DUI Wins

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.

Nov 13, 2008	Case: 48-2007-CT-1034-E	Judge Allen
Facts:	The defendant was found by police passed out and slumped over the wheel of his car. The keys were in the ignition and the engine was making loud noises. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, the defendant seemed confused, and he admitted to drinking. He performed very poorly on the field sobriety tests. For example, on the one leg stand test, he put his foot down numerous times and mis-counted several numbers while counting aloud. On the walk and turn test, he stepped off the line, turned incorrectly, and raised his arms for balance. He was then arrested for DUI.
Result:	THE STATE DROPPED THE DUI.

Nov 12, 2008	Case: CT-009021-XAM	Judge Conrad
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a crash when his vehicle struck another car in a parking lot. He left the scene of the accident and was eventually caught by police in another parking lot. The police observed the defendant's car on top of a curb against a fence. The officer observed an odor of alcohol and bloodshot eyes. The defendant performed field sobriety tests on video tape. For example, on the walk and turn task, he stepped off the line and did not touch heel to toe. On the one leg stand test, he swayed and used his arms for balance. The defendant was arrested for DUI and Leaving the Scene of an Accident (LSA). After his arrest, he blew a .129 in the breath machine.
Result:	THE STATE DROPPED THE DUI AND DISMISSED THE LSA.

Nov 8, 2008	Case: CT-008511-XCL	Judge Lefler
Facts:	The defendant was seen by an officer in a gas station convenience store leaning on a counter and heard very slurred speech. The officer then got in his patrol car and conducted a traffic stop of the defendant since he had already left the station. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech again. A DUI task force officer was called who made similar observations along with the defendant appearing to be unsteady and making many confusing statements. The defendant performed poorly on roadside tests which were video taped. For example, on the walk and turn test, the defendant took twelve steps forward and eleven steps back instead of the nine as instructed. Furthermore, he did not count aloud and was very unsteady. The defendant refused the breath test after his arrest for DUI. This was the defendant's second DUI.
Result:	PRIOR TO THE MOTION, THE STATE DROPPED THE DUI.

Nov 3, 2008	Case: 48-2008-CT-001153-0	Judge Bell
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for a cracked taillight. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot/glassy eyes, a pale face, and the defendant's balance was unsteady. Also, the defendant's speech was slow and slurred. The defendant refused the roadside tests and was very uncooperative. After his arrest for DUI, he refused the breath test.
Result:	THE STATE DROPPED THE DUI.

Nov 3, 2008	Case: 489353-X (JURY TRIAL)	Judge Lindsey
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving through a stop sign at a high rate of speed. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and a flushed face. The officer also wrote in his reports that the defendant had slurred speech. The defendant refused to perform any roadside tasks, cursed at the officer, and was arrested for DUI. Back at the police station, the defendant refused the breath test and was using profanity towards the officers the entire time. THIS WAS THE DEFENDANT'S THIRD DUI.
Result:	THE JURY FOUND THE DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY IN LESS THAN FIFTEEN MINUTES.

Nov 2, 2008	Case: 404719-X	Judge Newman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for running a red light and almost causing an accident. The officer who stopped the defendant noticed an odor of alcohol and balance problems. He then called for a DUI unit. The DUI officer made similar observations in addition to observing thick tongued speech and bloodshot eyes. The defendant performed poorly on roadside tasks according to the officer and was arrested for DUI. He then refused the breath test after his arrest for DUI. This was the defendant's second DUI arrest within a period of five years.
Result:	On the morning of trial, the officer who stopped the defendant could not remember anything about the case and the DUI WAS DISMISSED.