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I was arrested for DUI. I didn’t blow. Do I have a chance to win?

Answer: Yes. In Miami Dade County they don’t video tape DUI arrests. So in many DUI cases the only evidence against you is the officer’s testimony. Most officers don’t go the extra step in their DUI investigations. There is always a lack of evidence argument that can be made to the jury. A jury deliberating on a DUI must consider a lack of evidence in determining whether there is reasonable doubt. If there is reasonable doubt the jury must find you not guilty. A good attorney will find issues that give rise to reasonable doubt.

Some of the things an Attorney will look for are:

1) Time of Stop vs Time of Arrest. If the time of stop is 12:00 PM and time of arrest is 12:05. It is impossible to instruct and perform 5 field sobriety test in that time period. You would be surprised. In many DUI arrests, this is the scenario..
2) Not all Field Sobriety tests are offered. There are 5 DUI field sobriety test that police officers can offer to a possibly impaired driver. Many times officers will only offer 3 of the 5 tests. The argument here is the officer never gave you the opportunity to perform the other tests to standard. How can they hold something against you when they didn’t even give you a chance?
3) Pulling the dispatch tapes: Whenever an officer stops a vehicle he must log his time in to dispatch. Similarly, whenever a police officer effectuates an arrest he must call the dispatcher to get a case number. This time is recorded. So the actual time that he took with you and the road tests are all documented.
4) The tow receipt. The tow receipt will have the time the officer called the tow truck. In some cases the officer has called the tow truck prior to the arrest. What significance does this have? You decide.
5) How many officers witnessed the DUI roadside tests? In many cases only one officer will testify he witnessed you perform the roadside tests or exercises. Sometimes the police employ this strategy to prevent contradictions in their testimony. The mistake they make is there is now only one officer who can testify about how you performed. So there is little to no corroboration of the officer testimony. Remember the degree to which a person is impaired by alcohol is an opinion and differs from person to person. In a case where the only evidence is testimonial, corroboration testimony is critical to jury.
6) They have video at the police station and in the DUI rooms. The video is never introduced at trial. Some municipalities in Miami Dade County video their DUI stops. Getting a hold of those tapes is important.
7) Did the officer read you the implied consent law properly? If the officer did not read you the implied consent law properly your refusal to submit to the breath test may be excluded by the court.
8) Miranda before implied consent. If they read you’re your rights before they read you implied consent you may be able to exclude the refusal under the confusion doctrine.

These are just a few of the things an attorney can do in your defense.

I was arrested for DUI and I blew over the legal limit of .08. Do I still have a chance to win?

Answer: Yes. If you blew over the legal limit (.08) all is not lost. An attorney can still effectively defend and defeat a DUI prosecution. To prove you guilty of DUI the government must show that your blood alcohol at the time of driving was over a .08.
1) The breath machine (the intoxilizer) presumes that your breath reading is an accurate measurement of your blood alcohol content. Not necessarily. The breath machine only measures deep lung air. That’s why they tell you to “blow blow blow hard” so that they can get a deep lung sample. The breath machine works from the premise that the transfer of alcohol from the blood into the lungs happens at the Aveoli, the tiny sacs at the bottom of your lungs. (INSERT PICTURE OF AVEOLI HERE) However scientific research suggests that the transfer of alcohol from the blood to you lungs happens in other areas and not just at the aveoli. So the argument is… deep lung breath sample is an exaggerated estimate of your actual blood alcohol content. An expert witnesses can explain this clearly to a jury. We work with a nationally recognized expert in the field of DUI.

2) They tested me a long time after they arrested me. Is this important? If you blew over the legal limit an hour after you were arrested that doesn’t mean you were over the legal limit at the time of driving. At the time of driving you may have been absorbing the alcohol. So your alcohol level may have been rising at the time you were driving. The Government has no way to prove whether your alcohol level was on the way up or down at the time of arrest. So if you were a .08 at the time of the breath test, back at the station, the state cannot exclude the possibility that you were less than a .08 at the time you were driving. Your blood alcohol at the time of driving is what matters, not what your blood alcohol level is 2 hours later at the police station. For example diabetics test their blood sugar regularly because their blood sugar goes up and down depending on various things such as what is eaten, when they ate, a persons metabolic rate etc... If you want to know what a diabetics actual blood sugar reading is at 1:00 PM, it doesn’t make sense to test at 2:30 PM. The closer they tested your breath to the time of driving, the more likely the test is an accurate representation of your blood alcohol reading at the time of driving.

3) The machine must be maintained and comply with FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) rules and regulations. If the machine is not in compliance with FDLE rules the breath test can be “thrown out”, or excluded. An attorney can explain to you how to check a machine for compliance.

I was arrested for DUI? What will happen to my driving privileges?
Get your License back!

Why should I hire a lawyer?
For a first DUI
The approximate costs of a first Dui are
$781.75 court costs and fees
$150.00 administrative fee to reinstate your license.
$240.00 approximate costs of probation
$205 DUI school and treatment
$500 if you convert the 50 community service hours to a fine
$100.00 10 day vehicle impoundment.
6 Month drivers license suspension
A mandatory criminal conviction on your record
A maximum of 6 months in the county jail.
A probable increase in your insurance premium.
Additional non statutory conditions added are the Victim Impact Panel
Donation to the Ryder Trauma Center
Cost Recovery to the police department for the costs relating to investigation of your case
If blood alcohol content is greater than a .20 then the fine is doubled and there may be an ignition interlock if the judge so orders which is also an additional expense.

A trained DUI attorney can help you avoid these costs and complications.