Florida DUI Traffic Ticket Lawyer Blog

As the 2008 year draws to a close, Pasco County Sheriff's Deputies have made it known that on New Year's Eve weekend - THEY ARE HUNTING FOR IMPAIRED DRIVERS!

Beginning at 10 o'clock on December 31, 2008, Pasco County Sheriffs Deputies and the Florida Highway Patrol are 'saturating' the county to catch drunk drivers, speeders and aggressive drivers. Based on recent statistics, there were 727 DUI arrests by the Pasco County Sheriff in 2007 and 439 DUI related accidents.

Information from past DUI cases indicate that the busiest patrol area for DUI in Pasco County is the area covering Holiday, New Port Richey and Trinity. It also appears that Saturdays are the busiest days for DUI between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m.

If stopped for DUI, it is important to know that you have rights. You have the right to know why you were stopped. Also, you may excercise your right to refuse to perform any field sobriety excercises and refuse to provide a breath sample. If you refuse to perform field sobriety excercies, the officer will decide whether to arrest you based on your driving pattern and his or her initial interaction with you. Be mindful that once you are stopped, the officer is making mental notes of your speech, your demeanor and whether you are able to answer his questions in a coherent fashion.

Once arrested, your case will be heard in Court. If convicted of a DUI, you could face up to 6 months in the county jail, be placed on probation for 12 months, have your license suspended for up to a year and have the ignition interlock device places in your car. Always contact a lawyer to discuss your rights if arrested for DUI. To discuss this post or speak about your case, contact Stephen Higgins.

Driving drunk with children in the car is a recipe for disaster and, if convicted, exposes the defendant to increased sanctions imposed by the court.

During the holiday season, Hillsborough County, Florida police officers, including deputies with the HCSO and officers with the TPD, are patrolling the streets in increased numbers to crack down on the number of people driving impaired during the holidays. Unfortunately, some people feel the need to drink and then drive with their children. As recently as December 31, a Tampa man was arrested for DUI and at the time of his arrest he had six children in his car. He failed field sobriety excercises and provided a breath sample almost twice the legal limit.

It is important to note that the defendant charged in this case is innocent until proven guilty. In cases where the defendant is found guilty of DUI with minors in the vehicle, he may be found guilty of multiple charges including DUI and Child Neglect. The Hillsborough County State Attorney's office may seek sanctions including but not limited to: incarceration, increased fines, ignition interlock device and revocation of a driver's license for a lengthy period of time.

More importantly are the felony charges of child neglect. As a second degree felony, the defendant risks an adjudication of guilt, and will therefore be a convicted felon for the rest of his life.

Local law enforcement agencies, including the Sarasota, Manatee, and Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office are planning DUI checkpoints in the last two weeks of December. These agencies are given grant money from the Florida Department of Transportation safety office and are encouraged to conduct these DUI checkpoints. In conjunction with the Institute of Police Technology and Management in Jacksonville, Florida participates in the "You Drink & Drive You Lose" campaign. The state has set up a website that has a calendar detailing sustained campaigns. Agencies with the most number of DUI checkpoints are eligible to win prizes, including police equipment like radars, trailers, and new traffic sign boards. DUI checkpoints have come under some scrutiny in the last few months following a District Court opinion in Guy v State, Case No 2D07-4110 from Florida's Second District Court of Appeals. That Court ruled that the officers at the scene of the checkpoint exercised too much discretion and therefore deviated from the approved checkpoint plan.
The efficacy of DUI checkpoints has been discussed for years. They require lots of manpower to set up and execute, and the total number of arrests is usually lower than if the officers were assigned to a saturation patrol. In addition, they are often difficult to prosecute because there is usually no "bad" driving since the motorist just happened to drive through the checkpoint without being stopped for any traffic infraction. For additional information about DUI law and checkpoints check out the DUI website for Finebloom and Haenel.

The Florida Highway Patrol announced a statewide traffic enforcement detail referred to as "Operation Safe Ride". According to FHP Col. John Czernis, director of the Florida Highway Patrol, all available personnel will be out on the roadways on December 17-18 in an attempt to get motorists to slow down and drive safely during the holiday season. Florida has always had a very proactive traffic law enforcement community and statistics often claim that 15 percent of all traffic tickets issued in the country come from Florida. In the last year that statistics are available, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported that over 1.3 million speeding tickets were issued to motorists. That statistic only accounts for actual speeding citations and not for violation of a traffic control device which is a modifed speeding ticket in the State of Florida. An officer has discretion at the time of the traffic stop to issue a citation with reduced points and fine if the driver was cooperative. Because the cost of traffic tickets has increased so dramatically in the last few years many officers are using that statute and cutting motorists a break. The Florida Highway Patrol uses fix winged cessna airplanes, unmarked marauders and chargers, and slick top Ford Crown Victorias in combatting speeders and aggressive driving. The Florida Highway Patrol has always been understaffed as a result of Florida troopers being the lowest paid state police agency in the United States. Check out our website for Florida county specific information and details about the different types of criminal and traffic infractions.

In Florida, the legal drinking age is 21 years old. Like most states, Florida allows for the Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles to administratively suspend the license of a person under 21 years old who is driving while impaired. This supension is typically referred to as a .02 violation.

Florida statute 322.2616 states, if a law enforcement officer has probably cause to believe that a motor vehicle is being driven by someone under 21 while under the influence of alcoholic beverages, the law enforcement officer may detain the person and request they submit to a breath test.

In most jurisdictions within Florida, including Sarasota, Charlotte, Manatee, Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Polk, the law enforcement officer usually observes a driving pattern which leads him or her to believe the driver is impaired and then initiates a traffic stop to make contact with the driver.
The officer will typically have a portable breath test, referred to as a 'PBT.' The breath test is usually administered to the driver "in the field." The PBT does not go through the rigorous inspections that the intoxilyzer 8000 is subjected to, the machine usually used for arrests for DUI.

A .02 violation is not criminal case nor is it a civil infraction. Instead, it is an administrative suspension of the driver's license between the motorist and the DMV. The suspension time varies depending on whether the person provided a breath sample or refused to provide a breath sample. For example, if the person refuses to take the test, their license will be suspended for one year. If they provide a breath sample, their license would be suspended for 6 months. In either case, the person has the opportunity to challenge this supension by hiring a lawyer.

If the breath sample provided is over the legal limit of .02 but lower than .05, and the DHSMV upheld the suspension, then the driver must complete complete a traffic law and substance abuse course before being eligible to reinstate his/her license. If the driver blew .05 or higher and the DHSMV upheld the license suspension, then the driver will need to complete DUI school and any recommended referral counseling.

Always call the DHSMV bar office at 727-507-4405 to obtain additional information on business purposes only licenses click here.

A recent article from the Sarasota Herald Tribune does not paint a good picture for Sarasota County law enforcement. In Todd Ruger's article DUI Arrests Plunge, he quotes statistics showing that DUI arrests are down fifty percent since 2004. David Haenel, a partner in the law firm of Finebloom and Haenel, is quoted in the article as saying the drop in DUI arrests is attributed to the fact that

DUIs are somewhat complex and take a lot of time, and they don't want to be tied up for three of four hours.

A general road patrol deputy is assigned to a particular zone and since DUI arrests are so time consuming, that deputy is unavailable to respond to 911 calls when he/she is off the streets that long.

Continue reading " DUI Arrests Plunge in Sarasota County " »

In most DUI cases in Florida, the driver is arrested on the spot and given a court date or paperwork telling them that they have to make a court date with the clerk of court. The common exception occurs when a driver is involved in an accident and the driver is too injured to be arrested at the scene or in the hospital. If the officer investigating the accident establishes probable cause to believe the driver was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the accident, he will then ask the driver to submit to a blood test. In Florida there are two types of blood draws, one for medical purposes and one for legal purposes. A medical blood draw case starts when a driver is transported to the hospital and in the scope of his treatment a blood draw is conducted by hospital personnel. Florida Statute 316.1933 governs the law surrounding the disclosure of the results. The law states that if a health care provider who is treating a patient becomes aware that the blood alcohol level exceeds a .08, then that provider can disclose only the results to a law enforcement officer.

Continue reading " Driving Under the Influence Non-Arrest Blood Draw Case " »

A Lee County corrections officer could not escape a DUI arrest despite asking the stopping officer for some 'professional courtesy.' As a result, the correctional officer may now face some significant sanctions by the court as well as his employer.

The correctional officer, George Welch, was stopped by Florida Highway Patrol after a call was placed to 911 complaining that the truck Welch was driving was weaving near mile marker 136 in Naples. At the time of the stop, Welch showed the Trooper his badge and later asked him if he knew that he was going to ruin Welch's 20 year law enforcement career if he was arrested. Depsite his pleas, the Trooper placed Welch under arrest for suspicision of DUI, trasnported him to jail where Welch provided a breath sample of. 173.

At first glance based on the facts, it may appear as though Welch is guilty of DUI. However, in his case, based on the news report, the independent witness who observed Welch's driving is critical to the case against him. If the Trooper did not see any erratic driving and based his stop solely on the visual observation of the independent witness, then the state attorney's office will need the witness to prove their case. In Florida, to be convicted of DUI, the state attorney must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was driving or in actulal physical control of a vehicle to the extent his or her normal faculties were impaired. The stopping officer must have a reasonable suspicion that the defendant is sick, tired or impaired based on his or her observation of the driving pattern. In this case, the Trooper may not have any independent knowledge of a bad driving pattern which could be a significant problem with the state attorney's case.

If convicted of a DUI, Welch faces standard statutory sanctions assuming it is his first time offense. For example, he would be placed on 12 months of probation, lose his license for 6 months, be required to complete community service hours and pay fines and court costs. Also, as a result of a new law passed in October 2008 regarding breath samples above a .15, Welch would be required to have an Ignition Interlock Device installed in his car. The device would require Welch to provide a breath sample before he started his car and intermittently while the car was running.

In the end - it is important to note that law enforcement must enforce the law and look beyond the 'thin blue line.'

The Bay area was recently ranked #1 in the country for teen traffic accidents involving death. According to a report by Allstate, the Bay Area (comprised of Tampa & Pinellas) has more teen traffic related deaths than anywhere else in the country between Thanksgiving and New Years.

Between 2000 and 2007, the bay area had 59 teen deaths as a result of traffic accidents and already in 2008, 15 teenagers have died. Florida Highway Patrol Troopers who respond to the crashes note that teens are distracted when they drive, oftentimes texting or talking on a cell phone, not paying attention or speeding. Teens also don't wear seat belts evidenced by a recent survery they gave to themselves in which teens admit that seat belt use is rare.

Aside from the horrible loss of a human being, an accident involving death is a significant traffic ticket issued to the driver who caused the death/accident. Citations involving death require a mandatory court appearance in front of a Judge who has the authority to revoke a person's license for a year and order that the defendant pay a substantial fine.

Common sense while driving may be the best deterrent to an accident. Teens need to be encouraged to wear a seat belt, drive the speed limit and pay attention to the other cars on the road, not the cell phone buzzing in their ear.

Florida is among ten states in the country that have the lowest percentage deaths involving drunk drivers according to an annual report published by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). The report, generated around the Thanksgiving holiday, uses highway traffic related information to compile the results from the survey.

Continue reading " Florida Ranks Low in DUI Related Deaths " »