DUI defense lawyer

July 7, 2025

The Role of Dashcam and Bodycam Footage in Fort Lauderdale DUI Cases

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

In today’s digital age, video evidence has become increasingly crucial in DUI cases throughout Florida. As a Fort Lauderdale DUI defense attorney for over two decades, I’ve seen how police dashcam and bodycam footage can dramatically impact the outcome of DUI prosecutions. This technology presents both opportunities and challenges for defendants, and understanding its implications is essential for anyone facing DUI charges in Broward County.

The Double-Edged Sword of Video Evidence

Video footage often reveals crucial details that can strengthen a defense case in ways that written police reports simply cannot capture. Dashcam and bodycam footage can be used to demonstrate:

Improper traffic stops. Florida law requires reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop under Terry v. Ohio and its progeny. Video evidence may show that officers lacked adequate justification for the initial stop, potentially leading to suppression of all evidence under the exclusionary rule.
Field sobriety test irregularities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has established standardized protocols for field sobriety tests. Video often reveals that officers deviated from these protocols, administered tests on uneven surfaces, or failed to provide proper instructions — all factors that can undermine the reliability of these tests.
Contradictions in police testimony. Officers’ courtroom testimony sometimes differs from what video evidence shows. In State v. Meador, 674 So. 2d 826 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996), Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal emphasized the importance of objective evidence in evaluating officer credibility.
Normal Driving Patterns. Dashcam footage from the defendant’s vehicle or nearby traffic cameras sometimes shows normal driving behavior that contradicts police claims of erratic driving or impairment indicators.
Physical Coordination.: Bodycam footage may actually demonstrate that a defendant exhibited better balance, coordination, and cognitive function than described in police reports.

On the flip side, video evidence isn’t always favorable. Prosecutors frequently use officers’ footage to support their cases. Video evidence may show:

Clear Signs of Impairment. Slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, difficulty following instructions, or obvious balance issues captured on camera can be compelling evidence of impairment.
Admission of Alcohol Consumption. Many defendants make spontaneous statements about drinking that are captured on bodycam footage, which can be used against them at trial.
Failed Field Sobriety Tests. When properly administered and recorded, failed field sobriety tests can provide strong evidence of impairment.
Dangerous Driving Behavior. Dashcam footage showing weaving, speeding, or other traffic violations can support the prosecution’s case for impairment.

To Record or Not to Record

Just as officers may record interactions during traffic stops or other police encounters, suspects, defendants and members of the public may do the same. The First Amendment protects the right to record officers in public, as established in Gilk v. Cunniffe, decided in 2011 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. This principle has been consistently applied by Florida courts as well.

Recording police interactions on your cell phone during a DUI investigation can provide several advantages. Among these: Continue reading

January 1, 2022

Fort Lauderdale DUI Misconceptions & Misunderstandings

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

When it comes to Fort Lauderdale DUI arrests, our criminal defense attorneys have heard numerous misconceptions and misunderstandings – and it can cost people bigtime in court.

Florida DUI misconceptions are frequently the result of people combing the internet in an attempt to “do their own research” about their situation. The internet contains a great deal of good information (this site, for example), but there’s also a lot of junk. Plus, every case is going to be different. It’s impossible to say how the law may apply to the specific circumstances of your case unless/until you speak with an experienced local criminal defense lawyer who can assess the facts of your case, and then carefully apply it to state law, local ordinances and common local judicial practices.
Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyer

Here, we outline some of the things people most often get wrong about DUI arrests and the criminal justice system process: Continue reading

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

July 15, 2018

Officials to Re-Evaluate Florida Marijuana DUI Campaign

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

Since the passage of Amendment 2 in 2016, Florida lawmakers have been trying to weed through the state’s already-complex marijuana statutes to hammer out new rules for growing, processing, distributing and possessing/ using the plant. Some individual cities have adopted their own ordinances with regard to recreational marijuana, which has led to many people being confused about what’s legal and what isn’t in Florida.

What we can say for certain is that Amendment 2 did NOT:

Alter Florida’s drug possession laws;
Change the fact that you can be arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana – medical or not;
Grant permission for the public consumption/ smoking of the drug;
Have any impact on federal law, which expressly prohibits marijuana possession and distribution, regardless of purpose.

April 7, 2018

FHSMV Doles $5M to Warn Public About Penalties for Driving High

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

Marijuana use is gaining acceptance in a growing number of states across the country, and it’s even approved in Florida for limited medicinal uses. Many municipalities have decriminalized personal possession, but that doesn’t mean people can use it with impunity – particularly on the roads.

In fact, nothing about F.S. 316.193, Florida’s driving under the influence statute, has been altered to allow drivers operating vehicles under the influence of marijuana to do so with any greater freedom. But the increased popularity has led the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to allocate $5 million to a public service campaign to warn people of the consequences for driving while high. The “Drive Baked, Get Busted” initiative is an attempt to discourage people from driving after they have smoked or otherwise consumed marijuana. The campaign has already started cropping up on billboards and on local television and radio broadcasts statewide.

The state is specifically targeting motorists 18 to 34, as well as those 55 to 74. Additionally, authorities plan to start collecting data on positive drug test results gleaned in traffic crash investigations, with the goal of helping policymakers ascertain how frequently drug use plays a part in crashes and other traffic offenses. These tests are likely to be similar to what are used in roadside tests used to ascertain sobriety, except they would likely use urine as opposed to breath. But as our criminal defense attorneys know well, the challenge here – and with prosecutions of drivers accused of DUI marijuana – is how to ascertain if someone is actually under the influence, or merely consumed marijuana at some point recently. 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 19, 2017

Plea Deal in Miami DUI Crash Pitched After Positive Pot Test

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

The majority of criminal defense cases that aren’t dismissed or result in acquittal are resolved through plea deals. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports two-thirds of felony defendants in the U.S. are eventually convicted and 95 percent of those convictions occur through plea bargains.

Criminal defense lawyers in Fort Lauderdale know that doesn’t necessarily mean these defendants are getting a raw deal. In many cases, these plea deals are agreements to plead guilty to far lesser offenses, resulting in fewer penalties than defendant may have been facing initially. Still, where there is ever an opportunity to fight for dismissal or acquittal, our attorneys won’t hesitate to do so. Plea bargain agreements are only for cases where the weight of the evidence is clearly against the defendant and the attorney is confident that negotiation with the prosecutor can result in an advantageous outcome for defendant, considering the circumstances.

That said, defendants must be prepared to abide by the terms of the plea bargain, or else risk the possibility that the maximum penalty could still be imposed. Even during the plea bargain negotiation process, defendants need to be mindful of their conduct. The Miami Herald reports one case recently where a plea deal following a serious DUI crash fell apart after defendant’s drug test was returned positive – a violation of her conditions for release from jail pending trial. 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

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