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Lower the legal limit in DUI cases from 0.08 in Florida? National Transportation Safety Board proposes lowering legal breath test limit for DUI cases.

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

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.
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Have you been arrested for DUI by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper?

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

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.
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Lakeland DUI attorney Thomas C. Grajek files a Writ of Certiorari challenging suspension of driver’s DUI "Formal Review" license suspension.

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

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.
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Winter Haven DUI attorney challenges breath test results and DUI investigation in court

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

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.
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Lakeland DUI lawyer Thomas C. Grajek files motion to suppress 0.188 and 0.187 breath test result, stop of suspected DUI driver’s vehicle, and DUI investigation.

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

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.
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Recently, I tried a refusal to submit to breath, urine, or blood testing in a DUI case. Below is the special verdict form I requested for the jury.

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

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.
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How do I sign up for a Formal Review for a Polk County DUI arrest?

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

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.
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Lakeland DUI lawyer Thomas C. Grajek files motion to suppress 0.189 and 0.183 breath test result (over twice the legal limit)

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

My client was pulled over by an officer of the Lakeland Police Department DUI squad.  After taking the field sobriety tests, the driver was placed under arrest for DUI.  In Polk County and Florida, it is only after you have been placed under arrest for driving under the influence that the police or sheriff can request a breath test and suspend your driver’s license if you refuse to submit to testing. My client was read “Implied Consent’ by the Lakeland police officer.  In Florida, by accepting the privilege to drive a vehicle, a driver also consents to submit to breath [...]

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Posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
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Florida Supreme Court hears oral arguments on whether suspected drunk drivers should be entitled to see software that runs breath test machine

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

This week, the Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the breath test machine used in Polk County, Florida.  At issue is the software that runs the Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test machine that is used in all Polk County DUI arrests.    If a suspected DUI driver is not allowed to have an independent review of the software that calculates the driver’s breath alcohol level, how can the driver be sure that the breath test machine works correctly?  Why is the manufacturer of the Intoxilyzer 8000, CMI, Inc., afraid to let anyone review the accuracy of the breath test machine and [...]

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Posted on Saturday, February 9th, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
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DUI resulting in Serious Bodily Injury is a very serious felony offense that can result in prison time and a 3 year revocation of your Florida driver’s license.

Posted by: Thomas Grajek

DUI with serious bodily injury is a third degree felony which carries a maximum of 5 years in prison. This crime is taken very serious by the Polk County State Attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit.  These DUI crimes are tragic and often filled with emotions from the victim of the accident who has sustained serious injuries that may affect them for the rest of their lives.  A prosecutor will often take into consideration the victim’s input as to how these cases should be resolved prosecutors. Under the Florida sentencing guidelines it is a Level 7 offense which means a [...]

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Posted on Sunday, February 3rd, 2013 and filed under Lakeland Criminal Defense.
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