Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog

July 14, 2017

South Florida Vehicular Homicide Leads to 7-Year Prison Stint

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

A DUI manslaughter conviction can upend your life, have you facing extensive prison time as well as a damaging and permanent criminal record. Criminal defense attorneys in Fort Lauderdale recognize the severity of these allegations, and will work to help you fight back against these serious charges. There may be a mountain of evidence against you, but the burden of proof is on the prosecution. Your defense lawyer can be the deciding factor in the outcome of your case by challenging the veracity of that evidence. In some cases, it may make more sense to negotiate a plea deal, something that will result in a lesser charge or a lesser penalty. It will depend on the individual facts of your case.

Recently in South Florida, a young man was convicted of vehicular homicide following a crash that claimed the life of another young person, a medical student. For this, The Miami Herald reported, he was sentenced to seven years in prison. A previous DUI manslaughter charge had to be dropped after critical errors by Florida state troopers.

F.S. 316.193 is Florida’s driving under the influence statute. Per this provision, any person who is drunk or impaired behind the wheel and causes the death of any human being – including an “unborn quick child” (i.e., the child could have survived outside the womb), you will be convicted of a felony of the second-degree, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. It is bumped up to a first-degree felony if you fled the scene of the crash (i.e., committed a hit-and-run).

Meanwhile, vehicular homicide is spelled out in F.S. 782.071. Continue reading

July 10, 2017

DUI Manslaughter Can Be Charged Despite No Blood or Breath Alcohol Testing

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

Earlier this year, prosecutors in Broward County filed charges against a man who allegedly caused a New Year’s Day crash in Fort Lauderdale that killed a teenager. However, despite there being no breath or blood evidence, prosecutors still chose to file a charge of DUI manslaughter. How can this be?

For the answer, we look to F.S. 316.193, Florida’s DUI statute. In order to prove a defendant was driving under the influence, prosecutors need to show the individual was driving or in control of a motor vehicle and that they also met one of the following criteria:

Had a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood;
Had a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 210 milliliters of breath;
Were under the influence of any alcohol or chemical substance to the extend the person’s normal faculties were impaired.

It is that last provision on which prosecutors are hanging their hat in this case. Continue reading

July 6, 2017

Lewd and Lascivious Acts in Broward Criminal Cases

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

Being charged with a sex crime is much different than being charged with basically any other crime. While some people will tend to assume you are guilty even if there has never been a trial, not everyone will believe so, and you are still presumed innocent unless and until you are found guilty in a court of law.

However, when you are charged with a sex crime, especially with a complaining witness (alleged victim) who was a minor at the time of the alleged offense, everyone will act like you are a monster and assume you are guilty. While you still have the same legal protections and are entitled to a presumption of innocence, it seems like all of that goes out the window in practical terms. Continue reading

July 2, 2017

Report: Pompano Doctor Arrested on Federal Drug Charges

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

There is no question that we have a major problem with opioid addiction in this country. While many of these cases, including ones where people overdose involve illicit narcotics like heroin, many still involve the use of prescription painkillers like Vicodin, Percocet or OxyContin.

In many cases, a person will get prescriptions from various doctors and hospitals and take the take the medications themselves. In other cases, a person will do this same thing, but sell the drugs he or she doesn’t use, so they can buy more drugs. Pills on the street go for a lot more money than they do at a pharmacy, and when you obtain the drugs legally, you likely have insurance that will pay the bill, or at least some of the bill. Continue reading

June 30, 2017

Fighting a DUI Charge in South Florida

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

According to a recent news story from the Sun Sentinel, the driver of Lamborghini was arrested after he allegedly drove the vehicle at 75 miles per hour, which was well above the posted speed limit, and then crashed into another vehicle. The other vehicle was being operated by an Uber driver, who was 82-years-old at the time of his death.=

The driver of the Lamborghini turned himself in on charges of DUI and negligent manslaughter. Authorities say defendant, who is 61-years-old, was at a Delray bar before the accident occurred. He was with his girlfriend at the time, who is now his wife.

Prosecutors produced a duplicate of his bar tab showing the couple had ordered many mixed drinks, and he allegedly had at least three Long Island Ice Teas prior to getting behind the wheel of his sports car. Continue reading

June 26, 2017

Tiger Woods Allegedly Told Officers He Was on Xanax and Vicodin During DUI Arrest

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

Driving under the influence typically means driving under the influence of alcohol. However, F.S. 316.193 also provides that one could be found guilty of driving under the influence of drugs. This includes illicit street drugs and prescription narcotics.

In the case of a DUI drugs in South Florida, it doesn’t matter if you have a valid prescription or not. If you do not have valid prescription, and you have the drugs in your vehicle or on your person at the time of your arrest, you could also be charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, but it would not have bearing on your DUI drugs charge. Continue reading

June 21, 2017

Florida State Representative Cary Pigman Convicted on DUI Charges

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

According to a recent news report from TC Palm, Florida Representative Cary Pigman is now on probation after being convicted on DUI charges. He pleaded no contest to a single charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was not sentenced to any jail time, but he was sentenced instead to one year of probation.

He also has his driver’s license suspended for a period of six months and was ordered to pay a fine. In his case, the fine was $500. He was also ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and attend a traffic alcohol program with an emphasis on driving. Continue reading

June 17, 2017

Challenging Breath Test Results in Fort Lauderdale DUI Cases

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

When the police place a suspect under arrest on suspicion of drunk driving, they will likely tell the suspect that they must take a breath test to determine if their blood alcohol level is above the limit. This machine is what most people still refer to as a Breathalyzer.

This is actually the brand name of alcohol breath testing machine that was developed in the 1950s and used for a number of years. Basically, this is an old trademark that has become a generic term for alcohol breath testing machine. These days, police forces are much more likely to use a machine made by CMI called the Intoxilyzer, a machine made by Draeger, or an Intoximiter EC/IR II. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office, for example, uses the Intoxilyzer 8000. This is part of their Breath and Alcohol Testing (BAT) Unit. Continue reading

June 14, 2017

Defending Theft Charges in Broward County

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

In the State of Florida, criminal code Section 812.014 governs the laws pertaining to the crime of theft. Theft is classified as either petit theft or grand theft, depending on the value of the property that was allegedly stolen. It is then broken down in specific degrees of petit theft or grand theft based on the value of the property.

For example, if you are accused of stealing any property that is valued at more than $300, it will be considered grand theft according to the law. However, this does not mean you will actually be charged with grand theft, as the prosecutors typically have discretion to charge even a grand theft a lesser included offense of petit theft. Continue reading

June 10, 2017

Proposed Florida Law to Require Interlock Devices for First DUI in Broward

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

A breath alcohol ignition interlock device, also known as a BAIID, IID, or ignition interlock device is a device that is mounted on the dashboard of a car near the steering wheel. It requires a driver to blow into a sample collection tube, and it will register the user’s blood alcohol content (BAC) as measured in grams of ethanol per 100 milliliters of blood. Ethanol is the type of alcohol that is approved for human consumption in beverages.

If the BAC does not read 0.00 or within the tolerance limit closet to 0.00, the car will not start. Depending on the system, it will likely alert the company that monitors the BAIID, and this in turn will notify the defendant’s probation officer. This will likely result in a major problem for the defendant.Under current Florida law, BAIIDs are required for second DUI offense convictions, but not for first offenders. According to a recent news article from WUFT News, Florida state representative Cord Byrd has proposed a new bill that would require first time DUI offenders to have an ignition interlock device in their vehicles. Continue reading