Florida DUI Lawyer Blog

Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore regularly addresses issues concerning accurate collection of blood alcohol and breath alcohol content in his DUI defense practice. In some states, such as Arizona, DUI suspects face blood tests whether they like it or not and they are not administered by a physician. In fact, the state has received millions of dollars from the Highway Traffic Safety Administration to implement the program.

In Florida, police may take blood, breath, or urine under implied consent rules. If an officer wants to test your blood after you were involved in an accident, he must have probable cause to believe you have been drinking. In Arizona, however, the standards are significantly more relaxed. The police officer chooses the method and increasingly, even small police forces are electing to draw blood rather than rely on breathalyzers.

Blood evidence is considered to be more reliable than breath testing. There are many flaws with the breathalyzers used in Broward County and throughout Florida. Blood testing is subject to fewer variables, like the secret software inside breathalyzers, which even the government agencies employing the devices do not have access to.

Blood testing by local police officers in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties still sounds disturbing. Inserting a needle into someone poses many more health risks, such as exposure to disease for the officer or unsafe testing conditions for the DUI suspect. In Arizona, regular police officers are authorized to perform the test following a short course in phlebotomy (also known as venipuncture, the practice of drawing blood).

Blood drawing by police officers raises some serious concerns. For example, what if the encounter between the DUI suspect and the police officer was confrontational leading up to the blood draw? Collecting blood is substantially more invasive than blowing into a breathalyzer . In certain situations, the blood may be drawn forcibly at the scene. In Florida, procedures seem more reasonable. Although the implied consent law covers blood and urine in addition to breath testing, all blood draws must be performed by a physician, a licensed nurse, or other qualified medical professional, such as a phlebotomist/lab technician. In short, police in Broward County may not insert needles into you when they pull you over because you were weaving on the road. Instead, you will likely be tested at a local hospital. Police officers in Arizona, however, are training to draw blood samples on one another. Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney William Moore believes this disturbing trend is probably the new wave in DUI arrests, but hopes that the Florida legislature will stay sensible and keep needles in the hands of the medical community and not law enforcement.

Continue reading " Palm Beach DUI Lawyer: Drawing Blood to Test for DUI: Florida Remains Sensible " »

Broward County residents should be looking out for DUI checkpoints in the next couple of days. On New Year’s Eve last year, 39 people were killed in traffic accidents in the state of Florida. Of those, 24 were related to alcohol consumption and driving. New Year’s Eve was also second only to Memorial Day, with an average of more traffic deaths per hour than any other day in 2007. Only Labor Day edged out New Year’s Eve with more alcohol-related deaths on the road.

A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman spoke recently about the high number of deaths on the streets of Florida. "Traditionally, New Year's Eve is a drinking and driving holiday. On average statewide, we usually have 40 percent of all traffic deaths related to alcohol. During the New Year holiday, we see that spike to about 60 percent,” said Sergeant Jorge Delahoz. The unusually high rates of DUI associated with New Year’s Eve – more than most holidays – have resulted in increased DUI-related patrols.

South Florida officials have expressed growing concern about the number of DUI-related deaths in Florida on New Year’s Eve and throughout the year. During 2006, Palm Beach County reported 62 alcohol-related deaths in traffic, a figure that made a significant jump to 73 in 2007. Even more disturbingly, Broward County reported 90 such deaths in 2007, a striking rise from 59 in 2006. Organizations like the Safety Council of Palm Beach County have advised drivers to be vigilant about DUI.

Most people in the Broward County area are already aware that police step up DUI arrests and enforcement during the holiday season. This year, expect police to be out in even higher numbers to prevent DUI-related deaths. In Palm Beach County, more than three times as many the DUI patrol officers will be out as compared to typical nights, in addition to the new four-officer DUI-targeting patrol introduced earlier this year. DUI arrests are expected to be significantly higher than during non-holiday evenings in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties. As in Palm Beach, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office has publicized its plans to put more officers on patrol on New Year’s Eve.

Drivers need to be aware of the high number of DUI checkpoints in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Miami, and other cities in the area. A DUI arrest can have a tremendous impact on your life well beyond one miserable night in jail.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney: DUI Deaths Have Risen, DUI Checkpoints Increasing for New Year’s in Broward County " »

Several years ago, Broward residents were reading regularly about the dangers of talking on a cell phone while driving. Fort Lauderdale ticket and DUI attorneys and researchers who studied the subject saw a relationship between the increase in accidents and cell phone usage while driving. In response to widespread concern about road safety, cell phone manufacturers rolled out a slew of products intended to make driving while talking a safer endeavor. Bluetooth devices, which wirelessly connect cell phones to headsets and other external devices, allow a user to talk without holding the phone’s handset. The notion was that the cause of accidents was more related to the driver having full use of only one hand. Nonetheless, further research demonstrated that headset usage does not dramatically improve driving safety. The problem lies in the driver’s distraction when talking on a cell phone much more than holding the phone. Several states have enacted legislation to make talking on a cell phone while driving an offense for which a driver can receive a traffic ticket, although Florida has not taken such steps at this point in time. Nonetheless, road safety and cell phone usage remains a concern for the state legislature to evaluate carefully, despite the high level of public awareness of the dangers. The Florida state legislature considered and rejected a bill to outlaw texting while driving during the last session.

More recently, Broward residents have become concerned about another cell phone-related distraction: text messaging. Once the exclusive domain of tech-savvy teens, text messaging has become mainstream in a relatively short period of time. Texting caught on significantly faster in European nations like Great Britain, but newer, low-cost plans have made it a more widely accessible in the United States in the past few years.

South Florida drivers from West Palm Beach to Miami have embraced texting – but that may include texting while driving. A recent British study found that texting while operating a motor vehicle is more dangerous than driving under the influence of marijuana or alcohol. Drivers are extremely distracted and, since eighty percent of accidents are already caused by distracted drivers, the texting often results in serious accidents. The study found that drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 – the level at which intoxication is presumed for the purposes of a DUI arrest – have their reaction reduced by about 12 percent. Marijuana reduced reaction time by 21 percent. Surprisingly, completely sober drivers who engaged in text messaging showed the most severe reduction in reaction time at 35 percent, a delay nearly three times greater than that caused by alcohol. Interestingly, the study evaluated drivers who wrote or read text messages while operating a motor vehicle – indicating that even reading without pecking out responses may also pose a serious problem. Is the distraction caused by texting really so severe that it trumps DUI? This study indicates that the answer is yes.

Two of the most well-publicized cases involving texting include a 2007 New York car accident that killed five high school girls and the head-on collision of two trains in California in September. In both cases, the operator of the vehicle at fault appeared to have been texting in the moments leading up to the crash. The legislatures of sixteen states, including Louisiana, Minnesota, and Alaska have either enacted or considered total bans on texting while driving. If the findings of the British study are correct, drivers should think hard about putting away their phones.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale Ticket Lawyer: Texting While Driving – More Dangerous than DUI? " »

In Florida and all 49 other states, a driver is presumed to be intoxicated if his blood alcohol level exceeds 0.08 percent. Prior to a nationwide Mothers Against Drunk Driving campaign, the level in most states was 0.1. Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore believes the lower level and increased DUI enforcement has resulted in more arrests of female drivers. To give some perspective, the average 160 pound man would have a 0.07 blood alcohol content after consuming four 12-ounce beers in an hour at a Fort Lauderdale bar, although that figure varies significantly from person to person. If the same man had four margaritas during the same period, he would be at approximately 0.11, well over the limit. Four glasses of celebratory New Year’s champagne at a Miami party would put the same man at about 0.09. It is important to remember, however, that alcohol continues absorbing in the bloodstream even after you have stopped drinking. For that reason, you could blow a 0.09 breathalyzer reading when a Fort Lauderdale police officer pulls you over on the way home, although you were only at a 0.07 when you left the bar.

Florida DUI laws can result in harsh punishment, including jail time. Anyone arrested for DUI in the West Palm Beach/Fort Lauderdale/Miami-Dade area should contact a Broward DUI lawyer immediately. Despite the stringent Florida sentencing policies, the 0.08 limit would be considered very lenient in most other parts of the world.

In Hong Kong, for instance, driving over the 0.05 percent blood alcohol limit can result in fines and in extreme cases, imprisonment for three years. In Pakistan, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, as wells as many nations in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the legal limit is zero. Drivers are not allowed to be under the influence of any alcohol whatsoever. In other European nations, the limit varies from a low of zero up to 0.08 in just a few countries, but is between 0.02 and 0.05 in most countries. The average 160 pound man would have a blood alcohol content of approximately 0.02 percent after consuming two 12-ounce beers in one hour.

In addition to lower limits, punishment is often more severe in other parts of the world. For instance, the Swedes punish DUI of above 0.02 percent with imprisonment of up to six months; a BAC of 0.10 percent – the legal limit in the United States until relatively recently – is punishable by up to two years behind bars. A number of European countries impose lower limits for young drivers or those who drive professionally.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney: Florida, U.S. DUI Laws Less Restrictive than Other Countries " »

Ipods and iPhones are some of the coolest – and most functional – tech gadgets around, wildly popular among teens and adults in the Broward County area. Even Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore has one. Freelance developers have been designing games and add-on devices for Apple products for years now, like games or FM transmitters that allow you to listen to the contents of your iPhone or iPod through your car stereo. Now, however, one developer has come up with a device he hopes will remove the stigma from using a breathalyzer and prevent DUIs.

The iBreath is probably the coolest breathalyzer anyone has ever used. For $79, you can purchase the handy little attachment and take it along when you go out in Fort Lauderdale. It snaps into the bottom of the gadget, feeding off of the same power supply. A wand extends for you or your friends to blow into; within two seconds, the device flashes your blood alcohol content. If you blow a 0.08 or above, the level at which intoxication is presumed in every state, the device will sound an alarm to warn you against driving. While young partygoers are likely to think the new technology is a fun way to be safer, not everyone is delighted by the innovation.

Critics warn that the iBreath device may lull users into a false sense of security. It might not be as accurate as a police officer’s breathalyzer, which is calibrated regularly to ensure accuracy. It also does not require that the user blow a full, deep breath of air, which could also lower the accuracy. Users could also test their breath prior to driving, without realizing that alcohol absorption could continue for half an hour or more after they quit drinking. Some critics also worry that it could promote underage drinking, although the creators have explicitly stated that they hope it will prevent young people from getting DUIs if they do drink at parties.

Last Call is another recent innovation. The application allows you to input your body size and the drinks you have had to approximate your blood alcohol content. It also provides a list of DUI attorneys, perhaps if your calculation is awry. Drunk Dial takes a page from Google’s Gmail email service, requiring the user to answer math problems in order to make a phone call during late-night weekend hours (Gmail’s “mail goggles” is an optional function).

The manufacturer counters that the device is accurate and Apple-approved. Additionally, it could, they say, prevent DUI arrests and serious DUI accidents. Broward DUI lawyer William Moore does not advocate using any device in place of caution when drinking.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney: the Hippest Breathalyzer? " »

Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore is extremely familiar with the plea bargaining process, which is shrouded in mystery for most lay people. The vast majority of criminal cases in Broward County do not go to trial. In some instances, the charges are dismissed. Most of the time, however, the prosecutor and the criminal defense attorney on the case negotiate until they reach an agreement that is as favorable as possible to both sides – a plea bargain.

Plea bargaining for DUI and other offenses in Broward County can take many forms. Your Broward DUI lawyer might persuade the state attorney to file reduced charges. For instance, you might agree to plead guilty to reckless driving instead of DUI. Your attorney could also bargain for fewer counts in return for a plea bargain on one of them. The form of plea bargaining that the public is probably most familiar with is for sentencing. In these cases, your attorney negotiates your sentence down with the prosecutor. In exchange for a guilty plea, you can agree to an acceptable sentence. For example, you might agree to a plea bargain if the prosecution has a very strong DUI case and, if you go to trial and are found guilty, it will be your third DUI conviction. A skilled Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney might negotiate a plea deal with the prosecutor in order to avoid jail time.

One study estimated that approximately 95 percent of felony cases in the United States end in plea bargains. Fewer and fewer cases go to trial, in part due to the increasingly full calendars of judges. Likewise, state attorneys often have full caseloads, a factor which makes resolution by plea bargain an attractive option from their point of view. A plea bargain is often most advantageous when the state has a strong case against the defendant (person charged with the DUI or other crime) and the sentence for that crime may be severe. The risk and uncertainty of going to trial may seem too great.

Critics of the high percentage Broward plea bargains include some DUI attorneys. There is always the problem that some innocent people might elect a plea bargain to avoid a trial outcome that is even more negative. For instance, an innocent person might accept a plea bargain to avoid any jail time, despite the fact that the plea would mar her criminal record. The weaker the state’s case is – and the less evidence it has – the more likely it is that the prosecutor will offer the innocent person an attractive deal. Rather than face the risk of a jury trial, she may well opt for a good deal from the prosecutor – or at least what would have been a good deal, if she had been guilty. Another problem is that there appears to be a racial divide in Florida in terms of which defendants are offered plea deals by prosecutors.

Continue reading " Broward DUI Attorney: Plea Bargaining " »

Broward County residents arrested for DUI should think hard about hiring an experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer. Many of our DUI clients have never been involved in the legal system before, whereas Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney William Moore has handled thousands of DUI cases. An experienced, trustworthy DUI lawyer will be someone you can call as soon as you are arrested and who will be there through the duration of your case.

Choosing an outstanding DUI lawyer is difficult. You may be able to obtain the attorney’s track record on his website or in the office. You should inquire as to whether the lawyer routinely DUI and the number of DUI trials he has handled. The most effective advocate is a lawyer who has handled numerous DUI cases and who can identify police mistakes that will win your case, is well aware of the problems with breathalyzers in Florida, and who will always be on your side.

A good Broward DUI lawyer will have tried numerous cases and worked in criminal law for years. William Moore worked as a both a prosecutor and a public defender prior to becoming a private DUI and criminal defense attorney. He knows how state attorneys think and will work to win your case. An excellent attorney will also explain the how the process works to you, so that you feel as comfortable as possible during every step of the process. Because many of our DUI clients do not have a prior a prior criminal record, we take pride in offering

DUI lawyer William Moore is committed to providing an aggressive defense on your behalf. We are willing to take your case to trial if necessary. We will investigate the testing of your blood or breath and police behavior in your case on your behalf. If your case goes to trial, we will safeguard your rights and work to keep the jury from hearing evidence that was collected illegally.

A highly experienced Broward DUI lawyer with a specialty in DUI can make the difference in your case. Even a first-time DUI conviction can result in a harsh sentence: fines and court costs of nearly $1,000, a year of probation, up to six months in jail, having your driver’s license revoked for up to a year, mandatory vehicle impoundment, an alcohol abuse evaluation, and required attendance at DUI school. In addition, a DUI conviction may seriously impact your current or future employment. A DUI can also adversely affect your reputation.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer: Reasons Why You Should Hire A Broward DUI Attorney " »

According to Broward County Ticket Attorneys, a recent study has shown that “red light cameras” being installed throughout the State of Florida are creating an increased risk of accidents and traffic related fatalities. Barbars Langland-Orband, chair at the USF College of Public Health states that individuals have been shown to “abruptly stop” at intersections equipped with cameras. She went on to say that the use of these cameras in Florida will lead to increased fatalities due to the fact that the state has a higher amount of elderly drivers who are more susceptible to lose their life in a traffic accident.

Even more startling is the fact that the U.S. House of Representatives had reported in as early as 2001 that cameras are associated with a significant increase in accidents. The report further stated that it is common for the timers on lights to be set in such a way as to increase the amount of tickets generated. Alternative means of improving traffic safety have been suggested by way of engineering improvements, such as the design of roads, signal visibility and an increase in amber length.

The USF College of Public Health suggests that when comparing the financial interest of the insurance industry with the effectiveness of camera implementation, we should be aware of the following:

States that were the first to implement cameras have reported an increase in traffic related injury which was directly attributed to the traffic camera program.

Traffic fatalities attributed to the running of red lights account for less than 4% of traffic fatalities in Florida.

Intersection related fatalities in Florida are 4 times more likely to be attributed to cases other than the running of a red light.

Injuries resulting from running red lights have declined by 33% in under a decade without the use of traffic cameras.

The Transportation Research Counsel has reported that cameras are directly linked to increased auto accident costs.

Major studies that have concluded that traffic cameras actually reduced auto accidents have been found to be linked to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and contained major “design research” flaws.

Insurance companies are the leading advocate of traffic light camera systems.*

For any questions about traffic camera systems in Florida, please contact, Anne-Marie Kopek, at William Moore, P.A.

This just in from our Fort Lauderdale Ticket Attorney:
Did you know that Major US cities have been found to have tampered with traffic cameras in order to increase revenue? The length of time that an amber (yellow) light remains illuminated between cycles on a traffic control device varies from state to state. However, when the intersection traffic light is equipped with a camera, the law requires that a specific length of time elapse before shifting from green to red. Nonetheless, several cities throughout the United States have been found to have violated laws in place to protect motorists and have been forced to refund millions of dollars in citation refunds.
Recently, major automotive insurance companies have pushed for a reduction in the length of the amber light. This is following a study out of California where the time for the yellow light is significantly shorter than in Florida. One section of the report rationalizes the time reduction by stating that motorists will be less likely to try and get through an intersection when they know that the light will change before they are able to safely pass.
Often a traffic infraction leads to bigger and more severe problems. Traffic infractions almost always precede a DUI investigation and insurance rates and driving privilege is placed in jeopardy with each additional ticket. For more information on this article, contact William Moore, P.A.

Article contributed by Anne-Marie Kopek

Broward County judges, juries, the Florida legislature, and even friends and family members of the accused tend to assume that a person arrested by the Fort Lauderdale police for DUI has a drinking problem. In short, they often operate on the assumption that a DUI arrest is an indication of a deep-seated, and possibly previously invisible, problem with alcohol. While frequent or multiple DUI arrests could be symptoms of alcoholism, Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore knows that a DUI arrest alone does not prove that the driver is an alcoholic.

Florida law requires that a first-time DUI conviction result in a variety of penalties, including probation, driver’s license revocation, and community service. Offenders can also be sentenced to jail. Additionally, the court requires an offender to undergo an alcohol abuse evaluation and attend DUI School. The alcohol abuse evaluation requirement is premised on the idea that anyone arrested for DUI in the Broward/Palm Beach/Miami-Dade County area is likely an alcoholic. The DUI alcohol abuse evaluation often results in additional mandatory substance abuse treatment, which may or may not be warranted under the circumstances. First-time DUI arrests are frequently the only arrest or conviction a person will ever have. For example, a young person out with friends does not realize that he has exceeded the limit and is pulled over. Contact a Broward DUI lawyer for information on your specific case.

Organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving have worked to reduce DUIs, enhance DUI penalties, and to reduce alcohol consumption more broadly on a national scale since the early 1990s. The impact has been felt strongly in south Florida. The group managed to raise the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 in every single state, significantly above the drinking age in other industrialized nations. For instance, it is 18 or 19 in every Canadian province, and legal in some provinces to consume alcohol at home with parental supervision. In France, the legal drinking age is 16 for most alcohol, but 18 for strong spirits consumed on the premises of the bar or restaurant. Ireland does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to drink publicly, but there is no legal drinking age for private affairs or in homes. In Great Britain, 16-year-olds can consumer beer, wine, and cider with a meal and if an adult buys the alcohol; in all other situations, the legal age is 18. Interestingly, the group also advocates for stricter seat belt legislation and reducing non-driving underage drinking.

Candace Lightner, the founder of MADD, left the group several years after starting it. Lightner has indicated that she has problems with the current direction of the organization, saying, “[MADD] has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned . . . I didn’t start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving.” She started the group in 1980, when DUI penalties were significantly lower and less frequently prosecuted, following the tragic death of her teenage daughter in a drunken hit-and-run accident. After Lightner left, the group continued to amp up its anti-alcohol – not just anti-DUI – lobbying. In addition to raising the drinking age to 21 and the blood alcohol limit to 0.08, the group advocates for treatment of alcoholism for all DUI offenders, mandatory jail sentencing, and required breathalyzer ignition locks for all DUI offenders. The organization has pressed for the United States Congress and the legislatures of all fifty states to treat even one DUI arrest as conclusive evidence of alcoholism. Requiring a DUI offender who blew a 0.08 to install a permanent breathalyzer ignition lock is not necessarily good policy. Additionally, MADD maintains that for every DUI arrest made, the person has typically driven drunk many other times. In many cases, that is simply not true.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer: Does a DUI Arrest Mean Alcoholism? " »

During the holiday season, the police in Broward County often set up DUI checkpoints, according to our Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer. Checkpoints screen for intoxicated drivers in the south Florida area, because local police tend to report more DUI arrests associated with Christmas and New Year’s revelry. Ostensibly, a roadblock is established to protect the public from drunk drivers who take to the road after a few too many glasses of eggnog at the office holiday party.

In reality, DUI roadblocks work a little differently than you might expect. A typical DUI checkpoint will yield about four DUI arrests and even fewer DUI convictions, according to Broward DUI lawyer William Moore, an authority on the constitutionality of DUI checkpoints. In most cases, the DUI checkpoints in the Palm Beach/Broward/Miami-Dade metropolitan area and elsewhere produce numerous traffic tickets. The traffic ticket revenue provides an incentive for the police to continue operating DUI checkpoints, although the stated goal is to reduce DUIs. Fort Lauderdale police operating DUI checkpoints must adhere to a set of guidelines established by state law and the United States Supreme Court.

First, the police must have a written set of guidelines for their checkpoints. Police may stop your car, ask you questions, and administer breath or field sobriety tests. Broward law enforcement officials must notify the public in advance about the checkpoint, which is the reason why you may hear radio or television ads put out by law enforcement during the holidays or read about them in the newspaper. Sobriety checkpoints should be visible from a distance, marked with signs and police car lights, to put drivers on notice. If you were arrested at a DUI checkpoint, our Broward DUI lawyer can determine whether or not the evidence collected at the roadblock will be admissible in court. If the law enforcement officials did not follow all guidelines, a Broward DUI lawyer may be able to get your case dismissed.

One of the most important rules of DUI checkpoints is that the officers administering them cannot stop cars at random. Instead, there must be a pre-set formula that the police abide by when selecting cars to stop. For instance, Fort Lauderdale police brass can decide to stop every third car or every fifth car. The decision about which cars to stop must be made by supervisory officials, not by field officers.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney: DUI Checkpoints in Florida " »

Having a few beers while getting a tan out on the boat in Fort Lauderdale sounds like a great holiday weekend. Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore has seen enough sunny afternoons turned sour, however, to urge caution. Broward County officials have cracked down on Boating Under the Influence, a crime that many people do not even know exists. A BUI arrest is even more probable as the south Florida Palm Beach/Broward/Miami-Dade metropolitan area sees an increase in seasonal residents and tourists visiting for the winter. Getting arrested for Boating Under the Influence probably never factored into your relaxing plans, but you should consider that possibility when drinking and operating a boat. If you are arrested or charged for Boating Under the Influence, contact our experienced Broward DUI lawyer.

In Broward County and the rest of Florida, the BUI laws are very similar to those for DUI. Like DUI, the blood alcohol content at which impairment is presumed is 0.08. Also like DUI, you can be arrested for BUI even if the engine is not running. Sitting in the driver’s seat while intoxicated is sufficient. And as with DUI, you need not even have the keys in the ignition. In Florida, you can be arrested for BUI so long as you have “actual physical control” of the vessel. The broad language of the BUI statute and the Broward area enforcement surprises many newcomers. The BUI laws in Florida are strict and our Broward DUI lawyer advises you to use caution when operating your boat in the water around Fort Lauderdale.

Florida BUI is punished similarly to DUI and our Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer is experienced in handling both types of cases. The first arrest and conviction can result in a fine of up to $500 and six months in jail, in addition to probation and public service hours. A second conviction for BUI can result in a fine of up to $1,000 and nine months in jail. A third Florida BUI conviction within ten years becomes a felony, punishable by more than one year in prison; any fourth conviction, regardless of the time frame, is a felony. The provisions for BUI with serious property damage and BUI manslaughter are very similar to their DUI arrest counterparts. Likewise, BUI can have aggravating factors such as a minor present on the boat or a BAC exceeding 0.20, which result in harsher punishments. Operating a boat in the waters of Florida, like driving a car on the roads, indicates your implied consent to a breath test, and you can also be arrested if the officer believes you are also or additionally under the influence of other impairing drugs or substances. Unlike a DUI arrest, however, BUI in Florida will have no impact on your driver’s license. The Broward authorities will also impound your boat, just as a car is impounded following a DUI arrest.

Continue reading " Boating Under the Influence: Drinking & Boating in Broward County Waters " »

Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Ryan Moore knows that DUI issues for women have changed substantially over time. Years ago, women accounted for a very small percentage of total DUI arrests. In fact, fewer than ten percent of all DUI arrests were women drivers thirty years ago, although women account for about half of all drivers. Now, women account for between fifteen and twenty percent of DUI arrests, a sobering increase. A Broward County DUI attorney might ask himself: why are the rates for women rising so drastically?

The reason why women comprise more and more Fort Lauderdale DUI arrests is complicated. Any Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer can tell you that, anecdotally, he sees more female clients than in the past. Changing social attitudes may result in more women going out in the evenings and consuming alcohol. The changes in attitudes are also reflected in police behavior: police may have taken a more protectionist stance decades ago and perhaps given an intoxicated female driver a ride home rather than to the jail cell. Now, Broward County police treat DUI offenders similarly regardless of their sex.

Another reason why the rates of women arrested for DUI in Broward County are increasing is testing conditions. Our Broward County DUI lawyer knows that the breathalyzers used in the state of Florida are calibrated for a man’s lungs and body composition. Because women generally have lower lung capacity, they blow higher blood alcohol content readings as measured by these devices. The Intoxilyzer breathalyzers are calibrated for the amount of air the average man could blow into the machine, so it does not account for the fact that the alcohol level a woman blows is likely to be somewhat less diluted by air than a man’s is. That means that a man and a woman who technically have the same blood alcohol content may blow different readings – and the woman’s will often be higher.

A Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer might also tell you that the changes in the law in the 1990s have led to more DUIs for female drivers. The Mothers Against Drunk Driving nationwide campaign led every state to establish the blood alcohol level at which impairment is presumed at 0.08 percent, down from 0.10 percent in most states. The change in the law, coupled with higher police prioritization of DUIs, appears to have led to more arrests of women. One theory is that men may drink more heavily and be more likely to be arrested when pulled over, whereas women tended to drink somewhat less heavily and would not have been arrested with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or 0.09. Of course, any Broward County DUI attorney knows that a driver can be arrested for DUI if she appears impaired, regardless of her blood alcohol content.

Continue reading " Broward DUI Attorney: Florida Women May Experience Breath Test Bias " »