Tampa DUI Lawyer Blog

Most Florida DUI lawyers don’t care for Roadblocks or Checkpoints, as Florida law enforcement is empowered with so many other more specific tactics to focus on DUI arrests. However, the Supreme Court has allowed these types of warrantless stops under certain provisions and the Ocala Star-Banner is reporting another will occur very soon.

The Ocala and Belleview Police Departments will be out on Friday and Saturday at the 3800 block of East State Road 40 at 7:30 p.m. and will last until early Saturday.

Florida law holds law enforcement to higher standards than in a typical DUI arrest. DUI roadblock cases have additional legal requirements because of the driver’s Fourth Amendment right to privacy and protection from unreasonable search and seizures. The fact is, unlike a normal DUI case, where cops are either called to the scene of an accident or stop an individual for a traffic infraction; in a DUI roadblock situation, a driver, for no reason other than traveling on a road, is stopped and questioned momentarily without cause. This police stop triggers constitutional protections that requires the State of Florida to, among other things: (1) show the reasons why they set up a DUI roadblock, (2) establish consistent policy and procedures for the operation of the roadblock, (3) state the goal of the operation, and (4) provide an adequate amount of protection to the citizens, i.e. not stopping every driver that falls upon the roadblock route. The last question is the most scrutinized, as courts and legal scholars have often argued that roadblocks create a chilling effect on citizens’ freedom to travel in the community—a right the U.S. Supreme Court has established as a fundamental constitutional right.

Continue reading "Ocala DUI Officers Cast Wide Net :: Ocala DUI Checkpoint Friday and Saturday" »

This new report is pretty unbelievable. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that a central Florida man has been charged with driving under the influence after Marion County law enforcement said he crashed a stolen riding lawnmower into a school bus.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office reports that two men were riding the lawnmower down a Belleview road last week when a deputy responded to the area. The mower had been reported stolen from an Ocklawaha home earlier that morning. According to the deputy on the scene, the driver’s breath smelled like alcohol and was uncooperative. He was charged with DUI, threat to a public servant, criminal mischief and grand theft.

Did you know that roadside exercises are voluntary or that law enforcement must have probable cause to ask you for a breath sample? The Marion County DUI attorneys at the Law Offices of Jason M. Melton understand the intricacies of DUI investigations and have obtained dismissals and suppression of evidence for many of their clients because law enforcement didn’t follow the proper investigative procedures. If you have been charged with a DUI, contact us at 352-726-0078. Don’t face the judge alone.

According to reports from Ocala.com, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Florida Highway Patrol, set up a DUI checkpoint on South Magnolia Avenue Friday night.

Law enforcement reported that of the 440 cars that passed through the area, four drivers were given traffic infraction citations; there was one arrest for DUI and one arrest for driving while license is suspended or revoked; one arrest for possession of marijuana; and one citation given for having an open alcohol container in the car.

Florida Law Enforcement has a manual that establishes policies and procedures for DUI checkpoints. (FDLE DUI Checkpoint manual can be found here.) For example, an operational plan for the checkpoint must be put in writing 10 days prior to the checkpoint date. And, according to this manual, “a driver's effort to avoid a checkpoint is not sufficient to justify the stopping of a vehicle. Probable cause or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or other traffic related violations must occur in order to warrant the stopping of a vehicle.” The failure of law enforcement to follow the procedures set out in this manual may call into question the validity of checkpoint and render any arrests arising from the stop illegal.

Continue reading "Checkpoint results in Marion County DUI and DWLS arrests" »

Ocala law enforcement apparently got an eyeful this week when they stopped a naked man speeding on a motorcycle on 1-75. According to reports, after being stopped, the man could not explain where he was coming from or why he was naked. He admitted to drinking that day and eventually submitted to a breathalyzer test that revealed a BAC above the legal limit of .08 and he was arrested for DUI.

Background checks revealed that this was the man’s alleged fifth DUI. In Florida, a 5th DUI arrest can be charged by the State Attorney’s Office as a felony and can subject a defendant to up to five (5) years in Florida State Prison. It is unclear at this time how the Marion County State Attorney’s office will charge this man, but under Florida Statute they have 21 days to make a charging decision.

Continue reading "Naked Motorcyclist Charged with Ocala DUI" »