Recent Successes

August 2, 2010

Got DUI charge dropped

Duval County, Neptune Beach, Florida
Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Case No.: 2009 CT 025671

Client was stopped by a law enforcement officer because he crossed the solid white line on the right of the outside lane of a four-lane highway, almost striking the curb, he over-corrected and crossed the dotted white lane divider lines. He smelled of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot and watery and his speech was slurred. He was arrested for DUI and refused to give a breath sample. We challenged the stop of the vehicle arguing he committed no lane violation and there was no other reason to stop him. The court granted our motion to suppress all evidence obtained from the stop after hearing the officer testify and listening to our presentation of the law. No evidence would come in at trial, so the State, unwilling to appeal the ruling, dropped all charges.

RESULT: CASE DROPPED

July 26, 2010

Got charges of false police reporting, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia dropped

Duval County, Jacksonville Beach, FL
False Reporting, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
Case No.: 2010 MM 0525

Clients truck flipped over in the roadway, it was righted and driven home. Jacksonville Beach Police Department, investigating our client for Leaving the Scene of an Accident, came to client s home, and requested he come outside to discuss the truck accident. Once outside he was handcuffed and searched and some marijuana and a pipe were found on client. Police alleged the client then lied about the truck accident. We filed a motion to suppress all evidence obtained after an unlawful seizure of the client and an unlawful search of his person because there was no crime to investigate - leaving the scene of an accident requires damage to another person or property - there was only damage to our clients truck. The court agreed and suppressed all evidence. The State dropped the case.

RESULT: ALL CHARGES DROPPED

July 23, 2010

Got a DUI reduced to Reckless Driving, no conviction

Duval County, Mayport, Florida
Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Case No.: 2009 CT 006526

Client was stopped for speeding on Mayport Road near the Mayport Naval Air Station and was eventually arrested for DUI. We filed a motion to suppress all evidence alleging the stop for speeding was unconstitutional. We argued the stopping officer could not reasonably estimate our client's speed while traveling in a different direction and looking over his shoulder. Just prior to the hearing on the motion, the State capitulated and reduced the charge to reckless driving and offered no conviction, no points, no license suspension, just payment of court costs.

RESULT: NO CONVICTION, NO LICENSE SUSPENSION, ON RECKLESS DRIVING INSTEAD OF DUI.

July 22, 2010

Not guilty verdict on assault charge

St. Johns County, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Assault
Case No.: 2010-000982 MM

Client was accused of assaulting a neighbor while walking his dog by telling the dog to sic when passing the alleged victim on a narrow sidewalk. Since the dog is a small fluffy shih-tzu named Panda who could never sic anything and the State would not drop the case, we proceeded to trial. At trial we had the client command the dog to sic em and Panda just wagged his tail. The court ruled the alleged assailant, our client, never had the apparent ability to carry out the threat of sic em as required by law for an assault and found our client Not Guilty.

RESULT: NOT GUILTY OF ASSAULT

July 19, 2010

Got a dui reduced to reckless driving
no conviction, no driver s license suspension

Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida
Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Case No.: 2009 CT 023843

Client was stopped for running a stop sign, running his jeep over a curb and onto a grassy median at Baptist Medical Center. He refused to perform field sobriety exercises and requested a lawyer. He was arrested and refused to take a breath test. We prepared the case for trial. On the eve of trial, the state capitulated and reduced the charge to reckless driving. Our client needed his driver's license because he works in sales all over the state, so we negotiated a reckless driving disposition without a conviction and without a driver's license suspension.

RESULT: NO CONVICTION ON RECKLESS DRIVING INSTEAD OF DUI; NO DRIVER S LICENSE SUSPENSION

June 29, 2010

Got a second dui within 5 years of the first reduced to reckless driving
Avoided a mandatory 10 day jail sentence
Avoided a mandatory five year driver’s license suspension

Duval County, Neptune Beach, Florida
Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Case No.: 2009 CT 15139

Client was stopped for speeding. She refused to perform the field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. We filed a motion to suppress the refusal of the field sobriety exercises because the client immediately asked the officer to perform them when he placed her in handcuffs. The officer refused to allow her to perform them. We argued, in a novel new theory by analogy, that since recantation of a breath test refusal vitiates the initial refusal and breath tests are mandatory by law, then recantation of a field sobriety test should also vitiate the initial refusal since field sobriety tests are voluntary and a refusal is only admissible to show “consciousness of guilt.” The court agreed and suppressed the refusal of the field sobriety exercises. The State, rather than appeal the novel ruling and possibly create bad case law for themselves offered to reduce the charge to reckless driving. Client avoided a mandatory 10 day jail sentence and a mandatory five year driver’s license suspension.

RESULT: RECKLESS DRIVING INSTEAD OF DUI

May 28, 2010

Got a DUI reduced to reckless driving

St. Johns County, St. Augustine, Florida
Nocatee, CR 210, Ponte Vedra,
Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Case No.: 2010-CT-001911

Client was stopped for speeding on - believe it or not - “Race Track Road,” and for a wide turn and almost striking a curb or median. He was told to perform roadside field sobriety exercises or tests. He failed, was arrested for DUI and refused a breath test. We filed a motion to suppress (to keep out of evidence) the observations of his performance on the field sobriety exercises and his breath test refusal alleging that the officer coerced the field sobriety exercises because he never informed the driver that he could refuse such roadside testing. In other words, the driver just submitted to the officer’s authority and was never told he did not have to take the roadside tests. The State, just before the hearing was to begin, amended the charge reducing the DUI charge to Reckless Driving and the client pled No Contest to Reckless Driving.

RESULT: RECKLESS DRIVING INSTEAD OF DUI

May 28, 2009

Got no convictions on five charges of driving while license suspended
Got a habitual traffic offender five year suspension removed from driving record
Got an arrest warrant on a criminal driving while license suspended charge recalled and case dismissed

Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida
Multiple Driver s License Suspensions
Driving While License Suspended - Habitual Traffic Offender - Outstanding Warrant
Case no.: 2007 CT 3956 Driving While License Suspended

Client came to see us with numerous driver s license suspensions including a five year Habitual Traffic Offender suspension and an outstanding warrant for Driving While License Suspended. We got court dates on five Driving While License Suspended charges which were causing the suspensions (2005 TR 095474, 2004 TR 162493, 2004 TR 162933, 2004 TR 050114, 2001 TR 058512).We secured no convictions on those charges. This removed the five year habitual traffic offender suspension and allowed the client to get a driver s license. We then got the warrant recalled on the criminal Driving While License Suspended charge and went to court and got the case dismissed. In other words, we solved the underlying problem of the suspensions to get a driver s license instead of just handling the client s pending criminal charge.

RESULT: CASE DROPPED

April 12, 2010

Got a habitual traffic offender five year suspension removed from driving record
got a driving while license suspended charge dropped
got a felony driving while license suspended reduced without a conviction

Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida
Felony Driving While License Suspended - Habitual Traffic Offender
Case no.: 2010-CF-000352, 2010-CT-000620
Misdemeanor Driving While License Suspended
Case no.: 2009-CT-020671

Client came to see us. He had a five year Habitual Traffic Offender (HTO) suspension on his license, four suspension for failing to pay fines or go to court, and three prior convictions for Driving While License Suspended and had just been arrested twice for Driving While License Suspended , one being a felony. The State was offering a felony conviction and two years in prison and a new five year suspension. Not a good situation.

I successfully overturned two prior Driving While License Suspended convictions from 2005 and 2006 (2005-TR-192481, 2006-TR-136047). He paid his outstanding fines. This action removed the HTO five year license suspension from his driving record enabling him to obtain a driver s license.

RESULT: the misdemeanor driving while license suspended was DROPPED. The felony driving while license suspended was dropped to a misdemeanor charge of no valid license (which won t suspend his license), the court WITHHELD ADJUDICATION OF GUILT (no conviction), no points were assessed, and client paid a fine.

December 28, 2009

Got DUI dropped

Clay County, Orange Park, Florida
Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Case No.: 2009-CT-2079

Client was involved in a car crash. Vehicle drove over a curb, struck a boat and a cable junction box. When the Officer arrived at the scene he saw a black Jeep with a flat right front tire and a damaged front end in the middle of the road with several people standing nearby. During the traffic crash investigation, our client admitted to driving. A second officer arrived overheard our client admit to driving the vehicle. The officer later began his DUI investigation by advising the admitted driver (our client) of her Miranda warnings. Our client performed field sobriety exercises and was arrested for DUI.

I filed a Motion in Limine to Suppress Statements of Defendant Prior to Proof of Corpus Delicti and/or Protected by the Accident Report Privilege, basically requesting the court keep all evidence of her admissions of driving out of evidence because after Miranda warnings, the driver was never asked nor did she admit to driving the vehicle, and prior to Miranda warnings she was obligated to tell what happened by law but any statements made during an accident investigation and before Miranda are privileged, i.e., can't be used against you, because they are coerced by law.

A hearing was held and the court GRANTED the motion. No evidence of her admissions of driving could be used in court against her.