DUI Wins

Oct 9, 2012	Case: 12-CT-501719	Judge Paluck
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving, driving too slowly, and nearly causing a collision. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. He performed very poorly on the roadside tests and was verbally abusive toward the officer. He was arrested for DUI and then refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Oct 9, 2012	Case: 2012-CT-041525AXXX	Judge Baker
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for pulling out of a roadway/alley way without stopping. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, glassy/watery eyes, and the defendant admitted to having three beers. The defendant performed the beginning portions of the roadside tests on video tape and exhibited signs of intoxication such as stumbling. He refused to complete each task to completion when asked by the officer. He was arrested for DUI and then he refused the breath test. It should be noted, this was the defendant's Third DUI.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton filed a pre-trial motion to suppress the lawfulness of the initial stop of the defendant's vehicle. In our motion, we alleged there was no probable cause justifying the stop.
Result:	The State conceded the motion and Dropped the DUI.

Oct 8, 2012	Case: 5767-XDY	Judge Ortiz
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for failing to maintain a single lane. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, mumbled speech, and bloodshot eyes. According to the officer, he failed the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he refused the breath test.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Oct 4, 2012	Case: 9270-XEQ	Judge Hague
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for peeling out his tires while making a left turn and almost hitting other cars. The defendant had an odor of alcohol, slow speech, and watery eyes. He admitted to drinking six bottles of beer. According to the officer, he did not perform up to standards on the roadside tasks and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .192 and .191 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton prepared for trial.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Oct 4, 2012	Case: 3456-XDK	Judge Hague
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for failing to maintain a single lane while affecting other traffic. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. After performing the walk and turn test poorly, the defendant refused further roadside testing and was arrested for DUI. After her arrest, she refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial after taking a pre-trial deposition of the arresting officer.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Oct 4, 2012	Case: 2011-CT-003803	Judge Crown
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding and making a wide turn. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slow dexterity, and red/watery eyes. The defendant admitted to drinking a few beers and wine. On the roadside tasks, the defendant had difficulty balancing and was unsteady. He was then arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .084 and .082 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks and Braxton were ready to go to trial.
Result:	On the morning of the jury trial date, the State Dropped the DUI.

Oct 4, 2012	Case: 2012-CT-96-AXXXXX	Judge Carr
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for significant and continuous weaving in and out in his lane. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, red eyes, and slurred speech along with a heavy eastern European accent. The defendant explained the way he was driving to the officer in that he was arguing with his wife over directions and using the GPS. The defendant was asked to perform roadside tasks on video tape which he refused and then was arrested or DUI. He then refused the breath test.
Result:	On the morning of trial, the State Dropped the DUI.

Oct 3, 2012	Case: CT-005173-XGA	Judge Greco
Facts:	The defendant was stopped because the passenger side headlight was not illuminated. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, watery eyes, and slurred speech. The defendant handed the officer a Wal-Mart receipt instead of his registration and insurance. The defendant had difficulty standing, swayed, and admitted to having three drinks. He performed the walk and turn test at the request of the officer. For example, he had trouble walking, took an incorrect number of steps, and started to early. After the walk and turn, the defendant started to do the one leg stand and stopped stating he was not doing any more tests. He was then arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he refused the breath test. This was the defendant's Second DUI.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Oct 2, 2012	Case: 2011-CT-025550AXXX (JURY TRIAL)	Judge Damico
Facts:	The defendant was stopped by the police after being observed weaving back and forth within his lane and hitting lane markers for nearly three minutes by the State Trooper. He was also speeding. The entire driving pattern for the whole time was captured on video tape. Once stopped, after not even immediately pulling over, the trooper noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. The officer also noticed a 24 ounce beer can in the car which was cold to the touch. The defendant performed the field sobriety tests at the request of the officer which were also video taped. For example , on the walk and turn test, instead of taking the required nine steps up and back down the line, the defendant took a total of 36 steps, started to early, and did not touch heel to toe. On the finger to nose, he never touched the tip of his nose on all six attempts. Furthermore, on the alphabet test, he said the same letter on two separate occasions. During the car ride, which was also video taped, one could hear the defendant's slurred speech as he would not stop talking. After his arrest for DUI, he refused the breath test.
Defense:	At jury trial, Parks & Braxton argued that a DUI investigation goes beyond a driving pattern and the ability to speak. In this particular case, the firm argued that the client's ability to walk normally, maintain his balance, and to perform various portions of the field sobriety tests in a normal manner created reasonable doubt to whether his normal faculties were impaired as required by Florida Law.
Result:	The Jury found the defendant Not Guilty.

Oct 2, 2012	Case: 2011-CT-021205AXXX	Judge Castor
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for failing to stop at a red traffic signal. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, flushed face, unsteadiness, and glassy/bloodshot eyes. The defendant performed some of the roadside tasks on video and according to the officer did not perform up to standards. He was then arrested for DUI and subsequently refused the breath test.
Result:	A week prior to the trial date, the State Dropped the DUI.

Oct 1, 2012	Case: 2011-44267MMAES	Judge Beck
Facts:	The defendant was stopped by officers after a call (BOLO) went out about a reckless driver. The officers spotted the defendant's car, which was the car driving recklessly in question, and observed her to be weaving. The officers observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and very poor balance. She performed poorly the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. She then refused the breath test. This was the defendant's second DUI arrest.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI. It should be noted this is the second time the firm got the client's DUI dropped.

Oct 1, 2012	Case: 10-011921MM10A	Judge Ross
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving without any headlights. The Trooper stated that the defendant stumbled out of the car. In addition, he observed a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes and a flushed face. The defendant allegedly admitted to consuming three drinks. The Trooper had the defendant perform the HGN (eye test), walk and turn, one leg stand as well as the finger to nose test. None of these tests were performed on video. The defendant was arrested for DUI and blew a .101 in the breath machine. The defendant then performed field sobriety tests on video at the holding facility. Subsequent to the field sobriety tests the defendant admitted on video that she was under the influence while she was driving.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI on the morning of trial.

Oct 1, 2012	Case: 2011-CT-009222AXXX	Judge Higbee
Facts:	The defendant was found passed out in his car in a parking lot. The keys were not in the ignition, but were in the center console. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, a confused look, and bloodshot eyes. He then performed the roadside tests very poorly and was arrested for DUI. He complained of a medical condition and was taken to the hospital. There, blood was taken from the defendant which resulted in his blood alcohol content being a .166 and .164 (over two times the legal limit).
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Sep 21, 2012	Case: 5561-XEM	Judge Wolfson
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and he admitted to having two drinks. According to the officer, he failed the field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he blew a .126 and .124 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Sep 20, 2012	Case: 9474-XEJ	Judge Newman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, a flushed face, and she had difficulty finding her documentation. The officer also observed her to be unsteady. She failed the roadside tasks and was arrested for DUI. After her arrest, she blew a .192 and .197 in the breath machine.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Sep 18, 2012	Case: 12-CT-500951	Judge Mann
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for making an illegal u-turn and speeding. The trooper observed an odor of alcohol, glassy/watery eyes, and slurred speech. The defendant had poor balance and also leaned against his truck for balance. According to the officer, he failed every roadside test and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton pointed out to the State prior to the trial date that the investigating trooper had an operational video camera in his patrol car but never even video taped the entire DUI investigation.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Sep 7, 2012	Case: 11-027007MM10A	Judge Brown
Facts:	The defendant was found passed out in a parking lot at approximately 1:00 in the morning. The officers stated that the keys were in the ignition and the engine was running. In addition, the officers said the vehicle was parked across two spaces. The officers observed a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, a flushed face as well as slurred speech. The officers then called for a DUI task force officer. The Trooper made similar observations to the other officers and conducted field sobriety tests. After the walk and turn test, one leg stand and the finger to nose test, the defendant was placed under arrest for DUI. The Trooper stated in his report that the investigation was placed on video. This was the the defendant's 3rd DUI offense.
Defense:	Despite the Troopers contention, the video only captured a portion of a bumper and then the back of an empty police car. Parks & Braxton filed a motion to dismiss based on destruction of evidence. During cross-examination of the motion, the Trooper testified that he had previously fabricated a police report.
Result:	After the Trooper's testimony, the State dropped the DUI.

Sep 7, 2012	Case: 1261-XEU	Judge Wolfson
Facts:	The defendant was detained by the police after a verbal dispute with a neighbor. The officer noticed the defendant with an odor of alcohol, stumbling, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. According the officer, he failed the roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, he refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton pointed out to the State that the officer had no legal reason to initially detain the defendant as no crime was or had been committed.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.

Sep 6, 2012	Case: CT-005019-XEP	Judge Jeske
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving and making an improper right turn. The officer noticed an an odor of alcohol, a sway, and bloodshot/watery eyes. She then performed roadside tasks at the request of the officer on video tape. According to the officer, she did not perform up to standards and was arrested for DUI. After her arrest, she refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton pointed out to the State, prior to trial, that none of the defendant's normal faculties were impaired on video tape versus what was written in the officer's reports.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Sep 6, 2012	Case: 2791-XDP	Judge Altfield
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for violating the State's move over law. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and he stumbled. According to the officer, he failed the roadside tests. The officer wrote a very vague report as it related to the roadside tests. He was arrested for DUI and then subsequently refused the breath test.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton were ready for trial.
Result:	The State Dropped the DUI.