Archive for the ‘Florida DUI Charges’ Category
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012
If you have never been arrested or stopped for anything other than a minor traffic infraction like speeding, the first time you face the possibility of a DUI arrest is a humbling experience. Many times police officer exploit the feeling of intimidation and fear that accompanies an unfamiliar encounter with a police officer to build a DUI case against you. Frequently, the officer’s ability to build this DUI case is based on the ordinary fear that many feel when asserting their rights to a law enforcement officer. The bottom line is that asserting your rights and not being afraid to say “no” can have an enormous influence on whether you are charged and convicted of DUI in Florida.
When you are stopped by a police officer, the officer will immediately attempt to engage you in a conversation. This conversation is designed to provide an observation period so that the officer can determine if you exhibit physical signs of intoxication. While you should avoid being rude or confrontational, you should not participate in a conversation with the officer. The officer may ask you how much have had to drink or similar questions to elicit incriminating responses. Your only response should be that you would prefer not to answer any questions until you have had a chance to speak with a lawyer. The less you talk to the officer the better because he is listening to see if you slur your words and to determine if he can smell alcohol on your breath. The less you talk the better.
The officer may ask you to perform field sobriety tests or breath tests. You are free to decline to perform breath tests and generally, the prosecutor cannot comment on your refusal to the judge or jury. While you may refuse a breath test and should generally do so if you do not have a prior refusal, the prosecutor may comment on this refusal if you are fully advised of Florida’s implied consent law, including the fact that your refusal may be used in the case against you. It is sometimes not a bad idea to ask if field sobriety tests and the breath tests are proven 100 percent accuracy. The answer to both questions is no. This provides a legitimate basis to decline to take FSTs and a breath test that an experienced Florida DUI attorney can explain as perfectly reasonable to a jury.
Many people are afraid to take these steps because they presume the strategy of “just saying no” to a police officer will result in an arrest. While it is true that you might be arrested, this can only occur if the officer already has probable cause to support a DUI arrest. If the officer does have probable cause for a DUI arrest, then you are going to be arrested regardless of whether you refuse to cooperate with the police officer’s DUI investigation. However, you will have avoided admitting incriminating statements and providing evidence of failed FSTs or a failed breath test. This is the heart of the evidence that is used in most DUI prosecutions, which means that while just saying no may not keep you from a Florida DUI arrest it may prevent a Florida DUI conviction.
If you or someone you love has been arrested or charged for a Florida DUI, the experienced Florida DUI defense attorneys at Musca Law have helped many people avoid the extremely harsh consequences of a Florida DUI conviction. We invite you to contact a Florida DUI defense attorney at Musca Law to schedule a free confidential consultation: (800) 687-2252.
Tags: Florida DUI Lawyer
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Thursday, January 5th, 2012
Some people presume that most people metabolize alcohol the same way and that a person metabolizes alcohol more or less at the same rate at different times. The reality is that there are substantial variations in the way alcohol is metabolized based on individual physical traits and at different points in time. It is important to retain an experienced Florida DUI defense attorney that has a thorough understanding of the factors that can affect the way a body metabolizes alcohol because these distinctions may form the basis for DUI defense strategies. We have provided an overlook of some of those factors below:
Body Type/Weight: Generally a person that weighs less will experience more dramatic effects from alcohol. Alcohol once metabolized distributes itself in an approximately equal concentration throughout the blood in the body. Because a person who is smaller will typically have less blood to dilute the volume of alcohol when metabolized, a person that is smaller will typically have the higher blood alcohol level as compared to a bigger person that has consumed an equal amount of alcohol. If individuals are approximately equal in size, the person with more fat and less muscle will typically experience more intense effects because fatty tissue has less water content.
Gender: As a generalization, men tend to have higher percentage of their body mass composed of muscle as opposed to women. Because women on average have more body fat which has less water, they may exhibit a higher BAC than a man of equal size after consuming the same quantity of alcohol.
Diabetes/Low Carb Diets: If you are on a low carb Adkins style diet or suffer from diabetes, you may produce a BAC result when taking a breath test that is erroneously elevated. Diabetes and low carb diets cause the body to produce “ketones” which cause the body to create isopropyl alcohol. When you blow isopropyl alcohol into most DUI breath testing devices, the device typically cannot distinguish it from ethyl alcohol (the type of alcohol that we consume in an alcoholic beverage).
Consumption of Food: While alcohol is metabolized through the entire gastrointestinal tract, the small intestine is the most efficient body organ at metabolizing alcohol into the blood stream with alcohol being metabolized into the blood stream form the stomach much slower. Food in the stomach will delay the point at which one has the highest level of intoxication. If you have eaten, the pyloric valve at the bottom of the stomach will close in order to hold food in the stomach for digestion. This delays alcohol from reaching the small intestine where it can be absorbed into the blood stream at a more efficient rate.
If you are arrested for DUI and submit to a breath test, there are many factors that may compromise the accuracy of the test. Experienced Florida DUI attorney John Musca carefully evaluates potential factors that may compromise your breath test results as part of his comprehensive DUI defense strategy. If you or someone close to you has been arrested for DUI, our dedicated team of Florida DUI defense lawyers are prepared to fight for the future of our clients. If you or a loved one has been charged with DUI, we invite you to contact a Florida DUI defense attorney at Musca Law to schedule a free confidential consultation: (800) 687-2252.
Tags: Florida DUI Attorney
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Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
It is normal to experience fear and anxiety if you are arrested for DUI in Florida. A DUI conviction can result in life-altering consequences, but there are many potential defenses that can help you avoid a DUI conviction or reduce the severity of the consequences. Experienced Florida DUI defense attorney John Musca employs a wide variety of defenses when challenging Florida DUI charges. One common approach that can be used to effectively challenge Florida DUI charges is to challenge the law enforcement officer’s conduct and observations.
The observations and conduct of a police officer who makes a DUI arrest may provide the foundation of an effective DUI defense from the moment of the officer’s initial stop. A law enforcement officer may not pull you over simply on a hunch but must have sufficient legal basis to justify a stop, which will typically be some form of “erratic driving” like swerving or a traffic violation like speeding. While these may constitute sufficient grounds to conduct a brief traffic stop and inquire further, they will not justify initiating a DUI investigation.
During the time you are detained, the officer will be looking for other signs of intoxication, including red, watery eyes, the odor of alcohol, slurred speech and/or a lack of coordination. Sometimes an officer will testify to these observations almost as a matter of rote because they are the standard indicators referred to in virtually every DUI case. The police report or the officer’s testimony may reveal that the officer is inconsistent about his observations, or the officer’s testimony or police report may make it improbable that the officer could have observed the behavior relied on to justify a DUI investigation. Reports of these observations are so automatic that some police officers even use pre-formatted reports including these observations.
DUI defense attorney John Musca often reviews prior DUI reports by the officer to identify potential cases of pro-forma reports that are not specifically based on the officer’s observations in your DUI case. We may attack the veracity and accuracy of the officer’s observations because these observations may be the sole legal basis for initiating a DUI investigation. If the observations are inaccurate or false, we may be able to have all subsequent evidence excluded because the officer lacked sufficient legal cause to initiate a DUI investigation.
The officer’s observations and credibility are also important when attacking field sobriety tests (FSTs). Officers are expected to have specialized training in the administration and scoring of these tests. The officer is expected to follow very specific procedures, provide detailed explanations and utilize objective scoring. When the officer fails to comply with the strict procedures and scoring criteria for FSTs, the reliability of the test may be challenged. An experienced Florida DUI attorney may even be able to have the FST results suppressed if they were conducted or scored improperly.
Another area where the officer’s credibility may be challenged is with regard to past misconduct, discipline or dishonesty. When building a Florida DUI defense strategy, John Musca will often evaluate an officer’s personnel file, disciplinary record and prior testimony to identify misconduct or dishonesty that may be used to persuade a judge or jury that the officer’s testimony is not credible. The key point is that skilled DUI defense attorney John Musca may be able to attack the officer’s accuracy, reliability or honesty to obtain a favorable resolution to your Florida DUI case. We invite you to contact Florida DUI defense attorney at Musca Law to schedule a free confidential consultation: (800) 687-2252 to see how we can help.
Tags: Florida DUI
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Friday, December 23rd, 2011
DUI can impact anyone even a judge who presides over DUI cases. While it can be an embarrassing, inconvenient and expensive experience to face a prosecution for DUI, it might give you a little comfort to know that your judge may have to take a breath test before taking the bench for morning and afternoon sessions of court. This recent story out of Maryland shows that even those intimately involved with the criminal justice system including law enforcement, attorneys and judges can make a mistake. Many people arrested for a first time DUI offense are ordinary folks who simply make an error in judgment.
Sometimes young inexperienced Florida prosecutors can make the mistake of presuming that they are immune from making the same sorts of mistakes as those they see every day facing criminal charges for errors in judgment. Once one is part of the criminal court system long enough, it is virtually impossible to realize that very good people make innocent mistakes based on a moment of weakness or bad judgment. Unfortunately, these mistakes can put a substantial dent in one’s wallet and cause negative consequences on one’s future.
Many people facing a first time DUI arrest hesitate to seek legal representation or do not recognize that there are many effective Florida DUI defense strategies that may reduce the impact of DUI charges or prevent a conviction. At Musca Law, we understand that people make innocent mistakes that should not permanently impact their lives. We work hard to help our clients move past an isolated mistake. Often we are able to use diversion, community services or a reduction in charges to minimize the impact of a DUI arrest.
If you are arrested for DUI, experienced Florida DUI defense lawyer John Musca can evaluate your case to develop the most effective DUI defense strategy including challenges based on the following:
- Legal sufficiency of evidence supporting the initial stop
- Officer observations during the stop
- Legal basis for initiating a DUI investigation
- Instructions, procedures and evaluation of field sobriety testing
- Factors that may have compromised the accuracy of chemical testing of BAC
- Police errors or misconduct
These are some of the issues that Florida DUI defense attorney John Musca typically will evaluate in developing the most compelling defense strategy. If you or someone you love has been arrested for a Florida DUI, Musca Law offers the tenacious legal representation necessary to defend you against these serious charges. If you or someone close to you has been arrested for DUI, our dedicated team of Florida DUI defense lawyers are prepared to fight for the future of our clients. If you or a loved one has been charged with DUI, we invite you to contact a Florida DUI defense attorney at Musca Law to schedule a free confidential consultation: (800) 687-2252.
Tags: Florida DUI Lawyer
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Friday, August 12th, 2011
There are few feelings as stressful and frustrating as seeking flashing red lights in one’s rearview mirror with the knowledge that you have been drinking. A DUI arrest is a very serious offense and DUI related offenses are prosecuted aggressively. However, there are many defenses and types of evidence that can be successfully used to challenge DUI charges in Florida. Although there are countless ways to challenge a DUI in Florida, we have provided some effective ways to successfully defend a Florida defense attorney.
- Challenge Field Sobriety Tests (FST): Field sobriety testing is notoriously unreliable. In healthy individuals and under perfect medical conditions, the most common field sobriety testing has a miserable accuracy rate and inaccurately identifies a person who is not over the legal limit of .08 percent as being over the limit more than 30% of the time. If a person has physical limitation such as obesity, advanced age or other physical limitations, FSTs are even more inaccurate. There are also only 3 approved FSTs in Florida the walk-and-turn, one-leg stand and horizontal gaze nystagmus so any other tests conducted are invalid.
- Inaccurate Breath Testing: There may be a malfunction or repair issue associated with the breath test machine used in your case that may make the test results suspect. The breath test operator may also not have a valid current license. There is also a multitude of reasons that breath test results can be inaccurate. The scope of errors with these machines is beyond the scope of this article but many substances will result in false results including recent use of mouthwash or high protein diets. The breath test results may also be challenged if the officer fails to observe the suspect for the minimum waiting period prior to administering the test to make sure no food or beverages are ingested.
- Illegal Stop: The officer must have a sufficient basis to form a reasonable suspicion that you were engaged in unlawful activity when you are pulled over. It is important to note that weaving within the lines in a lane of traffic is not a traffic violation in Florida so this may not form the basis for pulling over a driver. An anonymous report by a citizen that a driver is drunk may also not form a lawful basis for a stop.
- Lack of Miranda Warnings: Admissions made by a person who is in custody (i.e. not free to leave) may be suppressed if the officer fails to issue proper Miranda warnings.
- Medical or Physical Condition Defenses: There are a wide variety of medical conditions that may serve as the basis for a DUI defense in Florida including diabetes, periodontal disease, acid reflux, flu/fever, lung disease, heart disease, advanced age and pre-existing injuries just to name a few.
- Use of Police Video: Many times officers have a preconceived notion about what they expect to see from a DUI suspect. Accounts of lack of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech and mental confusion are often grossly exaggerated. Police station or patrol car video can often provide clear evidence that the officer’s report of his or her observations were biased.
- Rising Blood Alcohol: The prosecutor must be able to show that the alcohol test reflects the driver’s blood alcohol concentration while operating a motor vehicle. Sometimes alcohol is absorbed into the system between the time of a DUI arrest and formal breath test at the station so that the driver’s test shows a higher result than when the driver was operating a motor vehicle.
- Veracity of Officer: The reliability of an officer’s testimony and observations may be challenged on a broad variety of grounds including misconduct in the past, using templated or pre-written reports or misleading or conflicting statement made by the officer.
This list of possible defenses or possible forms of exculpatory evidence provide only a short list of potential defense strategies that may be used by an experienced Florida DUI defense attorney to help avoid a conviction for DUI in Florida. Our experienced DUI attorneys have used many defenses including those above to help Florida residents charged with DUI avoid the serious adverse consequences of a DUI conviction including jail time, steep fines, loss of driving privileges, damage to one’s reputation and much more.
If you have been arrested for a Florida DUI do not delay because the sooner you contact our experienced Florida DUI defense lawyers the sooner we can start fighting for you.
Call 1 800-687-2252 to Speak With a Florida DUI lawyer In Your Area.
Hiring a Florida DUI attorney to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Advice Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 for a Florida DUI law firm near you (by appointment only).
Tags: Florida DUI, Florida DUI Attorney, Florida DUI attorneys
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Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
On a usual basis, many times when an individual is confront with a DUI charge, the first thing that runs into their mind is whether or not it can be reduced to a reckless driving charge instead, which is usually an option to some. Yet, people attempt to reach this coveted sentence, but do not really understand all that entails when having a reckless driving charge. Truly, there are 5 primary reasons as to why your attorney wants the driving under the influence charge lowered to a reckless driving charge as a portion of one’s plea bargain.
Firstly, especially with the economy today everyone is looking at saving money, which this would make things a lot cheaper on the lawyer and the defendant themselves. In recent times, the Legislature has pushed and succeeded in giving huge fines to those convicted of driving while under the influence. While some DUI charges start at $1,000 they can easily sky rocket to $4,000 if any another other possible related charge occurs, whereas a reckless driving fine usually is only around $500.
Next, no one really wants the stigma of being a careless, dangerous, possible life-threatening driver within society. Many non-profit organizations, especially ones within an individual’s community usually seek to make it known that the driver poses a risk to the families and children within a community such as M.A.D.D. (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving). If a charge could be reduced to that of a reckless driving charge, it would eliminate the possible social stereotypes and could resolve the matter.
Next, they also seek a non-mandatory license suspension. If one is convicted of a DUI they face a suspension of their driver’s license from 6 months all the way up to 10 years. Reckless driving convictions do not issue a mandated suspension of one’s license. Also, the individual will not serve jail time. For a second DUI charge within a five year period of the first could result in ten days in a state or local jail, and if repeated again could get you up to five years in prison, which reckless driving does not have attached to it at all. And finally, they do not want an increase of individuals insurance. If you are charged with driving while under the influence you can expect your insurance rate to soar through the roof, and sometimes even face being let go from one’s insurance company.
Call 1 800-687-2252 to Speak With a Florida DUI lawyer In Your Area.
Hiring a Florida DUI law firm to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Advice Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 for a Florida DUI law firm near you (by appointment only).
Posted in Florida DUI Charges | No Comments »
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