DUI defense attorney Fort Lauderdale

July 1, 2023

4 Ways a Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer Can Challenge the Charges

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

In a single recent year, there were nearly 1,300 DUI arrests in Broward County, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. If you’re one of those who has been arrested for driving under the influence in South Florida, there are many strategies that an experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer may employ to help you successfully challenge the charges.

Of course, it always comes down to the unique circumstances – and these should be discussed with your defense lawyer as soon as possible after an arrest.

That said, some of the approaches we find often gaining traction with impaired driving cases in particular include:

May 9, 2019

DUI on a Lawnmower? Florida DUI Defense Lawyers Discuss Other Applicable Vehicles

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

A Florida DUI arrest of a man driving a lawn mower has raised questions about the type of “vehicle” on which one might be arrested for DUI in Fort Lauderdale.

Local news reports are that a Haines City police officer was inside a business when a loud crunch from outside indicated someone had struck his cruiser. He walked outside to find a 68-year-old man operating a lawn mower with trailer attached that had crashed into the police vehicle. The man allegedly told the officer he’d be drinking, but denied causing any damage. After his breath-alcohol concentration was measured at 0.241, he was arrested for DUI and his lawnmower impounded.

As our Fort Lauderdale DUI defense attorneys can explain, while police are generally more concerned about drunk driving in traditional motor vehicles because of their potential for injurious and fatal damage, it is true a person can be arrested for operation of a number of different “vehicles,” pursuant to F.S. 316.193. Continue reading

January 21, 2019

Birthday Bummer: Florida DUI Defense Lawyers Fight So it Won’t Follow You for Years to Come

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

As long-time Fort Lauderdale DUI defense attorneys, we’ve encountered plenty of cases where defendants were arrested for drunk driving on America’s birthday (July 4th), around the holiday recognized for Jesus Christ’s birth (Dec. 25th) and of course the birth of each new year (Jan. 1st). Still, there is one holiday that sometimes gets overlooked as one accompanied by a seemingly higher risk of DUI arrest: Your own birthday.

Studies (including one published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology) have shown binge drinking is especially common on one’s 21st birthday, though the research didn’t specifically indicate this directly correlated with an uptick in drunk driving for celebrants. (It should be noted that if you are out celebrating your 21st birthday and are stopped prior to midnight on your actual birth date, the threshold for intoxication is far more stringent, the legal limit being 0.02 blood-alcohol concentration versus 0.08.)

Recently, R&B singer Marcus Cooper, Florida native, member of the hip-hop group Pretty Ricky and reality show cast Love & Hip Hop: Miami, made headlines for a recent birthday DUI arrest in Miami Beach. Vibe Magazine reported a Miami Beach police officer clocked Cooper’s SUV speed at 100 mph in a 45 mph lane around 3:45 a.m. The officer alleged he witnessed the driver, later identified as Cooper, swerving and coming dangerously close to a collision with another vehicle. Interestingly despite this account, the officer officially cited the dark tint on the vehicle’s windows as the reasonable cause for initiating the traffic stop. The singer agreed to undergo a field sobriety test (which, side note, is not required by state law the way chemical alcohol and drug testing is under F.S. 316.1932, Florida’s implied consent statute). The officer reported the singer’s bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and comment that he’d been “partying for his birthday.” Defendant allegedly blew more than twice the legal adult driver alcohol limit of 0.08. The officer further alleged resistance and threats to phone a few famous friends. In an Instagram video (later deleted), Cooper lamented his 38th birthday was ruined and denied the charges, which in addition to DUI include resisting arrest without violence, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license. Continue reading

December 29, 2017

Woman Arrested for Florida DUI – on Horseback

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

A Florida woman who allegedly rode her horse slowly down a busy highway while intoxicated was arrested for DUI recently. Although Florida is practically infamous for it’s bizarre news, even this seemed a bit over-the-top. Plus, it raises a number of questions about the scenarios in which F.S. 316.193, Florida’s drunk driving law, can be applied.

The law allows penalties for those who “are driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle within the state” and are also either under the influence of alcohol to the extent his or her normal faculties are impaired OR the individual has a blood-alcohol concentration that exceeds 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. But is a horse a vehicle? What about a motorized wheelchair or shopping cart or lawn mower or bicycle?

Florida residents have been arrested for DUI for operation of each of these scenarios. And while there is legal precedent that could support a conviction, our experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI defense attorneys recognize there may be ample opportunity to fight for either a reduction of charges, if not an outright dismissal, in these non-conventional DUI arrests. Continue reading

December 4, 2017

Driver Gets 12 Years Prison for Fatal Bicycle Accident in South Florida

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

A Palm Beach County man accused of DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal bicycle accident received a sentence of 12 years behind bars, following his conviction on the latter charge this summer. He’d been acquitted of DUI manslaughter, the Palm Beach Post reported.

This case was in the headlines for a number of reasons, most obviously because it involved the death of a 65-year-old bicyclist. However, there was more to it. Initially, the defendant’s girlfriend, who had been in the passenger seat, agreed to tell officers at the scene that she had been the one driving. The pair reportedly made the decision due to the fact her boyfriend had a prior conviction for driving with a suspended license, and they knew whatever sentence was to be received was harsh. She spent more than a year on house arrest before providing prosecutors with evidence – both emails and text messages shared between the pair – that indicated his alleged guilt.

The DUI manslaughter charge was a difficult one to prove from the outset because responding officers never tested defendant’s blood-alcohol concentration at the scene of the crash, given that they did not believe him to be the driver. However, a change in Florida law pursuant to hit-and-run crashes means drivers who flee the scene of a deadly crash, per F.S. 316.027, face the same minimum mandatory sentence – four years – as someone convicted of DUI manslaughter, per F.S. 316.193. The change in law was meant to serve as an incentive to possibly impaired drivers to remain at the scene of serious crashes and render aid, as required by law. Continue reading

August 31, 2016

Goodman v. Florida – DUI Manslaughter Case Questions Forwarded to Florida Supreme Court

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

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal recently denied Wellington polo magnate John Goodman’s motion for a rehearing in his DUI manslaughter case. However, the court did submit several questions “of great importance” to the Florida Supreme Court.

In Goodman v. Florida, Goodman asked the court to rehear his evidence regarding the testing of his blood following a fatal accident in 2010 that killed 23-year-old recent college graduate Scott Patrick Wilson. Goodman allegedly was drunk at the time of the collision and reportedly left the scene of the crash without calling emergency services. Wilson’s vehicle was later found overturned in a canal, where he drowned.

Goodman had been convicted two years later of DUI manslaughter and failure to remain at the scene of the crash. However, that conviction was later tossed due to juror misconduct and the case retried. Goodman testified he wasn’t drunk, and insists his vehicle malfunctioned and that was the cause of the crash. This was despite the fact that his blood-alcohol level was reportedly more than twice the legal limit some three hours after the crash, according to the testing that was done on his blood. He was ultimately convicted again, sentenced to 16 years in prison and fined $10,000. Continue reading