In the event that you were arrested for a DUI-related offense, you might think that an official report concerning your charges would be unique to you and your case. However, this is not the case as more and more law enforcement officers have begun to use a template or pre-written form for each arrest. These reports are supposed to be specific to each motorist arrested, and because they are signed under oath by the arresting officer they are subject to any perjury charges. You might also think that being subject to perjury charges would encourage officers to not only submit genuine arrest reports, but to care about the reports and the implications they might carry.
The unfortunate reality is that if your case goes to court and the arresting officer has to testify in front of a judge he may very likely find himself at a loss for memory of the specific arrest. In this case, he will go back to the pre-written form/template that he filled out. Rather than filled out an official report that is specific to your case, complete with everything surrounding your case; the officer who arrested you may have decided to “cut corners” and fill out a form. Since the arresting officer probably will not remember the specifics about your case, he/she will quickly review the pre-written official report, hoping that the quick review will jog their memory. Only it doesn’t and the officer gives a testimony based on a faulty report. The officer then, in effect, perjures himself as he stands before a court of law and testifies under oath.
In a case originating in Florida, the defendant’s attorney successfully requested a court order from the Highway Patrol for any forms that the arresting officer used when the DUI arrest was conducted. The Highway Patrol turned over a document entitled “field sobriety test,” which appeared to be a template. This document appeared just you might expect a template to, including spaces to fill in the name of the driver, the weather conditions, the location of the stop and subsequent arrest, the environment the field sobriety test was given under and a very narrow empty section specifically designed for the officer to describe their observations during the field sobriety testing.
Typically, arrests do not occur as set sequence of events. There is no plotline or script to follow. Each arrest is different and unique to the offender. Unfortunately, official police reports pertaining to DUI arrest rarely, if ever, reflect this. An experienced Florida DUI attorney would work tirelessly on your case and refute any evidence deemed as misleading, including “templated” police reports.
If you or someone you love has been arrested or charged for a Florida DUI, the experienced Florida DUI attorneys at Musca Law have helped many people avoid the extremely harsh consequences of Florida DUI convictions. We invite you to contact a Florida DUI attorney at Musca Law to schedule a free confidential consultation: (800) 687-2252.
