County DUI manslaughter case of Goodman v. State, the first of three days of hearings began today. Goodman’s retrial regarding the highly publicized 2010 Wellington crash that resulted in Scott Patrick Wilson’s death is scheduled to begin on October 6, 2014.

Previously, Chief Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath had ordered that jurors will be taken from out of town and brought to Palm Beach County for the retrial, in an attempt to avoid an unfair trial due to the publicity this case has received. Defense attorneys argued this morning a renewed motion to have the whole trial moved to a different town, instead of shipping out-of-town jurors to Palm Beach. Defense attorneys for Goodman argued that the cost to bring in out-of-town jurors would not only be exorbitant, but that jurors sequestered from out of town are historically more likely to convict a defendant as a result of their anger at being away from their homes for extended periods of time. Judge Colbath denied this request. In his ruling, the judge did express concerns regarding the expenses of the jury sequestration, discussing that it cost $33,000 to sequester George Zimmerman’s jury and approximately $187,0000 to sequester Casey Anthony’s jury. However, it would be expensive to sequester a jury picked within the confines of Palm Beach, as well.

Judge Colbath is expected later today to rule as to whether potential jurors will be from Jacksonville or Tampa. Jury selection will take place in one of the cities, and after selection is completed, six jurors and up to four alternates will be brought back to Palm Beach County. The selected jurors will be sequestered for the entire trial, which is expected to last nearly one month.

More hearings are scheduled to take place tomorrow and Wednesday on various issues, including: Goodman’s vehicle, which was released by prosecutors as evidence, the validity of Goodman’s blood alcohol test, and the testimony of a Wellington bartender.

Casey Reiter is an associate attorney at Stuart R. Manoff & Associates, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida, practicing in the areas of Criminal Defense and Marital Law.

Criminal Defense, DUI, Legal Blog

Drink Responsibly

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Budweiser’s new commercial has a strong message. The next time you go out, be sure to make a plan to get home safely; your furry friends are counting on you! Drink responsibly. #FriendsAreWaiting

Casey Reiter is an associate attorney at Stuart R. Manoff & Associates, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida, practicing in the areas of Criminal Defense and Marital Law.

Criminal Defense, DUI, Legal Blog

Anxiety and DUI Arrests in Florida

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One of the most common observations made by officers during a DUI stop is that the driver was weaving in his or her lane.

However, when officers make this observation, they are often following behind a driver. The “normal” response for a driver who is being followed by a police officer is to become nervous and anxious. Even people who have done nothing wrong find themselves double checking their mirrors and slowing down when they become aware that a marked police vehicle is behind them. The longer the officer follows, the more nervous a person typically becomes; the more nervous a person grows, the more that person checks his mirror, taking his eyes of the road, and drifting in his lane.

Undoubtedly, the result is weaving, drifting, and attempts at correction, which can create the appearance that the driver is under the influence of alcohol. Meanwhile, the police officer has most likely been recording the entire incident on his in-car camera, capturing what he believes to be evidence of a drunk driver to present in court later.

A police officer needs reasonable suspicion to stop a driver for a DUI investigation. Interestingly, in the scenario above, the police officer’s own act of driving behind the vehicle has caused driver’s actions, which then give the police officer reasonable suspicion to believe that a DUI is being committed. After all, erratic actions, weaving within a lane, and varying speeds are actual indicators that someone is under the influence.

If a driver has been pulled over, now it is typical for the driver to become even more nervous. A person who has just been followed by a police officer, who has been exposed to the flashing lights and sirens, and who has been approached by an officer in full uniform may start sweating, stuttering, and appear flushed due to an increased heart rate. The person may fumble with his or her wallet when asked to present a driver’s license and proof of insurance. On top of this, the investigating officer likely already believes that driver is under the influence based on his or her driving pattern. So now, the officer notes bloodshot eyes as an indicator of impairment, when they could have simply been dry from the air conditioner, or tired from driving. If the person has had a drink, the “evidence” keeps piling on. Now there is an “odor of alcoholic beverage” on the driver’s breath, and an admission that the person was drinking if he responds to the police officer’s question of “have you been drinking tonight” with “I only had two drinks a couple of hours ago!”

At this point, the officer will typically ask a person to exit the vehicle and perform field sobriety exercises. A driver who does not know the exercises are voluntary may perform the exercises, perform poorly (maybe the driver naturally has poor balance, or an injury, combined with being anxious), and ultimately be placed under arrest for driving under the influence without even the results of a breathalyzer. If the person refuses to submit to a breath test, that refusal will be used as additional evidence against the person, and in a trial, the prosecutor will be able to argue that the driver refused the breath test because he “knew” the results would be above the limit (even if that wasn’t the reason for refusal).

Obviously, not all DUI arrests are a result of an encounter between a nervous person and an overzealous police officer. However, many of the standard “indicators of impairment” can be created in the scenario described above and cause the arrest of a person who was not actually under the influence to the extent his or her normal faculties were impaired.

There are many defenses to a DUI charge, and anyone who is facing a DUI in Palm Beach County should contact a Palm Beach Criminal Defense Attorney to discuss his or her potential defenses.

Casey Reiter is an associate attorney at Stuart R. Manoff & Associates, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida, practicing in the areas of Criminal Defense and Marital Law.

Appeal, Breathalyzer, Criminal Defense, DUI, Legal Blog, License Suspension

DUI Permanent License Revocation

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A Broward DUI case (Calabrese v. State) was published this week wherein a permanent license revocation was affirmed by the Broward Circuit Court.

In the case, the defendant was arrested for DUI after she drove through an area that had been roped off by police for an unrelated criminal investigation. The defendant declined to perform field sobriety exercises, but agreed to submit to a breath test and blew a .089. The defendant was found guilty by a jury at trial. The court found that this was the defendant’s third DUI within 10 years. As a result, she was ultimately sentenced to 364 days in Broward County Jail, which was to be lowered to 180 days upon completion of the SAP program (the Substance Abuse and Life Skills Program which provides treatment services to inmates in Broward County’s Jail), along with other standard DUI penalties (such as community service, fines, etc.) and a lifetime driver’s license revocation. 

The defendant appealed the lifetime driver’s license revocation, arguing that it was improper for the court to order because Florida Statute 322.28(2)(a) only requires a 10 year minimum license suspension for a third DUI conviction within 10 years. However, the circuit court disagreed and found that because there was no maximum sentence limit within the statute, the trial judge was within his discretion to issue a lifetime driver’s license revocation.

DUIs in Florida have serious consequences, as seen in this case. Anyone who is facing DUI charges in Florida should contact a criminal defense lawyer to discuss the possible penalties of a DUI conviction and determine the best defense route to attempt to mitigate those penalties. 

 

Casey Reiter is an associate attorney at Stuart R. Manoff & Associates, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida, practicing in the areas of Criminal Defense and Marital Law.

Criminal Defense, DUI, Formal Review Hearing, Legal Blog

Florida DUI – Formal Review Hearings

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When a person is arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Florida, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles automatically and immediately suspends that person’s driver’s license. The officer will issue the driver a Temporary Driving Permit, which is only valid for 10 days from the date of the arrest. Thereafter, the person’s license will be suspended, unless granted an extension on the temporary permit for the purposes of attending a Formal Review Hearing or unless the suspension is overturned during a Formal Review Hearing (which is discussed more in depth below.) This “DMV License Suspension” is a civil suspension and is separate from a criminal charge, which may also include its own suspension.

For a first DUI, the DMV license suspension will be 6 months. For a second or subsequent DUI, the DMV suspension will be 1 year. Additionally, a first refusal to submit to a Breath Test (see Breathalyzers) will lead to a 1 year DMV issued license suspension, and a second or subsequent refusal will lead to an 18 month DMV issued license suspension.

Florida Statutes 322.2615 and 322.64 provide the opportunity for a person to challenge a DMV’s license suspension by way of a “formal review hearing” (FRH). The purpose of a Formal Review Hearing is for a hearing officer, who works for the DMV, to make a determination as to whether the person’s civil license suspension should be sustained, amended or invalidated based upon the evidence presented. A person must request a FRH within 10 days of being arrested, or lose the opportunity for the hearing. If a review hearing is requested, the DMV must schedule the hearing within 30 days of the request. 

Interestingly, the decisions made during the Formal Review Hearing are not admissible as evidence in court on the criminal DUI action. And, the outcome of the Formal Review Hearing has no bearing on the outcome of the criminal suspension. In other words, a hearing officer during a Formal Review Hearing could invalidate a license suspension and a person could have a valid license while fighting his or her DUI charge in criminal court. If at the end of the criminal case, the judge or jury find the defendant guilty, or if the defendant pleads guilty, the defendant’s driver’s license will be suspended in the criminal case. For a description of the criminal penalties associated with DUI on a first arrest, see DUI Penalties.

During the Formal Review Hearing, the hearing officer will determine 1) Whether the police officer had probable cause to believe that the driver was driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle in this state while under the influence of alcoholic beverages or chemical or controlled substances and 2) Whether the driver had an unlawful blood-alcohol level or breath-alcohol level of .08 or higher. The hearing officer will determine this by a “preponderance of the evidence,” meaning that if the hearing officer finds it is more likely than not that the driver was under the influence or had a BAC of .08 or higher, the driver’s license suspension will stay in effect.

The police officer will typically testify during the hearing, and the police report will usually be introduced into evidence. All of which the driver is entitled to see. Formal Review Hearings give the driver an opportunity to not only fight the civil license suspension, but also to obtain testimony from the police officers involved in the arrest.

Many times Formal Review Hearings result in the license suspension being sustained. Even in those cases, people often find that they learned valuable information from the police officer’s testimony that they may not have been able to obtain during the criminal case (until the day of trial). That is especially true in Palm Beach County, where depositions of police officers in misdemeanor cases (which DUIs typically are charged as) are not usually permitted. 

Anyone who has been arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Palm Beach County should contact a Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer to discuss their options and decide if a formal review hearing should be requested, as time is of the essence. 

 

Casey Reiter is an associate attorney at Stuart R. Manoff & Associates, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida, practicing in the areas of Criminal Defense and Marital Law.