Florida DUI Lawyer Blog

Broward DUI lawyer William Moore has found that, over the years, judges are more inclined to provide for the use of interlock ignition devices for DUI offenders and that the general public has become increasingly familiar about these devices, as the legislature has examined the issue and more offenders have been required to attach them to their vehicles as a condition of driving. Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney Moore knows that many drivers who have had past alcohol problems and DUI convictions are sometimes not bothered by the addition of these devices, aside from their usually high cost, for the reinstatement of their driving privileges. After all, driving is often essential for getting to work and the revocation of driving privileges is especially hard on people supporting families or commuting long distances, where public transportation or rides from friends and family are impractical.

Ignition interlock devices are breath test machines that are rigged up to the ignition of a vehicle. The devices function similarly to a traditional breathalyzer, in that they purport to provide accurate measurements of a person’s blood alcohol concentration. If the device registers a specific reading – perhaps 0.02 percent or higher – then the motor will not turn on. Additionally, the device may require that the driver continue blowing into it periodically while driving, as alcohol may continue to be absorbed into the bloodstream over time. The device may also automatically report back to a central location. For example, a person with a DUI conviction may have a device that sends a signal to his probation officer if he attempts to drive with a BAC over a specified level.

According to Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyer Moore, ignition interlock devices are most frequently used to allow people who have been convicted of DUI to receive their driver’s license again. It is a condition that permits them to drive. The devices can be extremely costly and the companies manufacturing these devices have lobbied state legislatures to increase their usage. In fact, MADD hopes to eventually have mandatory ignition interlock devices on every vehicle on the roads in the United States. Although this would be extremely invasive and expensive, the organization believes it would completely eliminate the problem of drunk driving.

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Broward DUI attorney William Moore has observed the toughening of the criminal laws against driving under the influence of alcohol in his years as a criminal defense attorney. He has found that the driving force behind many new proposals in state legislatures around the country has been Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an organization founded in the 1980s to combat DUI and to protect innocent victims from the harms DUI can cause – especially DUI Manslaughter. A woman whose daughter was killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver started the organization, which grew explosively through the 1980s and 1990s, in terms of numbers and influence.

Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer Moore notes that the organization’s influence has been strong in Florida, as in other states. MADD was behind the movement to lower the “legal limit” at which the state presumes a driver is intoxicated to 0.08 percent, where it now stands in every state. It has also pushed for harsher sentencing policy, more sobriety checkpoints, and other legislation, such as ignition interlock devices that require a person who has had a DUI conviction to periodically blow air into a machine that monitors his or her blood alcohol concentration in order to keep the motor in the vehicle on. In fact, some organizers are now lobbying in at least one state for mandatory ignition interlock systems in all vehicles, an incredibly radical measure.

The president announced recently that the new head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be Charles Hurley, who has been the Chief Executive Officer of Mothers Against Drunk Driving since March of 2005. Since he has been in charge of the organization, MADD has campaigned to cut the legal limit again – this time in half, to 0.04 percent blood alcohol concentration. This is despite the fact that a person can be convicted of DUI with a blood alcohol concentration lower than 0.08 percent, so long as there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the driver was, in fact, impaired. Evidence might include testimony regarding the driver’s performance in roadside field sobriety tests, for example, or regarding a law enforcement officer’s actual observations of the person’s inadequate driving.

Critics suspect that Hurley is too biased and his agenda too strong for the position, especially since federal highway funds are at stake. Others, however, applaud the aggressive his anti-drunk driving stances and credit MADD-driven policies with saving lives. Either way, it is not yet clear how his past experiences at MADD will drive his decision-making at the NHTSA.

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According to Broward DUI lawyer William Moore, a Georgia woman at a court appearance for her DUI charge got herself into more hot water at the courtroom door. She was charged with DUI stemming from an incident last September in the town of Milton, when local law enforcement officers found the woman’s car parked in the middle of a street. She was outside of the car and was so intoxicated that she could not figure out how to get back in. At that time, the woman’s blood alcohol concentration was measured at a whopping 0.34 percent, more than four times the legal driving limit.

Last week, the woman, who is 28 years old, was cited for contempt of court and taken into custody to serve two days in jail. Her offense was showing up to court after drinking. During a routine weapons check, the court bailiff detected the odor of alcohol on her breath. She will have to appear again on the DUI charge in about two months. Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney Moore is not surprised that showing up to court smelling of alcohol did not impress Municipal Court Judge Barry Zimmerman.

Last year, a well-known Major League Baseball player was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in his home state of Nebraska. Joba Chamberlain, who is a pitcher for the New York Yankees, was notably friendly with the state trooper who pulled him over. However, even in his apparently intoxicated state, Chamberlain could not resist poking some fun at New Yorkers.

Chamberlain, who is 23, joked with the law enforcement officer about New Yorkers’ bad manners. He told the officer that "opening a door and saying please and thank you" were not behaviors New Yorkers regularly engage in. He also told the officer that if a driver cuts off someone else in New York, “they might hit you,” whereas Nebraskans would be much more polite in a similar situation. Chamberlain is originally from Lincoln, Nebraska. Still, his joking demeanor did not get him any slack, and he was arrested for DUI. He pleaded guilty to the charge last week, which will result in the loss of his driving privileges for 60 days and serving nine months of probation.

A video of Chamberlain’s traffic stop is available below:

Broward DUI lawyer William Moore encourages professional athletes and others to be careful after consuming alcohol. Unfortunately, a number of famous athletes have been in the news lately for their DUI arrests. Donté Stallworth was even involved in an accident that resulted in a pedestrian’s death in Miami Beach.

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A popular video game series that gives players the option of driving a car while intoxicated has drawn complaints and protests from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The Grand Theft Auto series has recently come out with a new installment in the series called “Chinatown Wars.” Broward DUI lawyer William Moore has not personally tested the game.

In this latest edition of the game, players are given the option of going to a bar and consuming drinks while playing as main character Huang Lee. Once the player leaves the bar, he stumbles around, appearing drunk. While in this impaired state a player can direct his character to enter the vehicle and try to drive it while drunk.

DUI in a video game is not wholly without consequences, however, Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore notes. When a player operates a car while intoxicated, the vehicle becomes more difficult to control and he is more likely to get into an accident or be apprehended by the police. When leaving the bar, players are also given the option of taking a virtual taxi home until the effects of the alcohol they have consumed has worn off, rather than drive themselves.

An earlier version of the game released last year, with similar DUI-like features, drew protests from MADD. The organization complained that the game glamorizes drunk driving. In a public statement released last year, MADD said, "Each year nearly 13,500 people die in drunk driving crashes and another half a million are injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes…Drunk driving is not a game and it is not a joke. Drunk driving is a choice, a violent crime and it is also 100 percent preventable." The organization also called for the game to be reviewed and re-rated from “Mature” to “Adults Only,” thus making it more difficult for minors to buy the game. The manufacturers of Grand Theft Auto have defended the game by noting that driving drunk makes game play more difficult and insisting that MADD’s characterization of the game’s “glamorizing” effects is inaccurate. They have also stated that the drunk driving sequences “reflect the logical progression of events that could happen to the game's characters in the game.”

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is notable for its long-time role advocating for tougher anti-DUI laws and harsher sentencing for those convicted of DUI.

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Donte Stallworth, the wide receiver for the professional football team the Cleveland Browns, has surrendered to law enforcement officials. Stallworth has been charged with DUI Manslaughter as a result of an accident on March 14 that occurred on the causeway that connects Miami and Miami Beach. Miami DUI lawyer William Moore extends his condolences to the victim’s family and reminds tourists and other South Beach partygoers to drink responsibly.

According to law enforcement officials, Stallworth was driving his 2005 Bentley back to Miami at about 7:00 a.m. after a night of partying till dawn at the swanky Fontainebleau hotel. Mario Reyes, a local Miami resident, was getting off of work. He was a night-shift crane operator. Reyes was crossing the street on the causeway to get to the bus stop to go home when Stallworth was driving on the same road. Stallworth struck fatally struck Reyes. News media outlets have reported that Reyes was not in the crosswalk at the time of the accident. Stallworth stayed at the scene of the accident and was reportedly cooperative with police, telling them, “I’m the driver of that car…I hit the man lying in the road.” Police believe that Stallworth’s vehicle was traveling at about 50 miles per hour in an area with a speed limit of 40 miles per hour. Stallworth’s blood alcohol concentration was measured at 0.126 percent, above the 0.08 percent at which Florida state law presumes a driver’s faculties are impaired.

Stallworth was charged with DUI Manslaughter in the death earlier this week. Stallworth surrendered, appearing in court and posting bail of $200,000. He was accompanied to court by his mother, Donna, and made a statement to the press expressing his deep condolences to the Reyes family and that the has “full faith and confidence in the legal process.” His DUI defense attorney said that the crash was a “tragic accident” and that “there are no winners here,” with regard to his client’s defense.

While he is out on bail, Stallworth will not be permitted to consume alcohol or drive. He will be permitted to travel between Cleveland and Miami, but must seek approval for any other travel. According to Broward DUI lawyer Moore, such restrictions are common.

Stallworth rose to fame playing college football for Tennessee. Before signing a $35 million contract with the Cleveland Browns, he played for three other NFL teams. He has been plagued by injuries in recent months.

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The Broward State Attorney’s Office is reviewing about 200 cases involving driving under the influence charges due to the alleged misconduct of Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Charles E. Grady. Grady was with the Sheriff’s Office for 12 years until he resigned from his position this week. He has been accused of touching women inappropriately during traffic stops. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating and the State Attorney’s Office has filed two misdemeanor battery charges against him stemming from the unwanted touching of two different women he stopped and arrested for DUI. He is to be arraigned on May 13. Grady had been suspended from the force since late last year, when the office began investigating the allegations against him. Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer William Moore expects this case to have far-reaching ramifications.

The first misdemeanor battery charge involves an unidentified woman from Boca Raton, who is 38. Grady stopped her near the strip club where she was employed as a dancer. She was arrested for DUI during the stop in September of last year. Similarly, a Coral Springs woman, who is 20, was stopped by Grady in December. She complained to Fort Lauderdale law enforcement officials that there was “inappropriate contact” by Grady while she was stopped. The Broward Sheriff’s Office has not provided specific details about either incident, saying only that the charge shows that there was apparently “deliberate and unwelcome touching.”

The Broward State Attorney’s Office, however, has commented on the matter, saying that Grady’s resignation and subsequent charges affect over 200 DUI cases currently on the docket. A spokesman said, "Dozens of cases have been affected so far…We have been reviewing each of those cases to determine their strengths and weaknesses with or without his testimony. Some cases have been, or will need to be, dropped."

Al Lamberti, the Broward County Sheriff, expressed his displeasure at the news of Grady’s alleged conduct, saying , "I'm extremely disappointed. It disturbs me when any law enforcement officer is accused of tarnishing the badge."

Broward DUI lawyer William Moore is disappointed to hear of Grady’s conduct. The public places a great deal of trust in law enforcement officers, which should never be abused. The power gap between an officer and the person he pulls over for a late-night traffic stop is especially problematic, as women could be coerced into sexual favors or acquiesce to unwelcome contact under threat of criminal charges. It is not clear whether more charges are pending or if either woman plans to seek civil damages against Grady or the Sheriff’s Office.

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