DUI Category Archives — Page 8 of 16 — Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog Published by Fort Lauderdale, Florida Criminal Lawyer

July 20, 2016

Man’s 9th DUI Conviction Lands Him in Prison for Life

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Unless you seriously injure or kill someone while driving drunk, a DUI conviction probably isn’t going to result in a long-term prison sentence. However, defendants should be aware that the more convictions they rack up, the more likely they are to serve time. And if a judge wants to make an example or send a message, they may have wide discretion to do so.

This kind of harsh sentence is uncommon for those with drunken driving convictions. Usually, convictions result in temporary license suspensions and perhaps a stint in prison. But in most cases, the defendant is ultimately released and eventually allowed back on the road. This case raises the question of how many times a person has to be caught driving legally drunk before the judge will lock them up for a long time?

Take the recent case of a 56-year-old Houston man with eight prior convictions for DUI. Upon his ninth conviction for DUI – after he pleaded guilty to the charge – the judge sentenced him to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in 30 years. Continue reading

July 6, 2016

U.S. Supreme Court: DUI Warrantless Breath Tests OK, Blood Tests Not

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down an important Fourth Amendment decision recently in the case of Birchfield v. North Dakota, which dealt with warrantless breathalyzer tests and blood tests, ultimately invalidating implied consent laws that pertain to warrantless blood draws.

Essentially, the court decided that while the government cannot require a person to submit to a blood draw without first obtaining a warrant, the government can require a person arrested for drunken driving to submit to a warrantless breath test.

The case was the result of consolidated appeals from three separate drunk driving arrests in which the defendants were prosecuted – or threatened with prosecution – for refusing to take a blood or breath test. Continue reading

June 29, 2016

Florida DUI Arrest 17 Years After Man Fled Before Sentencing

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Had Robert Cesaire served his prison time per the terms of his plea bargain, he would have been released seven years ago. He’d pleaded guilty in Broward Circuit Court to DUI manslaughter in exchange for a 10-year sentence of a possible 17 years, after which time he was to be deported to Haiti.

But authorities say he fled to Haiti just days before his sentencing in 1999. That was 17 years ago. Now, authorities say he’s been arrested at the Miami International Airport earlier this month. Officials could not say where he was flying from at the time he was arrested, but he is now being held at the Broward Main Jail without bond.

Prosecutors say now that he is in custody, a new sentencing hearing date will be set, at which time they will request the maximum 17-year penalty, given the fact that he fled. Continue reading

June 18, 2016

Goodman v. FDLE – 4th DCA Unswayed by Defense BAC Argument

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal has upheld the ruling of an administrative law judge in the case of John Goodman, the polo magnate convicted of DUI manslaughter in the death of 23-year-old Scott Patrick Wilson in 2010.

Goodman was originally convicted in 2012 and again at retrial in 2014. On appeal, Goodman’s defense attorney argued that the blood-alcohol test taken after the accident should not have been used against him. An administrative law judge thought otherwise, and the 4th DCA affirmed in Goodman v. Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The crux of the argument centered on the viability of Florida’s alcohol blood testing methods. But the justices plainly stated that, “Any attempt by the FDLE to regulate for every possible contingency that may arise in the collection or testing processes would swiftly devolve into a hopeless endeavor and serve only to expand the department’s regulations to epic lengths.” Continue reading

May 23, 2016

Arrest in Florida Hit-and-Run That Killed MMA Fighter

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The death of fearsome mixed martial arts fighter Jordan Parsons struck fans with sadness and garnered international headlines from Miami to Sydney.

The 25-year-old Parsons was reportedly crossing the street at the corner of Lindell Boulevard and Federal Highway in Delray Beach, just after midnight on May 1st. The driver of the vehicle that struck him reportedly never stopped as required by law, police said. Neither did that driver’s group of friends, who were reportedly following behind him in a Mercedes. One witness would later tell police she suspected the offending vehicle was traveling at speeds of between 100 and 120 mph.

Now, according to the Palm Beach Post, police have made an arrest. Authorities have jailed Dennis Wright, 28, a man from Boca Raton with a checkered history that involves arrests for driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and possession of marijuana. Continue reading

April 26, 2016

Broward DUI Manslaughter Conviction: 4 Years Prison

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A Weston man recently pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian last year while driving drunk. Bryce Samartino, 23, pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter in the death of 66-year-old Elourdes Ostange, a mother of 10.

In exchange for entering a plea, as opposed to taking his case to trial, he was given the minimum mandatory sentence of four years in prison. An attorney representing the victim’s family said her survivors expressed their wishes for leniency to prosecutors because this was “a tragedy for everyone involved.”

Although four years is still a substantial amount of time, per F.S. 316.193, the charge of DUI manslaughter carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence – which means the outcome could have been much worse for the defendant. The case is an example of how the express wishes of the victims, as well as other mitigating factors, can play a role in sentencing. This is true whether you choose to enter a plea deal or take your Broward criminal case to trial. Continue reading

April 13, 2016

Boating Under the Influence Plea Deal in Florida

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A woman from Hallandale Beach has accepted a plea deal stemming from charges filed in 2013 after she allegedly operated a boat under the influence and slammed into a bridge, killing her boyfriend.

The Sun-Sentinel reports Marcella Hewett, 52, pleaded no contest to charges of manslaughter while boating under the influence of alcohol and tampering with evidence. For this, she will serve seven years in prison. Prosecutors later said the fact that she had no prior criminal record likely meant the most she would serve if convicted at trial was between 10 and 13 years.

Her defense lawyers apparently believed the evidence was strong enough to instead opt for negotiation of a plea bargain. Continue reading

April 9, 2016

DUI, Hit-and-Run Charges for Hollywood Man

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A Hollywood man has been arrested for DUI and hit-and-run after he allegedly caused a fatal crash and then failed to remain at the scene.

According to The Sun-Sentinel, 53-year-old Gabriel Tommie could be facing up to 5 years in prison.

Officials report defendant was driving a pickup truck in January when he reportedly struck a vehicle at the Stirling Road and South University Drive intersection. The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash was reportedly injured, but Tommie left the scene. Continue reading

February 6, 2016

Drunk Driving Arrest in Boynton Beach for Man Who Hit 7 Cars at Intersection

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

After reportedly plowing into seven vehicles at a Boynton Beach intersection, the driver of a pickup reportedly failed a number of field sobriety tests. He was arrested by police for DUI and driving on a suspended license.

James Dean Martin, a 47-year-old from Delray Beach, was hauled out of his pickup truck by several people at the scene shortly before 4 p.m. on a Saturday and held on the ground until police got there, according to The Sun-Sentinel.

An 18-year-old woman who had recently purchased a new car told a reporter he approached a line of vehicles waiting at the intersection traveling, “probably like, 50, 70 mph and he just bumped each car.” No one was injured, but the teen said she was shaken up because there were children in other vehicles and her brand new vehicle was damaged. Continue reading

January 2, 2016

Florida DUI Defense: Auto-Brewery Syndrome

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

File this one under “strange but true”:

A New York woman recently successfully warded off a DUI conviction after presenting evidence in court that her body brews its very own alcohol. You read that correctly. This woman reportedly blew a blood-alcohol level that was more than four times the legal limit, despite having consumed nowhere near that level of alcohol.02

Despite this extremely high amount of alcohol in her blood, she was not exhibiting any of the typical symptoms of alcohol consumption when she got to the hospital. Although her blood-alcohol level would suggest she was nearing a coma-state, hospital officials wanted to release her immediately because she didn’t seem drunk at all.

Her defense lawyer was at first puzzled. The woman herself insisted she had only consumed four drinks over a six-hour period when she met her husband at a local bar/grill. Experts opined that at that rate, a woman of her size would have a blood-alcohol level of somewhere between 0.01 and 0.05 by the time she was driving home. She should have been well below the legal limit of 0.08. Continue reading