Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog

January 12, 2012

Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera Avoids Jail Time in South Florida DUI

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

All-Star first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who was arrested last year and charged with DUI, recently avoided jail time after entering a no contest plea in connection with a 2011 arrest, the Detroit Free Press is reporting.

DUI in Fort Lauderdale is typically charged as a misdemeanor, which some people mistake for a minor charge. But Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyers have seen how a conviction can rip apart a person’s life.

It can kill careers or make qualifying for certain jobs difficult. Some estimates put the cost of a DUI at more than $10,000 after paying the fines and fees, educational classes, bond to get out of jail the first night, towing and impound lot fees and other expenses related to the conviction. This can cause significant financial strain.

And there’s also the stigma attached to such a charge. Newspaper and television news stations are interested today in embarrassing people who get arrested by posting their jail mug shots on their websites. Sadly, these photos can stay online forever, which can damage a person’s reputation. This can lead to family problems as well.

This is why the only way to handle these charges is with an aggressive defense. In Florida, a defendant can face major sanctions, even for a first offense:

-Up to 1 year of probation
-Up to 6 months of jail time
-Mandatory 50 hours of community service
-Up to $1,000 in fines, unless blood-alcohol level is 0.15 or higher, then up to $2,000
-10 days of vehicle impound
-Minimum 180 days driver’s license revocation
-Completion of DUI School

Anyone who thinks these are minor sanctions isn’t paying attention. These can make a person’s life difficult. And while it will still show up on a his record, Cabrera’s recent plea has kept him out of jail.

The professional baseball player was charged last February after police pulled to the side of the road in Fort Pierce to check on his Land Rover, which was on the side of the road and Cabrera was standing next to it. Police said he started drinking from an open bottle of Scotch.

He faced several charges, including DUI and resisting arrest. As part of a plea deal, he was sentenced to one year on probation, lost his driver’s license for six months, had to pay fines and fees, has to serve 50 hours of community service and must attend DUI school and a victim impact panel.

Some may see avoiding jail time as a major victory or a celebrity “getting off easy.” But consider what you would do if you had to complete 50 hours of community service and live for six months without a driver’s license. Those are significant hardships that the average person must take into account. So, while DUI arrests are on the decline in the United States, police are thirsty to make as many arrests as possible to show the public they are doing a good job. That’s why the average citizen driver must employ a strong defense in any DUI case.
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January 5, 2012

FDLE Employees Were Paid to Get Drunk, Test Breathalyzers For Ft. Lauderdale DUI Cases

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

Reports out of Sarasota suggest that the state’s version of the FBI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, paid its employees recently to get drunk and test the Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test machine in order to use it in the prosecution of thousands of Fort Lauderdale DUI cases.

Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyers have become more and more skeptical of breath testing machines as evidence has come out that they are faulty. Lawyers have been able to get judges to write orders allowing them to see how the breath testing machines are manufactured.

This is because DUI cases are the only kind in Florida where the defendant isn’t currently allowed to see how a key piece of evidence works. In murder cases, defendants get to see how blood evidence is collected and tested and those witnesses are available for questioning. In burglary cases, the defense is provided with information about who collected fingerprint evidence and how it was processed.

But in Fort Lauderdale DUI cases, until now, defendants weren’t able to see the workings of breathalyzers, the machines that law enforcement relies upon heavily for arrests and convictions for driving under the influence. This has recently changed, but these machines are still coming under fire.

The Herald-Tribune in Sarasota has been reporting for months how experts testing these machines have seen that they work improperly. In many cases, defendants blew up to 12 liters of breath into the machine, though the human lung can only hold five liters of breath. That called into question hundreds of cases that prosecutors and judges tossed out.

And in Florida, FDLE only allows one type of breathalyzer to be used. And now that it has been questioned as potentially faulty, this raises questions about the thousands of DUI cases throughout the state, including in Fort Lauderdale. Current cases should be examined, as should past cases.

In the most recent news, the newspaper reports that FDLE bought about $300 of booze, snacks and mixers and allowed their employees to get drunk on company time in order to test the devices. The workers were told to drink and then blow into the machines. Their blood was also drawn and sent off to a lab, bringing the taxpayer tab to about $8,000.

FDLE employees testified about the results in a Sarasota courtroom recently in order to try to save the Intoxilyzer 8000 from being shelved statewide. But judges were skeptical because the blood tests have not yet been returned from the lab. DUI defense lawyers questioned the validity of the study since it was highly unscientific.

Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyers believe this is a last-ditch effort by the state to convince judges that these machines, which have already been proven to be faulty, are accurate. As more and more pressure is put on the state to replace these machines or ensure somehow they are accurate, it’s possible that cases will be dropped or police will be reluctant to use these as their main piece of evidence.
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June 13, 2011

Hollywood Police Department Fires 13 Officers

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

It appears as though the Hollywood City Commission has made some tough decisions at the commission meeting today. Thirteen Hollywood Police Officers have been terminated as well as imposing a ten percent pay cut for all other remaining officers. Additionally, it appears as though the City Commission cut their own salaries by ten percent. Needless to say, the budget cuts come after the City Commission learned that it faced a $10 million dollar budget shortfall rather than the anticipated $8.5 million shortfall.

It has been alleged by the Police and Firefighter Unions that the City Commission has engaged in unlawful negotiations by failing to provide any documentation showing a “financial urgency.”
According to Stephanie Szeto, a Hollywood resident and Police Officer; “we don’t have enough police officers and its getting to be a dangerous city.”

There are many dangers associated with reducing any police force. The obvious danger is that crime may rise due to less police presence. Additionally, without the proper amount of police officers, it is reasonable to conclude that criminal investigations may suffer due to lack of resources. This is especially troubling in cases where a proper investigation would have lead investigators to find evidence of innocence rather than guilt.
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February 5, 2011

Boca Raton: FAU Police Officer Arrested for Murder

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

jimmy%20ho.jpg Former Florida Atlantic University Police Officer Jimmy Ho has been arrested in connection to the murder of a 29 year old Boyton Beach woman. Sheri Carter was pronounced dead at the Delray Beach Medical Center. According to doctors at the hospital, Sheri Carter died from injuries “directly related to being shot.” Neighbors of Sheri Carter say that she worked for a South Florida escort agency.
Florida Atlantic University had placed Ho on administrative leave, however Officer Ho quit shortly after being placed on leave by the University. It is important to note that Florida Atlantic University Police Officer Jimmy Ho was fired from the Broward Sheriff’s Office for violating “moral character standards” prior to being hired by FAU. Furthermore, Ho was involved in a fatal collision killing a 74 year old Holocaust survivor while employed with the Lauderhill Police Department.
According to investigators, Sheri Carter sent a text message to her boyfriend stating that she was with a client that was “acting wierd and scary.” Investigators have checked cell phone records and have determined that Jimmy Ho had contacted Carter prior to sending the text message to her boyfriend.
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January 19, 2011

Red-Light Camera Tickets: Case Dismissed!

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

It happens often that I am approached with the question: Can you beat red-light camera tickets? Many motorists were rightfully nervous when the first influx of red-light cameras began to appear in Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach. This was the first time in Florida history that a motorist could be cited for a traffic infraction without ever even knowing it happened. Flashing red lights in the rear view mirror were to become a thing of the past. Now, local governments including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Pembroke Pines, Coral Springs, and Boca Raton are on a new track to increase revenues for their municipalities. It was argued by local leaders that the new red-light cameras will increase traffic safety. After all, isn’t it the responsibility of our government to keep us safe? Although local leaders are proud to say that their move to institute red-light cameras was based on keeping people safe the reality is that the move was instituted on the notion that cities need money: and this is a great way to make money.
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December 17, 2010

Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to 30 years for Raping Prisoner

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

Charles Edward Floyd, 40, could not hold back his tears today as he was sentenced to 30 years in Florida State Prison for raping a prisoner he was transporting while working as a Broward Sheriff’s Corrections Deputy on June 13, 2007. His wife was gripped with emotion as she watched her husband being taken away to serve his 30 year prison sentence. Baby, I’m sorry, I gotta go. Don’t cry for me,” he sobbed. “Mom, I love you.” This was too much for his wife as she began throwing up and crying intensely.
Floyd was charged with one count of kidnapping and two counts of sexual battery by a person in a position of control or authority. These charges stem from an incident in which Floyd was working for the Broward Sheriff’s Office. It was during this time which Floyd was transporting three female inmates. After dropping off two of the three inmates the Broward Sheriff Deputy drove to a remote location where he ordered the female inmate to perform oral sex on him. It was at this time that Floyd had sexual intercourse with the inmate. According to Broward County State Attorney Prosecutors, Floyd’s DNA was found in the womans cervix.
His attorney, Bob Nichols, argued that the “victim did not appear traumatized after the event.” He said the judge should “weigh a lifetime of service to the community versus one day.”
All sexual batteries are violent,” Judge Lazarus responded. Even when “a good person commits an evil deed, nonetheless, he commits an evil deed.”

December 17, 2010

Broward County Jail Deputies Arrested After Investigation

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

Three Broward County Jail Deputies were placed under arrest after an investigation relating to contraband and sex. These Deputies are now facing third degree felonies punishable by up to five years in Florida State Prison.
Salisia Pascoe, 29; Kiara Monet Walker, 21, and Roderick Lorenzo Lopez, 29 – appeared in Broward Magistrate’s Court on Thursday evening. Judge John “Jay” Hurley read statements from the arrest affidavit which included allegations that Pascoe had sex with an inmate in a jail storage room. Pascoe is charged with two counts of using a two way device to facilitate a felony, one count of sexual misconduct, and one count of introduction of contraband into a detention facility.
Walker is charged with one count of using a two way communication device to commit a felony, one count of official misconduct, and one count of introduction of contraband into a detention facility. Lopez faces one count of introduction of contraband and official misconduct. All of the Deputies were released from the Broward County Jail on Thursday night. Mike Jachles of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office made it very clear that “There is an ongoing investigation and we are not revealing any information”

September 5, 2010

Broward County Sheriff Will Not Close Pompano Jail Wing

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

The budget crisis has had a crippling effect on Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti’s ability to run the Broward jails. Sheriff Al Lamberti’s solution initially was to close down one of the wings at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano. Sheriff Al Lamberti has canceled the closure plan. This plan was projected to have shaved $5 million from the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s roughly $425 million general budget.
The unions representing the Broward Sheriff’s Office jail workers have been clashing with Sheriff Lamberti for pay increases. During an arbitration, the ruling seems to clearly take Lamberti’s side saying that the unions are fighting for better pay “during the worst economic climate in more than a half century.”
The Broward jails are clearly struggling from overcrowding. In fact, the County is under the watchful eye of the federal government. Should the County overcrowd the jails they may be fined $1000.00 per day according to Lamberti.

August 26, 2010

Broward County DUI Arrests Likely Labor Day Weekend

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

The routine of strict Broward County DUI enforcement will be in full swing this Labor Day weekend in Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Hollywood, and Wilton Manors. All Broward County Law Enforcement agencies will be conducting a crackdown on Driving Under the Influence including the Florida Highway Patrol. Officials in Miami Dade are planning similar “DUI saturation” stops in and around Miami Dade and North Miami Beach.
The South Florida DUI arrest crackdown is a direct result of the national “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” campaign promoting strict enforcement of DUI laws in Florida and throughout the nation.
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July 28, 2010

Florida Highway Patrol Officer Sentenced to 364 Days in Jail

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

Florida Highway Patrol Officer Paul C. Lawrence was sentenced to 364 days in jail today. As you may remember, Trooper Paul C. Lawrence was arrested for fraudulently writing hundreds (maybe thousands) of fake traffic tickets to motorists in South Florida. Trooper Paul C. Lawrence was bold enough to write traffic tickets to motorists he had never even pulled over, some of whom were even not in the Country when the citations were written.

Please click to read about Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Paul C. Lawrence and his fraudulent traffic tickets.

In this case, it appears that Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Paul C. Lawrence will face the punishment of 364 days in the county jail for his actions. Lawrence was originally charged by the Office of the State Attorney with multiple felony counts. However, as part of the plea agreement, all the felony charges were reduced to misdemeanors.

It appears to me that this story reveals two things for sure. First, it could not be clearer that South Florida law enforcement does in fact have a “quota” system. South Florida Law Enforcement has long denied that any form of quota system is used. However, there appears to be no other incentive for the actions of Trooper Lawrence other than allowing himself to maintain his quota by falsifying traffic tickets.
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