Articles Posted in DUI / BUI – Drunk Driving

It is standard practice for a Jacksonville Florida DUI police officer to administer a Florida DUI field sobriety test known as the One-Leg Stand test.  If a Jacksonville DUI suspect does not preform well on the test, the Jacksonville DUI officer will use this against him.  However, there are many other reasons why a Jacksonville DUI suspect may not perform well on this test.  For example, the original research conducted for this DUI test shows that people that are at least 50 pounds overweight or over 65-years-old, did not preform well on this test.  Additionally, Jacksonville DUI suspect may have trouble balancing due to medical reasons or physical disabilities.  The Jacksonville suspect may be fatigued or distracted.  

In Jacksonville Driving Under the Influence cases, the Jacksonville DUI suspect is asked to take field sobriety tests.  Jacksonville field sobriety tests are used by the DUI officer to determine if there is probable cause to arrest the driver for Driving Under the Influence.  The Jacksonville DUI officer looks for a certain number of “clues” for each test in order to determine if the driver is impaired.  The three main tests administered are:

In every Jacksonville DUI case that I have tried, I filed a motion in limine to exclude the police officer’s testimony that he believed that the Jacksonville DUI defendant was impaired.  In a Jacksonville DUI case, impairment is an element that the prosecutor must prove.  When a police officer testifies that Jacksonville DUI defendant is impaired, he is saying that the Jacksonville DUI defendant is guilty.  With other crimes, the police officer cannot testify that he believes the defendant is guilty.  However, Jacksonville DUI cases are treated differently, and the police officer may testify that the Jacksonville DUI defendant was impaired.  Therefore, my motion in limine is denied, and the prosecutor enters this testimony in the Jacksonville DUI case.  

On December 30, 2008, in State of Florida v. Glenn Kelly, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a prior misdemeanor Florida DUI conviction cannot be used to enhance a DUI from a misdemeanor to a felony.  However, there are four elements that must be met for this DUI rule to apply. 

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and police departments across the nation ran a nationwide campaign titled “Over the Limit, Under Arrest.”  According to Florida’s Driving Under the Influence (DUI) laws, it is unlawful to drive a vehicle with a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher.  In Jacksonville, Florida, the legal “limit” that is referred to in the MADD campaign is a breath-alcohol level of 0.08.  However, the phrase “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” is not true at all.  

Jacksonville Jaguar, Tararous Bain, was arrested on Sunday for driving on a suspended license.  His license was suspended due to a prior DUI charge.  A Jacksonville Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charge can result in a suspended driver’s license.  The Jacksonville DUI License Laws are as follows:  

As a Jacksonville Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer, I have represented thousands of criminal defendants in Jacksonville.  Normally, the worse piece of evidence against a Jacksonville criminal defendant is a confession to the crime.  However, Florida law is interesting when it comes to criminal defendant’s confessions.  Florida law does not allow a confession by a criminal defendant to be entered into evidence unless the Jacksonville prosecutor has proven the corpus delicti of the crime.  Corpus Delicti is “the body of the crime.”  The Jacksonville prosecutor must present sufficient direct or circumstantial evidence that a crime was committed and the Jacksonville criminal defendant committed that crime.  If this does not occur, the Jacksonville criminal defendant’s confession cannot be admitted into evidence.

A Florida DUI Video can make or break a Jacksonville Driving Under the Influence Case.  In some Jacksonville Police Cars ( DUI units), the vehicle is equipped with a dash camera.  When an Jacksonville officer turns on his emergency lights to stop a vehicle, the camera activates.  The camera records the stop and everything that occurs after the stop.  

As a Jacksonville DUI lawyer, I have seen many Florida DUI videos.  Most of the time, the recordings are favorable to a Florida DUI defendant.  In the DUI video, the Jacksonville driver will exit the vehicle without a problem, speak properly, and not appear to be impaired at all.  To the contrary, the Jacksonville police officer will state, in his report, that the person had trouble exiting the vehicle, speaking, and walking.  The police officer will say that these are all signs of impairment in a Jacksonville DUI case, and that the DUI defendant exhibited these signs.  However, the Driving Under the Influence video does not lie.  Instead, when comparing the video to the officer’s testimony, it appears that the Jacksonville driver was not impaired, and the police officer is not being truthful.  

To learn more about Jacksonville DUI videos and how they can be beneficial to a Jacksonville Driving Under the Influence case, contact a Jacksonville Driving Under the Influence Attorney.  

John O’Connor, a CBS anchorman, was arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Atlantic Beach, Florida.  Police found a beer in his car.  According to the arresting officer, John O’Connor failed Field Sobriety Tests and appeared to be impaired by alcohol.  

The cold weather is here in Jacksonville, Florida, and we all know that means: football, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.  While this is a joyous time for most people, one thing can ruin it: Driving Under the Influence (DUI).  Not only can a Florida DUI result in serious injury or death, it also results in an arrest and loss of your driver’s license.