As you can see in the above video this man had a long history of drunk driving arrests as those accused of DUI manslaughter commonly do. However, as his guilt seems a reality he would still be well advised to contact a DUI attorney to discuss his options; as would anyone accused of a drunk driving crime.

Facebook and other social media sites have become a prime place for prosecutors to gather evidence against DUI suspects in Florida and across the country. People, especially underage drinkers, feel posting pictures of themselves partying is harmless, but we are constantly seeing it come back to bite them. For example, if someone is arrested for DUI on 1-1-10 and pleads not guilty, a picture of them at a New Year’s party that night drinking alcohol can go a long way if the prosecutor gets their hands on it (and they will). There was even a story recently in which a juvenile girl was charged with DUI manslaughter where an alcohol related post on Facebook directly caused her to be sentenced as an adult. Apparently, the girl who was charged with killing her boyfriend driving drunk posted a picture of herself captioned ‘drunk in Florida’ just months after the crash. When the judge saw the photo he decided to charge her as an adult.

I am not condoning drinking and driving and I understand pictures of this nature seem OK because you never plan on being arrested for DUI in the first place. All I am saying is be smart. Is it really necessary to show the world (or your group of friends) you were up all night drinking?

Charged with DUI in Jacksonville? If so, one of our Jacksonville DUI lawyers can help you. Contact us today, free of charge.

After one fails a field sobriety test (e.g. walking a straight line) they often feel they are doomed to be convicted of driving under the influence (DUI), but that is far from the truth. There are many factors that can lead a judge to disregard a failed field sobriety test or test as evidence. If yes is answered to any of the below questions, your failed test may be thrown out.

• Were police lights flashing in your eyes when you took a sobriety test?; if this is the case you may be in luck. Police lights (or strobe lights in general) can easily cause nausea, disorientation or other effects that mimic intoxication.
• Was the ground you performed sobriety tests on level? Without a level surface to perform tests on police have no business asking you to do so in the first place. If they did, a judge should have no other option then to throw this piece of evidence against you out.
• Were you wearing proper footwear? Without something like tennis shoes on it can be very difficult to perform certain field sobriety tests. If you were wearing dress shoes or high heels how can any balance test be taken seriously?
• Was there roadside wind? A strong wind can be very distracting when performing any field sobriety test. It can cause you to lose your balance and possibly your concentration. Other weather conditions can also be taken into account.
• Did the police officer properly instruct you how to complete the test? This is something a DUI suspect won’t likely know, but everything is caught on tape. Law enforcement is given strict instructions how to instruct and administer sobriety test. Failure to exactly do so will result in the failed test being thrown out as evidence.
• Was the officer properly trained to administer the test(s)? Again, this is something a DUI suspect wouldn’t know, but can be discovered by doing a little research. Whether or not they administered the test(s) correctly, ill certification to do so will get them thrown out.
• Do you have a medical condition that possibly effected the results of the test? A medical condition or disability is serious thing and commonly can have sobriety test results thrown out as evidence.

The point: There is never a good reason to take a DUI conviction laying down because of failed sobriety tests. If any of the above is true they may be disregarded as evidence and it will be like it never happened as far as they jury is concerned. However, you must hire an aggressive attorney that will acquire and ultimately use this information.

If you have recently accused of DUI in Jacksonville after failing a sobriety test we can help you. However, you must contact us within a timely manor to ensure we can conduct a thorough investigation of your case.

Contact a Jacksonville DUI lawyer at our firm today.

A Jacksonville man has pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter in a crash that left a St. John’s County deputy dead.

The defendant entered his plea Monday. The 27-year-old faces up to 15 years in prison at his sentencing next month. In exchange for the manslaughter plea, prosecutors agreed to not pursue a vehicular homicide charge.

Authorities say Deputy James Louis Anderson Jr. was headed to work in his patrol car in January when the defendant- who was driving in the wrong direction on a state highway – crashed head-on into the deputy. Anderson died shortly after the crash.

A blood test showed the suspect to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.158 percent, almost double the legal limit.

On occasion pleading guilty to lessen the charge as this man did is a good idea, but rarely. Because of how difficult it is to prove DUI manslaughter or vehicular homicide it’s almost always worth it to fight the charge.

Arrested in Jacksonville?

If you have been accused of drunk driving or a related criminal offense in Jacksonville you may be surprised at what we can achieve for you. With over 100 years combined experience, our attorneys know what it takes to overcome a Florida DUI charge. Contact a Jacksonville drunk driving lawyer at our firm today:

Duval County Office
841 Prudential Drive, 12th Floor
Jacksonville, FL 32207
Phone: 904-610-6545

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The officer’s file is full of accommodations and letters praising his work.

The officer was dispatched to the accident in March involving Officer Lennell Boyer, who police later determined was drunk. The officer let Boyer go with only a careless driving citation because he said he didn’t think Boyer was drunk, even though the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police officers who first responded to the crash said Boyer was banging on a police car window, yelling, screaming, urinating on a police car floor and calling dispatch over and over.

The incident is being reviewed by FHP.

According to the officer’s file, he’s been involved in two accidents in his career.

Other things, however, that he was involved in include an incident in 2005 when a murder suspect from Tennessee was loose on Interstate 95. A passenger in the car held a gun up to another passenger and then aimed at police. One of those troopers was the officer, who was able to work with the team and calm down the suspect, which led to her arrest. The driver of the car was killed.

A letter from headquarters says his quick, alert and calm actions paid off that day.

And in relation to the wildfires in 2007, the officer was given a commendation for his help with residents and motorists along Interstate 10. He also has received several letters from motorists who said he has helped them when they broke down, and one even recommended he become Trooper of the Year.

The officer, who is now retired, said in a phone interview that he is proud of his record and he wishes he could apologize for the incident with the JSO officer.

For Now FHP continues their investigation, and the officer said the FHP has not yet contacted him about it.

If you are ever pulled over in suspicion of DUI (or involved in a suspected DUI related crash) don’t expect special treatment! Sometimes police will even charge a civilian DUI suspect without having enough evidence to do so in the first place. It is because of this that hiring a DUI attorney to protect your rights and fight for your freedom is essential when charged with Florida DUI. If you would like to learn about beating a drunk driving charge in Florida we welcome you to contact a Jacksonville drunk driving lawyer at our firm for a free and confidential consultation.

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Free Consultation: 904-610-6545

Being charged with a Jacksonville DUI, for many, is an extremely stressful experience. The uncertainty of what is to come and the fear of being forced to pay insanely high fines makes this understandable. However, a DUI lawyer at our firm can make this a much less stressful time in your life.

Whatever occurred at the time of your arrest we are sure to be able to help. If you failed a breathalyzer, failed sobriety tests, admitted your guilt, etc. none of this necessarily makes you guilty. Because police often make mistakes when arresting those suspected of DUI, things of this nature can often be taken from evidence if a proper investigation (leave this to us) of your arrest is conducted in a timely fashion.

Best Jacksonville DUI attorneys

If you are serious about beating your Jacksonville DUI or related criminal charge you should waste no time contact a Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer at our firm. You may be pleasantly surprised at what our firm can achieve for you. To illustrate this point we post our case results online.

Charges of commission of conduct supporting criminal acts – D.U.I. with property damage; and unbecoming conduct against the officer were upheld, according to an JSO internal affairs report released today.

The officer was not charged with D.U.I., but told internal affairs he was drinking prior to the accident, according to the report.

The suspension was a result of a traffic crash involving the officer in his personal car on March 7.  Breath alcohol tests taken at the scene showed that he blew a .122 and .128, over the .08 legal limit, but those results could not be used against him criminally because of Garrity rights for police officers.

Garrity rights are a type of Miranda rights protection for public employees.

Florida Highway Patrol officer Stanley Petty investigated the crash. According to the report, the officer ran into the back of a dump truck with a flashing yellow sign on Intestate 95 North just past the ramp from MLK Boulevard.

Petty cited the officer for careless driving, but told JSO internal affairs that he did not smell alcohol on the officer nor did the officer appear to him to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

The officer told investigators he was sorry for his actions and for embarrassing the sheriff’s office. He admitted he had five or six mixed drinks, and three bottles of water at Jim’s Place Bar over several hours.

The officer said he mistakenly believed he could drive because of the time that had elapsed after drinking and the amount of water he drank. He used poor judgment in deciding to drive, he said, and had not considered a diuretic medication he takes. The report said he said he hadn’t eaten, and he normally does not drink alcohol.

Police investigators also said the officer left the scene of the crash with a friend, was stopped by police and then told to wait in the back of a marked JSO car. While in the car, the officer pounded on the car door, made numerous phone calls to the Communications Center and urinated on the floor board, the report said.

In the internal affairs report, there were several different opinions and conflicting statements on whether the officer was under the influence.

Lt. D.W. Vanaman requested the crash be investigated by FHP, and ordered the officer to submit to an administrative breath alcohol test. The officer cooperated and signed an administrative rights form. Tests results were .122 and .128, which is over the legal limit.

In the report, Vanaman said he told Petty that he believed the officer was impaired and was surprised that the trooper did not conduct any field sobriety tests and let the officer go.

When Vanaman responded to the crash, JSO Sgt. Joseph Harbin, who was off duty and also responded, told him he might be intoxicated. Harbin told investigators he was suspicious the officer was impaired. JSO Sgt. David Valentine, who was off-duty and also responded to the crash, told investigators the officer exhibited no obvious signs of impairment.

Another officer, Neil Chandler, was the primary officer dispatched to the crash and he told investigators that he did not smell any alcohol on the officer.

Because the crash was under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol, the breathalyzer test given to the officer by his JSO supervisor could only be used for administrative purposes, not as criminal evidence against the officer.

Lieutenant Bill Leeper with the Florida Highway Patrol said the agency has launched its own internal investigation into the case.

A trooper will conduct a field sobriety test when they have probable cause or reasonable suspicion to do so, Leeper said.

Leeper said, FHP is in the process of gathering reports and the investigation would take several weeks.  Leeper could not comment on the specifics of what the FHP is looking into at this time.

Trooper Petty stated he did not smell an odor of alcohol on the officer and the officer did not appear to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.  Petty determined the officer was at fault for the accident, and wrote the officer a traffic ticket for careless driving.

Undersheriff Frank Mackesy said the sheriff’s office has taken the case seriously.

The officer was suspended for one month without pay and has been transferred to the tele-serve unit, taking police reports over the phone.

Mackesy said if an officer drives under the influence in a patrol car, that is grounds for firing, but the officer was in his personal vehicle and the highway patrol never charged him with a criminal offense.

Have you been charged with DUI in Jacksonville? If so, unfortunately you won’t be able to get off the hook this unless you are also in law enforcement. The smartest thing you can do at this juncture would be to contact a Jacksonville DUI lawyer at our firm. We offer a free initial consultation to discuss the details of your unique arrest. There are no guarantees we can help you avoid being convicted, but you might be surprised at how the law can play in your favor. Call 904-610-6545 now.

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All the above mistakes can most likely be avoided by just contacting an attorney within a timely manor after your arrest. A good lawyer will thoroughly investigate the circumstances of your arrest and determine, based on his or her experience, what steps need to be taken in pursuit of justice for you.

If you are serious about beating your charge we welcome you to contact us for a free and confidential consultation either in person or by phone. However, as stated above we ask you do so ASAP. This is because the earlier we get involved, the better shot we have at succeeding with your case. Contact a Jacksonville DUI lawyer at Musca Law today:

Duval County Office
841 Prudential Drive, 12th Floor
Jacksonville, FL 32207
Phone: 904-610-6545 – Free Consultation!

Although it may see as if your DUI case is open and shut and you should plead guilty, that is most likely far from the truth. By investigating your DUI arrest and anzlyzing the prosectuion’s case, winning nearly every Florida drunk driving case is not only a chance, but a high probablility. When it comes to choosing an attorney you want our experienced and aggressive defense representation on your side. Your freedom is too important to trust to inexperienced lawyers.

Call our Duval County DUI attorneys at 904-610-6545 to see how we can help you.

“You have the option to refuse the breath test still, but if you do that we are going to get the evidence anyway,” said Assistant State Attorney Rich Mantei.

Every day in the city between five and 10 people are arrested for driving under the influence. The numbers are less in neighboring Clay and Nassau counties.

The practice of getting judges to sign search warrants, sometimes in the middle of the night, is presently only being done in Duval County.

“It is not 24/7 year, right now…because there’s some manpower and budget things that go into it…but it is going to become a lot more common,” said Mantei.

Since the program began about a year ago, the state attorney’s office said 20 people arrested for driving under the influence have been ordered by a judge to give a blood sample.

Although blood testing is the most accurate of chemical testing, failing a blood alcohol test does not necessarily mean there is no way around being convicted. Issues such as chain of custody, the time it took to administer the test, etc. can come into play.

If you have recently been accused of drunk driving in Jacksonville don’t lose hope! Call our Jacksonville DUI lawyers for a free consultation (either in person or on the phone):

Duval County Office
841 Prudential Drive, 12th Floor
Jacksonville, FL 32207
Phone: 904-610-6545
Free Consultation!

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