Holiday DUI Enforcement - Radio Interview

I appeared on Fried on Business last week to talk with the host and listeners about DUI enforcement this holiday season. This is a yearly feature on the Fried on Business program, which can be heard on 880AM-TheBiz in Miami, Florida. Follow this link to listen to the entire one hour program.

We discussed a wide range of topics including:

What to do if you're stopped by the police
Defenses to DUI prosecutions
Driver license suspensions
Penalties for DUI in Florida
Technology and DUI enforcement
Ignition Interlock Devices
Laser Beams and Vapor



For more information about how I can help you, please contact my firm today. Get your no-cost case evaluation by calling or filling out the website’s consultation form.

Can You Be Charged for a DUI If You Blow Less Than 0.08% in the Breathalyzer?

My Blood Alcohol Level is Less Than 0.08%: Can I Be Charged with a DUI?

In Florida, you might still receive a DUI charge if your blood alcohol content (BAC) level is less than the legal limit, which is 0.08%. This happens more frequently now as officers are looking for impairment by drugs in addition to alcohol. If a police officer believes you were intoxicated by alcohol or illegal drugs to a degree that it impaired your ability to operate a motor vehicle, they have the right and ability to pull you over and charge you with DUI. A charge for driving under the influence is based on your ability to safely drive, not necessarily the amount of alcohol in your system. Even if your BAC is under 0.08%, you can still face severe fines and penalties.      

For certain sets of drivers, the level for a DUI administrative suspension is much lower than 0.08. In Florida, commercial drivers are considered intoxicated if they have a BAC of higher than 0.04%. Also, drivers who are under legal drinking age can have their licenses suspended with a BAC of only 0.02%. Underage drivers are susceptible to a zero tolerance policy, and they may be charged if there is any alcohol in their system.

Some prosecutors may decline to pursue DUI charges further if they are under the legal limit, but this is not necessarily the case. Juries typically do not carry much compassion for people with any alcohol in their system. Additionally, prosecutors and officers can argue that if your BAC was close enough to the legal limit, it could have diminished from an earlier reading of above 0.08%.

 

DUI Attorney Fighting for the Accused

I am a DUI lawyer in Miami with considerable experience providing legal representation to drivers who are criminally charged for driving under the influence. My legal career includes more than 30 years of legal advocacy. Some of the accolades I have collected include:

·         Miami Herald “Top Ten DUI Lawyer”

·         10.0 Avvo Superb Rating

·         Florida Trend’s Legal Elite

For more information about how I can help you, please contact my firm today. Get your no-cost case evaluation by calling or filling out the website’s consultation form.

Signs that You Are Driving Under the Influence to the DUI Police

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that since the 1970s, the proportion of alcohol-related crashes has declined; the agency attributes one of the factors to law enforcement efforts, namely detection tactics used by the police to detect motorists who are likely drunk driving.

Building upon an earlier NHTSA study, researchers interviewed officers all over the United States and subsequently developed a list of driving cues that are predictors of blood alcohol concentrations of .08% or greater.

Cues a Driver is DUI at Least 35% of the Time

The list was produced from 3 field studies involving over 12,000 traffic stops. The four driving behaviors identified by officers included:

1. Failure to maintain proper lane position
2. Problems with speed and braking
3. Vigilance problems
4. Judgment problems

The cues in these categories predict that a driver is driving under the influence at least 35% of the time. For example, if a police officer observes a driver to be weaving across lanes, the chances of DUI are over 50%. Further, if a police officer observes weaving and another cue that has been identified, the chances of DUI jumps to at least 65%.

Failure to Maintain Proper Lane Position

• Weaving or weaving across lanes
• Drifting
• Swerving
• Nearly striking another vehicle or object
• Straddling a lane

Problems with Speed and Braking

• Varying speeds
• Driving 10 plus miles below the speed limit
• Accelerating or decelerating for no apparent reason
• Stopping too far, too short, or too jerky

Vigilance Problems

• Driving the wrong way on a road
• Slow to respond to traffic signals
• Stopping for no apparent reason
• Driving without the headlights on at night
• Failure to use turn signals

Judgment Problems

• Tailgating
• Illegal or unsafe turn
• Inappropriate behavior (arguing, throwing objects)

In addition to the above, the following post-stop cues are considered by the police to be predictors of DUI: trouble exiting the vehicle, fumbling with one’s driver’s license or registration, swaying, balance problems, slurred speech, slow to respond to officer’s repeated questions, changing answers, and lastly, the odor of alcohol on the driver’s breath.

Contact a Miami DUI defense lawyer now!

If you were arrested for DUI, there is a strong possibility that you displayed one or more of the above cues; however, this does not necessarily mean that your arrest will result in a criminal conviction.

I am a former prosecutor with over 30 years of experience, I have successfully defended over 3,000 DUI cases, and I am a member of the National College for DUI Defense. Contact me today to learn how I can help you! 

Watch Your Driving – Officers Are Standing By

Law enforcement is specifically trained to watch out for certain driving behaviors that indicate impaired driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted research, which has been adopted by law enforcement officers as scientifically valid information concerning the behaviors that are most predictive of impairment.

This NHTSA sponsored research led to the development of a DUIdetection guide and training materials, including a training video. The NHTSA’s detection guide (used by police nationwide) describes a set of behaviors that officers use to detect motorists who are likely driving under the influence.

Thanks to the NHTSA’s detection guide, officers in every state are watching for suspicious driving and for driving patterns that look careless; for example, not fully stopping, failing to maintain a single lane of travel, or wide turns. The police use such erratic driving behaviors, or distinctive patterns as a basis for a police stop to check the driver’s sobriety.

Some driving behaviors that indicate impaired driving:

• Weaving
• Swerving
• Almost striking another vehicle or object
• Stopping problems
•  Driving too slow
• Driving without the headlights on at night
• Following too closely
• Turning with a wide radius

The NHTSA teaches the police that the above cues predict a driver is driving under the influence (DUI) at least 35% of the time. If an officer, however, observes weaving cues along with any other cue, the probability of DUI jumps to at least 65%. Further, some cues such as swerving, and accelerating for no apparent reason have a single-cue probability greater than 70%.

Police officers are taught that the probability of DUI increases substantially whenever a driver exhibits one or more of the above cues.

If you display any of the above patterns and a law enforcement officer is nearby, don’t be surprised if you are pulled over on suspicion of DUI because the police have received specialized training to keep an eye out for any of the aforementioned driving patterns.

Arrested for DUI in Miami? Contact me, Attorney Jonathan Blecher for a strong defense. Not only am I a former prosecutor, but I have more than 30 years of legal experience and have successfully defended over 3,000 DUI cases. Contact my office to schedule your free consultation!

Holiday Drinking: More Problems than a Hangover

With Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s coming up we should all be aware of Florida's DUI laws. If you drink, please do so responsibly.

Did you know that it takes very little alcohol to put an average-sized man over a .08? Two martinis will do the trick. And for a woman, two glasses of champagne in an hour is enough to put her over the top. What that can mean is that a lapse in judgment or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time (DUI roadblock, for example) can earn a set of silver bracelets and a ride to jail for Christmas.

Here are some things you should know:

Florida's administrative suspension laws will affect your driving privileges if you refuse the breath test or blow over a .08. There is also a 10 day time limit for filing an appeal of this suspension. Any conviction for DUI results in a permanent criminal record and can never be sealed or expunged.

There are a number of other consequences that flow from a DUI arrest/conviction such as fines, probation, DUI school, a possible ignition interlock device and guaranteed increased insurance rates.

Do I Take The Breath Test?

Having a .08 BAC you will set in motion an immediate DHSMV suspension of your driving privileges for six months and refusing the test will result in a suspension period of one year. DHSMV will impose an 18 month DUI refusal suspension, with no permit, for a second refusal. It's also important to know that a second refusal can be added as an additional charge punishable by up to one year in county jail.

Defenses to DUI Cases

There are dozens of valid legal defense to any DUI charge. I can determine which of those may be applicable in your case. I have had great success over the years while defending over 3,000 DUI and suspended license cases.

Jonathan Blecher is a former state prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney with offices in the Downtown Dadeland area. He has 31 years of criminal law experience. Contact Jonathan Blecher to schedule an appointment to learn more about any Miami DUI arrest.

Margin of Error in a Blood Test

 Some drivers assume that a blood draw test will prove that they are not driving drunk; however, this can be a false assumption. There is little room to argue that the blood alcohol instrument (Gas Chromatograph) has a significant error, sufficient to create reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.

When it comes to testing for blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in a driver’s system, blood testing is a relatively reliable method. Defendants can still attempt to challenge blood test results, but they should have an understanding of the margin of error in a blood test.

One such claim from defendants is that the blood testing instrument measured and reported something other than ethyl alcohol, in effect artificially increasing the reported BAC. Gas chromatography happens to be the method used by most, if not all labs to test alcohol in the blood, and it is a universally accepted separation science.

With this method, an instrument separates the sample in the column, and measures the amount of the substances it tests; each substance comes out of the column at different, yet specific times. Because this method separates volatile substances such as ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol before the analysis, gas chromatography is highly specific and does not allow the interference of other substances.

Gas chromatography has been proven to differentiate other volatile substances from ethyl alcohol, and this validation has been conducted extensively by the scientific community. Further, the lab that conducted the analysis should be able to provide supporting testimony in court.

In an effort to ensure accuracy when testing a defendant’s blood for alcohol, state labs are in the practice of conducting duplicate tests on DUI blood samples. This methodology analyzes a subject’s blood twice by using separate portions of the sample. Additionally, dual columns are often used, thereby testing each portion of a duplicate twice.

In the scientific and legal communities, dual column gas chromatography is considered the “gold standard” for analyzing a defendant’s blood alcohol.

Arrested for DUI? Contact me today!

If you are facing DUI charges in South Florida, know that you do have options! As a Miami DUI defense attorney, I have defended over 3,000 cases since 1982, and I welcome the opportunity to help you, too.

Not only am I a member of the National College for DUI Defense, but I am a former prosecutor. I understand Florida’s DUI laws inside and out and I know which DUI defenses work, and which ones have less chance for success in court.

Contact my office today to schedule your free case evaluation!

You're Not Paranoid - Police ARE Out to Get You

It's that time again to remind everyone that you are not paranoid - the police are out to get you.

Police are looking more steadily and diligently for drunk drivers than usual. And, it's not against the law for them to do so. In Florida, with our huge tourist population swelling in the Winter, police significantly step up their surveillance for drunk drivers during the holidays --- with a determination that borders on militarism.

Watch out for roadblocks, checkpoints, driver license checks, roving patrols and police using any lame excuse to justify a stop. Police will saturate areas where people tend to congregate to party. Places like Coconut Grove, South Beach and Brickell Avenue in Miami-Dade and Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale are like shooting fish in a barrel for police.

So, when a client is arrested for DUI and calls me, I remind them that --- yes, the police were in fact looking for them to drink and drive (though not by name or personal knowledge) --- and, yes, I (the defense attorney) will do my job and make sure their 4th, 5th and 6th Amendment rights are protected during this traumatic judicial process.