DUI Wins

Feb 28, 2006	Case: CT-002328-XAM (JURY TRIAL)	Judge Barber
Facts:	An unknown caller reported that the defendant's vehicle was driving on the wrong side of the road. The officer observed a vehicle matching the description, saw the vehicle run a red light, and drive over the curb. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes and a sway to her stance. The defendant performed field sobriety tests which allegedly indicated signs of impairment. The defendant was arrested for DUI and blew a .166 in the breath machine. This was the defendant's second DUI within five years.
Result:	On the second day of trial, the State dropped the DUI.

Feb 21, 2006	Case: 05-009515MM10A (JURY TRIAL)	Judge Feiner
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a high speed rear-end collision whereby he struck a vehicle directly in front of him. The defendant's vehicle flipped over several times and the victim sustained injuries. An off duty officer witnessed the accident. Upon arrival, the investigating trooper noticed an extremely strong odor of alcohol on the defendant's breath, bloodshot eyes, and a flushed face. The victim testified in a pre-trial deposition that the defendant's car was riddled with beer cans. The trooper had the defendant perform field sobriety tests and subsequently arrested the defendant for DUI causing property damage and injuries to another. The defendant was also charged with refusal to submit to a breath test since this was his second arrest for DUI involving a refusal.
Result:	After the cross examination of the arresting trooper in the middle of jury trial, the State dropped the DUI charge and the charge for refusing to submit to a breath test.

Feb 13, 2006	Case: 04-025307MM10A	Judge Feiner
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for swerving from lane to lane. The officer noticed bloodshot eyes and an odor of alcohol on his breath. The officer then contacted a deputy with a camera to conduct the criminal investigation for DUI. The DUI deputy made additional observations including unsteadiness and slurred speech. The defendant refused to perform any tests and was arrested for DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI on the morning of trial. This was the defendant's 2nd offense.

Feb 2, 2006	Case: 01-9748MM10A (JURY TRIAL)	Judge Gehl
Facts:	The deputy testified at trial that he stopped the defendant because he exhibited signs of impairment when he saw him 30 minutes prior in a parking lot. After stopping the defendant the deputy testified that he noticed bloodshot eyes, flushed face and an odor of alcohol on his breath. He also testified in trial that the defendant appeared to be unsteady as he walked. On the walk and turn the deputy stated the defendant failed to walk heel to toe throughout the test. On the one leg stand he testified that the defendant kept tapping his foot on the ground and repeating numbers. The defendant was arrested for DUI and blew a .098 in the breath machine. He also refused a urine test.
Result:	The motion was granted. The State appealed, and the judge affirmed the opinion. All charges were DISMISSED.

Jan 31, 2006	Case: 04-003872MM10A (JURY TRIAL)	Judge Lazarus
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving 90 mph. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, flushed face and bloodshot eyes. The DUI task force requested the defendant to perform field sobriety tests. On the finger to nose test the defendant failed to touch the tip of his nose and never took his finger off of his face. On the walk and turn the defendant failed to maintain his balance in the heel to toe position. He was unsteady on the turn and used his arms for balance. He was arrested for DUI and blew over the legal limit in the breath machine.
Result:	The Jury found the defendant NOT GUILTY in less than 1 minute.

Jan 31, 2006	Case: 508695-X (JURY TRIAL)	Judge Krieger-Martin
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for running a red light. The officer who stopped the defendant, observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, slightly slurred speech, and a sway to his stance.
Result:	The jury found the defendant NOT GUILTY in TEN MINUTES on his THIRD OFFENSE.

Jan 30, 2006	Case: 550517-X	Judge Bloom
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for turning into an intersection and almost colliding with other traffic. The officers, observed slurred speech, an odor of alcohol, and the defendant stumbled as he exited the car. On the field sobriety exercises, such as the walk and turn, the defendant never touched heel to toe and stepped off the line at least six times. On the one leg stand, the defendant put his foot down four times. After performing the rest of the tests poorly, he was arrested for DUI. The defendant refused the breath test and this was his Second DUI.
Result:	After announcing ready for trial, the State dropped the DUI. The State dropped the DUI.

Jan 30, 2006	Case: 575287-X	Judge Bloom
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving on a blown out shredded flat tire. Once stopped by police, the officers observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and the defendant had to hold on to the car for balance. He performed poorly on roadside tests. Specifically, he failed to touch the tip of his nose on all attempts on the finger to nose exercise. On the walk and turn, he took the incorrect number of steps and stepped off the line throughout the exercise. The defendant was subsequently arrested for DUI.
Result:	On the morning of trial, the State conceded the motion. The State dropped the DUI.

Jan 30, 2006	Case: 04-012837MM10A	Judge Gehl
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for running a red light. The initial officer noticed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes and a flushed face. He then requested a DUI task force member to conduct the investigation. The defendant performed 3 field sobriety tests. On the walk and turn test the defendant repeatedly stumbled off the line. He was subsequently arrested for DUI.
Result:	The State approached the defense and dropped the DUI on the day of trial.

Jan 27, 2006	Case: 04-20009MM10A	Judge Berman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving at a high rate of speed while squealing his tires. In addition, the defendant made two quick u-turns. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and a flushed face. The defendant stated that he had a few beers. Believing that the defendant might be DUI she asked him to perform field sobriety tests. After conducting the finger to nose, walk and turn as well as the one leg stand test, the defendant was arrested for DUI.
Result:	The state conceded the motion and dropped the DUI.

Jan 23, 2006	Case: CT-5666-XAM	Judge Ober
Facts:	The defendant was first seen in the center lane driving through a red light. Next, the defendant swerved to his left side almost colliding with the concrete medium. The defendant was allegedly swerving his vehicle over the next mile. The officer stated that the defendant ran through another light blocking the entire intersection. Upon contact with the driver, the officer stated that he was staggering and swaying as he walked. He also stated that the defendant almost fell over when his keys dropped to the ground. His speech was supposedly slurred and thick. He noticed an odor of alcohol and bloodshot eyes. The officer called for a member of the DUI task force. The task force officer placed the defendant on video and conducted field sobriety tests. The defendant was arrested for DUI and blew a .085 in the breath machine. He also admitted on video to taking Vicodin.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI on the morning of trial.

Jan 13, 2006	Case: 05-2378MMA	Judge Hershey
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a traffic crash in which she pulled out in front of a truck. When the trooper arrived, he observed an odor of alcohol, mumbled speech, and dilated eyes. The defendant was arrested without being given the opportunity to perform field sobriety tasks. The defendant blew a .152 in the breath machine after her arrest for DUI causing property damage.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jan 12, 2006	Case: 46-2006-CT-011176-0	Judge Ansbro
Facts:	The defendant was parked on the side of an open business with her lights off in the middle of the night. An undercover officer pulled up to the store to see if anything was happening. When the officer pulled up in his undercover truck and got out of the vehicle, the defendant drove off. The officer then initiated a traffic stop believing a crime had been committed or may be committed according to his testimony. The officer felt the defendant's car appeared "suspicious." Once stopped, the officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and unsteadiness. A DUI officer was called and made similar observations. The defendant refused all roadside tests and refused the breath test. This was the defendant's SECOND DUI.
Result:	The defense provided case law and the Judge GRANTED THE MOTION TO SUPPRESS AND THREW OUT ALL THE EVIDENCE. THE STATE DISMISSED THE DUI.

Jan 11, 2006	Case: 05-21544MM10A	Judge Robinson
Facts:	The defendant was involved in a crash in which he ran over dirt, bushes, and landed in a canal. A police diver got him out of the vehicle as it was submerged in swampland. Once on land, the officers noticed an odor of alcohol and unsteadiness. The defendant admitted to drinking five to six beers. He performed poorly on roadside tests and refused the breath test after his arrest for DUI.
Result:	On the morning of Jury Trial, the STATE DROPPED THE DUI.

Jan 5, 2006	Case: 05-0029252-XAD-ANC	Judge Horrox
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for failing to maintain a single lane. Once stopped, the officer observed an odor of alcohol, a sway and unsteadiness, to his stance, and slurred speech. According to the officer, he performed poorly on roadside tests. For example, on the walk and turn, he stepped off the line and used his arms for balance. On the one leg stand, he swayed and used his arms for balance. Subsequent to his arrest for DUI, he refused the breath test.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jan 3, 2006	Case: 05-012327MM10A (JURY TRIAL)	Judge Ross
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving 90 miles per hour. The trooper observed a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. The trooper asked the defendant to exit the vehicle and noticed she was unsteady. The trooper then asked if she would perform field sobriety tests and she complied. On the walk and turn test, she stepped off the line and missed heel to toe several times. On the one leg stand, she swayed and was off balance. On the finger to nose test, the trooper stated she was unable to touch her finger to her nose on every attempt. The defendant was arrested for DUI and blew a .111 in the breath machine. After being read her Miranda rights, the defendant told the officer that she was in Tamarac when in fact she was not in Tamarac. She also admitted to drinking wine.
Result:	The Jury found the defendant NOT GUILTY.

Jan 2, 2006	Case: 04-016510MM10A	Judge Robinson
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving across the double yellow lines while driving 62 mph in a 40 mph zone. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol and bloodshot eyes. The defendant was so belligerent that he had to be physically removed from the car. He refused the exercises but later consented to a breath test. His result was a .153.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI. This was the defendant's 2nd DUI within 5 years.

Jan 2, 2006	Case: 04-026756MM10A	Judge Lazarus
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer observed bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, sluggish movements and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. The defendant performed several field sobriety tests. On the finger to nose test he failed to touch his nose 5 out of six times. On the walk and turn test the defendant failed to stay on the line. On the one leg stand he put his foot down 5 times and stated he cannot do this. The defendant stated that he would have gotten away with this if he wasn't speeding.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI the morning of trial.

Dec 13, 2005	Case: 05-003407TCA04	Judge Evans
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for running a red light and squealing his tires. The two officers observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and the defendant was fumbling looking for his license. He was unstable on his feet and admitted to drinking beers. He refused the roadside tests and the breath test.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Dec 12, 2005	Case: 05-004972MMA04	Judge Damico
Facts:	The defendant was parked while asleep in a church parking lot. The officers arrived on scene with their overhead lights because a BOLO (be on the lookout) had gone out about a disturbance on the road and possibly impaired driver (ie. the defendant). No other specifics were given in the BOLO. When the officers arrived, they never spoke to the other deputies on the scene and never spoke to the alleged victim about what allegedly happened. They went straight up to the defendant's car and ordered the defendant to roll down his window. They then observed drug paraphernalia (a pipe) and an odor of alcohol. The defendant admitted to having 5-6 beers and was very off balance, staggering, and had slurred speech. He refused the roadside tests and refused the breath test.