Last week, the NTSB proposed lowering the legal limit for Driving Under the Influence cases from 0.08 to 0.05.  In Florida, the legal limit is 0.08.  Also in Florida, a driver with a breath alcohol under 0.05 is presumed to not be impaired.  The NTSB feels that lowering the limit would help cut down on traffic accidents.  Studies of alcohol related accidents does not support this theory as most individuals involved in alcohol-related crashed have a legal limit of around 0.13 to 0.15, so lowering the level would not be a deterrent.  I was recently hit by a driver who [...]

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Posted on Sunday, May 19th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: 0.05 breath test limit, 0.08 limit, alcohol, Bartow DUI attorney, Bartow DUI lawyer, breath test, DUI, DUI license suspension, DUI Manslaughter, DUI serious bodily injury, field sobriety tests, FL, Formal Review, GRAJEK, Lakeland DUI attorney, Lakeland DUI Lawyer, NTSB, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer, Serious Bodily Injury, Winter Haven DUI attorney, Winter Haven DUI lawyer
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Friday, I had a “Formal Review” for a Polk County sheriff DUI case.  The hearing was held at the Florida Highway Patrol station in Lakeland in one of the FHP strategy meeting rooms.  On the bulletin board of the  room was written the following:   The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is arresting a lot more drivers for DUI than in the past.  The FHP has been much more aggressive in their DUI arrests and have equipped their vehicles with cameras for DUI arrests.  But a DUI is subjective.  That means that whether someone is impaired by alcohol, is an opinion. [...]

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Posted on Saturday, March 30th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: 0.08 limit, Bartow DUI attorney, Bartow DUI lawyer, DUI, DUI license suspension, Lakeland DUI attorney, Lakeland DUI Lawyer, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer, Winter Haven DUI attorney, Winter Haven DUI lawyer
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My client was arrested for DUI by the Florida Highway Patrol.  I was able to get a copy of the video and police reports for his case.  Because my client retained me within 10 days, I was able to request a “Formal Review” to fight the administrative suspension of his driver’s license for allegedly having a breath test result over the 0.08 legal limit on the Intoxilyzer breath test machine. At the Formal Review hearing, I raised a number of legal issues and challenges to the suspension.  These included the authority for the trooper to pull my client over for [...]

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Posted on Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: 0.08 limit, Bartow DUI attorney, Bartow DUI lawyer, breath test, DUI, DUI license suspension, field sobriety tests, Formal Review, Lakeland DUI attorney, Lakeland DUI Lawyer, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer, Refuse breath test, Winter Haven DUI attorney, Winter Haven DUI lawyer
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On Thursday, I was in the Winter Haven court house fighting a DUI for my client.  Many people do not understand what a DUI attorney does to defend someone accused of DUI.  An experienced DUI defense attorney will get the videos and police reports in your case.  The attorney then reviews them for legal issues that will make your DUI case better in court. In this case, the video captured my client’s driving pattern.  Because my client did not have any improper driving on the video we challenged the officer’s stop of the vehicle.  If a driver is not committing [...]

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Posted on Monday, March 25th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: aggressive DUI attorney, breath test, DUI, field sobriety exercises, field sobriety tests, Intoxilyzer, motion to suppress, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer, Winter Haven DUI attorney, Winter Haven DUI lawyer
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Many people arrested for DUI or any crime for that matter, often ask “Do I have a good case?”  They want to know if they can get their case dismissed or get a great plea bargain so that they plea to a lesser crime, do not go to jail or prison, or end up on probation.  So, what makes a good case?  It depends on the legal and factual issues in each individual’s case. The better your facts are, such as blowing under the legal limit of 0.08, the better case you have and the better chance you have of [...]

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Posted on Sunday, March 17th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: 0.08 limit, Bartow DUI attorney, breath test result, breath test suppressed, field sobriety exercises, field sobriety tests, Formal Review, Implied Consent, Lakeland DUI attorney, Lakeland DUI Lawyer, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer, Winter Haven DUI attorney, Winter Haven DUI lawyer
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I recently posted about a case I just tried regarding a Polk County DUI case.  If a driver has previously refused to submit to testing, they can be charged with a crime in addition to the DUI.  The refusal can be for a breath test on the Intoxilyzer 8000, a urine test, or a blood test.  The prosecutor always wants to try the refusal case because the prosecutor’s burden is much lower than in the DUI case.  I requested a  special verdict form in the criminal refusal case.  Why?  Because I want to know exactly why the jury was reaching [...]

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Posted on Sunday, March 10th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: 0.08 limit, 2nd refusal, alcoholic content, Bartow DUI attorney, Bartow DUI lawyer, blood test, breath test, DUI, DUI license suspension, Lakeland DUI attorney, Lakeland DUI Lawyer, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer, refusal to submit to testing, urine test, Winter Haven DUI attorney, Winter Haven DUI lawyer
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You only have 10 days to request a “Formal Review” to challenge the administrative suspension of your driver’s license for blowing over 0.08 on the breath test machine or refusing the breath test.  Unfortunately, many people do not realize this 10 day deadline and fail to request a Formal Review to fight the 6 to 18 month suspension of their driver’s license by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV).  The DUI citation the officer gave you is your driver’s license for 10 days so that you can drive to Tampa and sign up for the Formal.  This [...]

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Posted on Sunday, March 10th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: 0.08 limit, Bartow DUI attorney, Bartow DUI lawyer, breath test, DUI, DUI Formal Review, DUI license suspension, DUI serious bodily injury, field sobriety tests, Formal Review, Lakeland DUI attorney, Lakeland DUI Lawyer, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer, Refuse breath test, Winter Haven DUI attorney, Winter Haven DUI lawyer
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Traveling to meet a minor is a second-degree felony offence in Florida. In Florida, if you have been charged with traveling to meet a minor, you need experienced criminal defense counsel to handle your case. Just because an individual may be charged with a criminal offense in the State of Florida does not necessarily mean they are guilty. While a case, on the surface, may look like an individual is guilty, once the facts are completely known, the determination of guilt may not be quite so clear-cut. Everyone, no matter what the charge, is entitled to a defense, and despite [...]

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Posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: Polk County criminal defense attorney, Polk County criminal defense lawyer, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer
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When someone represents themselves in court, it is called pro se.  Before a court can allow someone to go forward without the aid of an attorney, they must perform a Faretta inquiry.  This inquiry insures that the defendant properly waives his right to counsel.  As the old saying goes “he who represents himself has a fool for a client.” It is very dangerous to represent yourself.  There are collateral consequences to your criminal case or plea that you may not be aware of.  You could lose your license for 5 years, you could lose the ability to seal or expunge [...]

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Posted on Sunday, February 24th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: Bartow criminal defense attorney, Bartow criminal lawyer, Bartow DUI attorney, Bartow DUI lawyer, Lakeland criminal defense attorney, Lakeland criminal lawyer, Lakeland DUI attorney, Lakeland DUI Lawyer, Polk County criminal defense attorney, Polk County criminal defense lawyer, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer, Winter Haven Criminal Defense Attorney, Winter Haven criminal lawyer
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My client was arrested for Driving Under the influence by a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper for driving in excess of 100 mph and allegedly weaving all over the road.  After being pulled over, the police report alleged the driver had the odor of alcohol, glassy, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech.  The trooper alleged my client was unsteady on his feet, swayed, and failed the field sobriety tests. Because this was a Florida Highway Patrol DUI arrest in Polk County, I knew that there was a video of my client’s DUI arrest.  In FHP cases, this usually includes the driving pattern [...]

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Posted on Saturday, February 9th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
Tags: Bartow DUI lawyer, dui lawyers lakeland florida, field sobriety tests, Florida Highway Patrol DUI, Polk County DUI attorney, Polk County DUI lawyer, refuse submit breath test, tri county winter haven dui, Winter Haven DUI attorney
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