Florida DUI Lawyer Blog

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A Florida woman was recently jailed for her tenth drunk driving offense over the past two decades. She has been arrested several times for driving with a revoked or suspending license, and local police are calling it a new record.

Her federal records are vague about whether all the arrests led to convictions. Records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement list another drunk driving arrest in October of 2002; however, the charge was later reduced.

Janet Landrum, 41, told police that she was driving because her passenger, a man she’d just met at a bar, was too drunk to get behind the wheel. A Manatee traffic enforcement officer pulled her over because she was reportedly weaving, needlessly tapping her breaks, and making erratic lane changes around 2am on Saturday morning.

A Florida DUI attorney told the Ledger that Landrum could face up to five years in prison, since anything more than three prior convictions may lead to a prison sentence. Actually, Florida law considers the first or second DUI offense a misdemeanor, but drunk driving is considered a felony when a third conviction occurs within a decade of the second offense.

FL Woman Arrested for DUI For The 10th Time, ShortNews.com, August 27, 2008

Woman Arrested for 10th DUI, Sarasota Herald Tribune, August 26, 2008

Manatee woman arrested for 10th DUI, Associated Press, August 26, 2008

Continue reading " Florida Woman Faces Possible Jail Time for 10th DUI Arrest " »

IS ODOR OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE ON A SUSPECT’S BREATH ENOUGH FOR A POLICE OFFICER TO ARREST FOR DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE?

As a rule, odor of an alcoholic beverage on a driver’s breath does not establish the requisite probable cause to make an arrest and subsequently ask for a breath sample. It may however, be used in conjunction with other observations, such as slurred speech or lack of coordination to meet the required threshold. The totality of the circumstances governs in this regard and it may surprise you to learn that odor of an alcoholic beverage can be paired with observations that in itself do not indicate impairment whatsoever. NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has long established that speeding is not in itself a cue of a driver’s intoxication. This is due to the fact that speeding requires a higher level of coordination and reaction time, which is in contrast to let’s say, failure to maintain a single lane or swerving. Nonetheless, the Florida courts seem to have indicated that speeding coupled with an odor of an alcoholic beverage would be enough to formulate probable cause to make an arrest. In a recent case decided by the Second District Court of Appeals, a suspect was properly arrested after police officers detected odor of an alcoholic beverage, saw the defendant speeding, and additionally witnessed him acting violently. The court’s ruling seems flawed in that only one of these three facts goes directly to impairment by alcohol.

Mary Taylor-Christensen, 64, of Cocoa, Florida, was recently sentenced to 11.5 years in jail for DUI manslaughter following the death of Thomas Bowen, 46, of Jacksonville on February 21, 2005.

Prosecutors said Taylor-Christensen was driving under the influence of alcohol and prescription drug Xanax when her car veered into the emergency lane. She struck and killed Bowen while his wife sat in the car.

Her blood-alcohol level was 0.235, but relatives testified on her behalf, saying that post-traumatic stress disorder and a prescription drug addiction caused by spousal abuse and a bitter divorce had contributed to the fatal accident. Taylor-Christensen’s DUI defense attorney added that the woman had no memory of the accident but felt extreme remorse for her actions.

Back in July she entered into a plea deal with prosecutors, pleading no contest to an enhanced DUI manslaughter case. Given the circumstances of the case, Taylor-Christensen faced a minimum of 11 years in prison, but she could have been sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars if she had been convicted at trial.

Once she is released from prison, Taylor-Christensen will also serve a decade of probation.

More than 11 years in prison for DUI conviction, FloridaToday.com, August 16, 2008

Woman Hit-And-Run Driver To Be Sentenced, WFTV.com, August 15, 2008

Continue reading " Florida Women Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for DUI " »

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, two people are charged with DUI-manslaughter following the death of a Riverview man last October. James Braley, 26, of Tampa, and Jessica Paquette, 23, of Riverview, were both arrested a few weeks ago for their involvement in the October car crash that killed Amir Sarhaddi.

Florida state law presumes that a driver with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 is impaired. Paquette’s blood-alcohol level was .219, while Braley’s was .176. Braley is also charged with DUI with serious bodily injury.

The two were driving separate cars on the night of October 28. Braley’s Infiniti hit the Jeep in front of him and flipped the Jeep over the grass shoulder and into a tree. His vehicle block the right and right-center lanes. Sarhaddi, a 29-year-old father of two saw the accident and stopped to help.

Paquette crashed her Saturn into Braley’s Infiniti, struck Sarhaddi, and hit the truck another passerby who’d stopped to help. Braley and the other passerby sustained minor injuries, but Sarhaddi was killed.

Paquette’s record shows prior charges for DUI and child neglect, as well as a prior DUI conviction.

2 Charged In Death Of Man Who Stopped To Help At Crash, TBO.com, August 12, 2008

Continue reading " Two Charged with DUI-Manslaughter in Tampa " »

The Florida Times-Union reported last week on a computer error that deleted the felony conviction of a drunk driver. Government officials mistakenly reinstated the driving privileges of Brandon Hoffman, who was 17 at the time of the incident. The accident occurred in 2005 and left Don Worley in a wheelchair.

Questions from the Times-Union prompted an inquiry into the government computer system, including the Traffic Citation Accounting Transmission System (also called TCATS). All 67 Florida court clerks use the system to transmit information about convicted DUIs to Highway Safety officials and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Highway Safety officials notified Hoffman, now 20, that his driver’s license would be suspended starting in 20 days. Back in 2006, Hoffman had pleaded no-contest to the felony drunken driving charge and was sentenced to six years of probation, in addition to 150 days of jail time and a six-month driving suspension.

That information never made it into FDLE records. FDLE never received a copy of Hoffman’s fingerprints from Flagler County, so they were unable to enter information about his arrest and conviction in their system. They are investigating to ensure that the computer error has not impacted other DUI cases.

Computer error strikes teen's DUI conviction, Florida Times-Union, August 11, 2008

Continue reading " Palm Beach DUI Lawyer: Computer Error in Florida Deletes DUI Conviction " »

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Gabriel C. Pineiro, of Niceville, is being charged with DUI manslaughter and careless driving following a January 11 car crash that ejected and killed a passenger. The 24-year-old suffered critical injuries from the accident and was arrested last Saturday.

Pineiro was driving north on State Road 285 when he drifted onto the grass shoulder. He overcorrected and lost control of his vehicle, which spun, overturned, and hit a couple of trees before landing upright. Pineiro’s passenger, Wesley B. Faile, also of Niceville, was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

The Florida High Patrol determined that alcohol was a factor in the fatal car accident, so Pineiro is charged with DUI manslaughter and careless driving.

DUI manslaughter charged in January crash, NWFDailyNews.com, August 9, 2008

Continue reading " Niceville, FL Man charged with DUI Manslaughter " »

In Manatee County Florida, volunteers for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are preparing to launch a pilot program in cooperation with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. The six month “Traffic Observation Program” begins September 1, 2008.

Volunteer traffic observers from MADD will report vehicle descriptions, direction of travel, and license plate numbers of drivers who show signs of intoxication to the county Sheriff’s office. Safety permitting, the observers may decide to follow vehicles while maintain contact with dispatchers from the Sheriff’s office. The volunteers will work in pairs using their own cars and cell phones, monitoring the roads between peak DUI periods (around 10 pm to 2 am).

Data from the 6 month pilot will be used for assessment purposes. Manatee County Sheriff W. Brad Steube estimates that Florida drunk drivers will kill approximately 1,000 people this year.

Although the volunteers have been instructed not to intervene or stop any vehicles suspected of DUI, the program raises some questions. Is it necessary? More importantly, volunteers can easily be described as "state actors" for legal purposes? Following automobiles and reporting them directly to law enforcement raises some significant constitutional issues. Furthermore, overzealous participants are certain to create traffic hazards while persuing citizens whom they believe are impared. This pilot program is absolutely ludicris.

This Florida pilot program is the first in the country, so only time will tell.

MADD Volunteers Support Local Sheriff with New Program to Report Drunk Driving, MarketWatch.com August 7, 2008

Continue reading " Palm Beach DUI Attorney: MADD Volunteers in Florida Launch Traffic Observation Program " »

After a regional alcohol-program coordinator for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement failed to perform a department inspection on an Intoxilyzer 8000 machine, Judge Joyce Williams has opted to toss out breach evidence in nineteen DUI cases that occurred between February 17, 2007 and May 17, 2007.

In most situations, DUI cases are resolved within months of the arrest, but several defense motions have caused delays, according to Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille.

Yesterday, Judge Williams presided over a hearing where prosecutors attempted to re-introduce breath-test evidence into the effected DUI cases. Without breath-test evidence, the state would be forced to try the cases using other evidence including the smell of alcohol, driving patterns, statements from the defendants, or other physical indicators of intoxication.

Among those who are impacted by this decision is 29-year-old James Estel Gregg, who tested far above Florida’s legal blood alcohol level and showed signs of intoxication during three sobriety tests back in April, 2007.

Technical problem may blow DUI cases, PNJ.com, July 30, 2008

Continue reading " Palm Beach County DUI Lawyer: Florida Judge Dismisses Breath Evidence in 19 DUI Cases " »

In West Palm Beach, Florida, Christopher Sales pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and driving under the influence. The 28-year-old man will serve five years in prison and spend eight years on probation after release from prison. If convicted as charged at trial, Sales would have faced up to 20 years behind bars.

On October 8, 2005, Sales was driving a 1994 Chevrolet Camaro and made a U-turn in front of Harley-Davidson, causing a crash that killed motorcycle driver John Steelman, 38, of Boynton Beach. Steelman’s passenger, Tara Summer, suffered a broken arm and leg after she was thrown from the bike. Sales sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash.

Sale was driving under the influence of painkiller oxycodone and tests showed that his blood contained for the three times the recommended medical dose. According to an attorney for the state of Florida, he did not have a prescription for the medication.

Man sentenced to 5 years for causing fatal wreck while on painkillers, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, July 15, 2008

Continue reading " Palm Beach DUI Lawyer: West Palm Beach Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison After Fatal Car Wreck " »