DUI and Criminal Defense Blog

A 44-year-old Pasco County man found himself in quite the pickle when he drove his SUV into a parked police cruiser earlier this month.  Although the police cruiser, which was carrying both an officer and an arrested suspect, was parked away from the road with its emergency lights activated, the suspect struck the side of […]

Florida has hopped on the bandwagon of instituting an ignition interlock program for DUI offenders, joining 46 states and the District of Columbia in using these devices as a deterrent for repeat DUI offenders. An ignition interlock device (IID) is like a breathalyzer machine installed onto the dashboard of a motor vehicle.  Before starting the […]

A report issued by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) on the state of Florida’s misdemeanor courts analyzed the Florida misdemeanor court system that 3% of the state’s adult population passes through each year.  Authored by University of Tampa, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice members Sean Maddan, Ph.D. and Alisa Smith, JD, […]

The potential for error in chemical testing of BAC levels for purposes of a DUI investigation is well documented.  Imagine agreeing to a chemical test in the course of a DUI investigation because you KNOW you have had only one standard drink in the last two hours, only to find yourself blowing well above the […]

Besmirched Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy John Hubbard is vying hard to be reinstated to the sheriff’s department after being vacated from his post for systemically botching DUI investigations and arrests.  According to Bay News 9, Hubbard was transferred from patrol to bailiff last year after an extensive internal affairs investigation reported that the DUI investigations […]

One of the breathalyzer instruments popularly used by Florida law enforcement has been found to give questionable results in some cases.  The Intoxilyzer 8000 has been found in multiple cases to have malfunctioning flow sensors, generating unreliable breath test results. The Intoxilyzer 8000 relies on a “pressure transducer” flow sensor, which measures flow and breath […]

Much has been made of the “drunk driving epidemic” by lawmakers, prosecutors and law enforcement officials.  Local and state governments continuously institute costly anti-drunk driving campaigns in an effort to constantly remind drivers of the dangers of drunk driving and the consequences of a DUI.  Escaping legal recourse for a DUI, these campaigns assert, is […]

Research conducted by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (via Time Healthland) showed that some popular baby soaps and shampoos can generate a false positive in marijuana tests.  Products from Johnson & Johnson, Aveeno and CVS in minute amounts as little as .1 milliliters or less were all found to have contributed to false […]

Not even the substance abuse doctors are immune to a DUI.  In an ironic turning of tables, the Florida Times-Union reports that a Jacksonville psychiatrist specializing in substance abuse treatment was picked up by local law enforcement under suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The 59-year-old doctor was observed by local […]