Jacksonville, Florida police have indicated that they intend to make more DUI (also referred to as drunk driving or driving under the influence) arrests this weekend as it falls on the New Year’s holiday. People in the Jacksonville, Florida area can expect Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Florida Highway Patrol officers…
In a recent DUI case south of Jacksonville, Florida, the defendant was the subject of a citizen’s arrest until the police officer arrived and formally arrested the defendant for DUI. The citizen was sitting on a bench when the defendant pulled up, stopped and got out of her vehicle. The…
One often overlooked element of a DUI (“driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs”) charge is the requirement that the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was either driving the vehicle or in actual physical control of the vehicle while impaired from alcohol or drugs.…
In Florida, in order for the police to stop a person and investigate him/her for a crime that is not a DUI, the police need “reasonable suspicion” that the person is involved in criminal activity. When the information comes from an ordinary citizen reporting the suspicious behavior to the police,…
With DUI cases in Florida, a lot of people assume that the defendant is arrested only after he/she has submitted to a breathalyzer test that showed the defendant was drunk driving or impaired by alcohol. Otherwise, people understand that an arrest before a high breathalyzer reading is likely to be…
In most DUI cases in Florida, when the polcie officer makes observations indicating the driver is impaired by alcohol, the police officer will ask the driver to submit to a breathalyzer test which tests a person’s blood alcohol level after the driver blows into the breathalyzer device. In some circumstances,…
In a recent DUI case south of Jacksonville, Florida, a police officer stopped the defendant for driving out of control and in an abnormal driving pattern. More specifically, the police officer testified that the defendant was driving back and forth in his lane and striking the lane markers. At some…
In Florida, a DUI charge (driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs) is normally going to be charged as a misdemeanor crime. While the Florida legislature continues to make minimum penalties for DUI harsher, jail time for a misdemeanor crime is limited to a maximum of one year and…
Many people believe that a person can only get arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, i.e. DUI, if he/she is actually driving the vehicle while impaired. However, this is not the case. In Florida, the DUI laws cover a person operating the vehicle or “in actual…
In Florida, where the police officer has probable cause that a person is drunk driving or driving under the influence of alcohol (i.e. DUI), the police officer has a right to ask the driver to submit to a test to measure the alcohol content of a person’s blood. In Florida,…