DUI Wins

Feb 23, 2009	Case: 9218-XEC	Judge Seraphin
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for failing to use his turn signal. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and a flushed face. He performed the field sobriety tests at the request of the officer. For example, on the walk and turn test, he lost his balance during the turn and did not touch heel to toe. On the finger to nose, he missed the tip of nose all six times, did not remove his finger from his nose, and kept his eyes open. He was arrested for DUI and then refused to take the breath test.
Result:	The DUI was dismissed.

Feb 19, 2009	Case: 48-2007-CT-018159-0	Judge Ansbro
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving the wrong way down a one way street. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, unsteadiness, and heavy eye lids. The defendant performed the roadside tests at the officer's request. On the walk and turn, she did not touch heel to toe and stepped off the line. On the HGN (eye test), the officer noticed and angle of onset prior to 45 degrees and a lack of smooth pursuit in her eyes. Also, on the one leg stand test, she counted wrong and swayed. After her arrest, she blew a .125 in the breath machine.
Result:	The DUI was dismissed.

Feb 17, 2009	Case: CT-008720-XAM	Judge Lefler
Facts:	The defendant was stopped after allegedly pulling out in front of a police officer causing him to take evasive action in order to avoid a collision. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and an unsteady appearance. She performed roadside tests at the request of the officer. All of the tests were video taped. After allegedly performing the walk and turn, one leg stand, alphabet, and count backwards (100-75) tests poorly, she was arrested for DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Feb 17, 2009	Case: 9984-XDJ	Judge Miranda
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for failing to maintain a single lane and running a red light. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. The defendant had to use the door for balance upon exiting the car. He performed the walk and turn and one leg stand tests. For example, on the one leg stand, he put his foot down three times and used his arms for balance. On the walk and turn exercise, it was not conducted for the defendant's safety after he kept losing his balance during the instructional phase. He was then arrested for DUI.
Result:	After speaking to the officer, the State dropped the DUI.

Feb 9, 2009	Case: CT-1011-XCM	Judge Courtney
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and the defendant was unsteady on his feet. He refused to perform the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. He then refused the breath test.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Feb 3, 2009	Case: 2670-XDP	Judge Ortiz
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding and weaving. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. The defendant needed the car to support himself as he exited. He then performed poorly on the roadside tests. For example, on the walk and turn, he took the incorrect number of steps and stepped off the line numerous times. On the one legs stand, he put his foot down and could not make it passed the count of nine without the officer stopping the test. The defendant was arrested for DUI. This was the defendant's second DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Feb 3, 2009	Case: 08-010794MM10A	Judge Diaz
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a traffic crash where she left her lane of travel, drove on a center median, and hit a sign. She continued to drive off after the crash. When the officers caught up to her, she was out of the car. The officers noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and a flushed face. She was off balance and failed every field sobriety test. She was then arrested for DUI and Leaving the Scene of an Accident (LSA). After her arrest, she blew a .148 in the breath machine.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI and dismissed the LSA.

Feb 2, 2009	Case: 08-CT-504431	Judge Hayward, Jr.
Facts:	The defendant was stopped by an officer who was patrolling outside his jurisdiction pursuant to written multi-jurisdictional traffic task force guidelines. She was stopped for having a broken front head light. Once stopped, the officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. She performed poorly on roadside tasks. For example, on the HGN (eye test), she had an angle of onset before 45 degrees and lack of smooth pursuit in both eyes. On the walk and turn, she did not touch heel to toe and was confused by the various instructions. On the one leg stand test, she swayed put her foot down two times. After her arrest for DUI, she admitted to feeling under the influence of alcohol and then blew a .176 in the breath machine.
Result:	Prior to the motion, the State dropped the DUI.

Jan 30, 2009	Case: 2008-CT-001125AXX	Judge Cohen
Facts:	The defendant crashed through a guard gate. Upon the officer's arrival, he observed an odor of alcohol and bloodshot eyes. The defendant was injured and taken to the hospital after being extracted from the car by fire rescue. At the hospital, the officer requested blood be drawn because a breath test was impossible. The lab results revealed blood alcohol results of .089 and .090. After the blood results were obtained, the defendant was arrested for DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jan 27, 2009	Case: 08-CT-506341	Judge Adams
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving and drifting several times. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slow/slurred speech, and watery eyes. The defendant staggered once out of the car. She performed the HGN (eye test), walk and turn, and one leg stand tests. According to the officer, she performed poorly and was arrested for DUI. For example, on the walk and turn, she used her arms for balance and did not touch heel to toe. On the one leg stand, she put her foot down every five seconds. She later refused the breath test. None of the exercises were video taped.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jan 22, 2009	Case: CT-0363-XCO	Judge Thomas
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, glassy eyes, balance problems, and slurred speech. The defendant performed roadside tasks which were captured on video tape. For example, on the walk and turn, the defendant stepped off the line, used his arms for balance, and turned incorrectly. On the one leg stand test, he swayed and put his foot down. After his arrest for DUI, the defendant blew a .091 and .090 in the breath machine.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jan 21, 2009	Case: 31-2008-MM-002376-A (JURY TRIAL)	Judge Wild
Facts:	The defendant was driving back from the airport when he fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle. The car drove off the road, almost hitting the fence in the swale. The first officer testified that when he arrived on scene, the defendant was still passed out behind the wheel, engine running and the car in drive. The deputy observed 2 six packs of Michelob ultra in the vehicle, with three unopened bottles left. When the defendant woke up he admitted to throwing the empty bottles out the window. On one of the throws he forgot that the window was closed and he broke the passenger side window. After observing an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes and extremely slurred speech, the deputy called for the Florida highway patrol to conduct a DUI investigation. On the walk and turn test the defendant could not get past the first five steps and testified that the he almost fell three times. He was arrested for DUI. At the jail, he admitted to being under the influence and drinking 8 ounces of vodka.
Result:	The Jury found the defendant NOT GUILTY.

Jan 21, 2009	Case: 08-CT6410	Judge Epperson
Facts:	The defendant was stopped while driving through a DUI sobriety checkpoint. The officer observed glossy red eyes, an odor of alcohol and slurred speech. The defendant was then asked to step out of his vehicle. The officer stated that he stumbled and swayed from side to side. The defendant agreed to perform field sobriety tests. On the HGN (eye test), the officer observed dilated eyes and lack of smooth pursuit. On the walk and turn test the officer stated that the defendant failed to touch heel to toe and stepped off the line. On the one leg stand he lost his balance and dropped his foot. On the finger to nose he failed to touch his finger to the tip of his nose. The tests were all captured on video.
Result:	The Court Granted the motion, and all of the evidence was thrown out. The DUI was dismissed.

Jan 20, 2009	Case: CT-008747-XAM	Judge Conrad
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, difficulty following directions, bloodshot eyes, and swaying. The defendant only performed the walk and turn exercise. On that exercise, he stepped off the line, took the incorrect number of steps, and used his arms for balance according to the officer's reports. He was then arrested for DUI and refused the breath test.
Result:	The State dismissed the DUI.

Jan 20, 2009	Case: 9235-XEC	Judge Miranda
Facts:	The defendant was detained by a security guard after he crashed into a concrete divider in a parking garage. When officers arrived, they noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and unsteadiness. The defendant stated he took Xanax and drank six beers. The defendant failed every field sobriety exercise due to his intoxication level. After his arrest for DUI, he blew a .20 in the breath machine.
Result:	On the day of trial, the State dropped the DUI.

Jan 20, 2009	Case: 290002-X	Judge Ortiz
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a rear end crash for which he was at fault. When the officer's arrived, the defendant was standing outside the car. He observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. The defendant refused all roadside testing. However, after his arrest for DUI, he blew a .143 in the breath machine. This was the defendant's third DUI.
Result:	The DUI was dismissed.

Dec 2, 2008	Case: 07-MM-13332	Judge Eriksson
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for running a red light. The officers observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. The defendant also had sluggish body movements. He refused roadside sobriety testing and then refused the breath test.
Result:	THE STATE DROPPED THE DUI.

Nov 24, 2008	Case: 2008CT010121AXXXMA	Judge Arias
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a traffic crash where he failed to yield and sideswiped a truck. The officer observed slurred speech, an odor of alcohol, and bloodshot eyes. The defendant submitted to a blood draw at the request of the arresting officer and the results from the lab were a .129 and .129.
Result:	THE STATE DROPPED THE DUI PRIOR TO THE MOTION BEING HEARD.

Nov 19, 2008	Case: 07-010166MM10A	Judge Gehl
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a rear-end collision. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. The defendant performed poorly on roadside tests according to the officer's reports. For example, on the walk and turn test, he stepped off the line, used his arms for balance, and took the wrong number of steps. On the one leg stand exercise, he put his foot down five times and swayed. He was then arrested for DUI.
Result:	THE STATE DROPPED THE DUI.

Nov 13, 2008	Case: CT-008921-XCL	Judge Thomas
Facts:	The defendant was stopped by a police car after being spotted by a police helicopter weaving down below. The entire driving pattern was captured from the air on DVD. Once the road patrol officer stopped the defendant, he observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. Later, the officer found three open corona beers inside the defendant's vehicle. According to the DUI officer, the defendant performed poorly on the roadside tests which were video taped. After his arrest for DUI, the defendant refused the breath test.
Result:	THE STATE DROPPED THE DUI.