http://www.tmz.com/2015/04/17/adrien-broner-dui-arrest-video-ohio-rich-famous/

What’s wrong with this DUI investigation?  This DUI arrest was in Ohio by a member of the Ohio State Patrol so the law may be different than in Florida, but she immediately orders him out of the vehicle. In Florida, this may be a violation of the citizen’s rights and the driver would have a basis to file a motion to suppress the DUI investigation, the Field Sobriety Exercises, and the breath test results.  Before an officer can order you out of the car, the officer must have probable cause to arrest you, search your vehicle, or be able to state reasons why the officer was in fear and may have needed to search the driver for weapons.

You will also note that the trooper plays “language games”.  The trooper immediately and clearly ordered the driver out of the vehicle.  However, a short time later, the trooper says “I asked you out, you get out”.  Why do police change the words they use?  Because, under the law, there is a major difference between asking a citizen to do an act and ordering the citizen to do an act.  The law requires the officer to have a certain amount of facts to establish “probable cause”, before they can order a citizen to do something.  An officer can request a citizen at any time to do anything and the citizen may comply or refuse if they wish.  Police officers ARE TRAINED to believe that when they tell you to “GET OUT OF THE CAR!” that statement is a REQUEST and NOT A COMMAND!  Common sense and your 3rd grade English teacher taught you better than that and you know what a command is when you hear one.  However, if there is NO VIDEO, the officer will use commanding language at the scene of the arrest, but when they testify in court, they will characterize their language as requests!  That is why it is important that you write down everything that happened immediately after your arrest and the EXACT LANGUAGE THE POLICE OFFICER USED for court later on when you fight the charge.

What else is wrong with this DUI investigation?  The trooper has the driver perform the Field Sobriety Exercises in the middle of a busy road!  Why not on the side of the road where it is safer?  Where there is an actual line to walk on instead of an imaginary line?  At 2:20 the trooper says he is not on the line, but what line? The imaginary line in the trooper’s head?  How does she know the driver had a different imaginary line in his head?  Yet, that is supposed to be a “clue of impairment” according to the Field Sobriety manual.

If you have been arrested for DUI, you need to retain a DUI lawyer with experience, that knows the case law regarding DUI’s, and how the government’s National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration manual states how a DUI investigation is supposed to be performed correctly.  Call NOW for a free consultation to learn what defenses you may have to your DUI.

Time is of the essence in a DUI case!

 You only have 10 days to request a Hardship License

 OR

 a Formal Review of the “Implied Consent” suspension of your license so call my cell phone now.

 Aggressive Polk DUI defense lawyer Thomas C. Grajek

 863-838-5549 cell

NCDD

Florida has a very open sunshine laws that allow the public access to public records such as police and surveillance videos.  There are exceptions that make certain public records exempt from Flroida’s sunshine laws.  One of the exceptions to public records law is for “ongoing” criminal investigations.  Sometimes, the sheriff will argue that releasing jail videos compromises security of the jail.  The sheriff fears that inmates will get a copy of the video and learn where any “blind spots” may be located so that an booking deputy may be attacked or maybe somebody will attempt the “great escape” from the jail.  The police try and stretch “ongoing” investigation to include any criminal case that has not been resolved by plea or trial.  What is “ongoing” in a DUI case, introduction of contraband case, or battery on a law enforcement case after the arrest has been made?  There is nothing left to investigate.

I run into the problem of a lack of a video in my criminal and DUI cases often.  If you do not request the booking video of your DUI arrest in Polk County within 3-5 days, that valuable evidence demonstrating that your normal faculties were not impaired is lost forever!  That video may show you walking, talking, bending over, changing shoes, getting your mugshot taken, and more which would prove you were not impaired.  What about in a case where it is alleged a person arrested for some alleged crime is accused of having drugs on him when he is brought into the booking facility and the person denies that allegation?  Instant replay of a video could be the best evidence of your innocence, so why wouldn’t the sheriff preserve that evidence?  There was a case that went to trial a couple weeks ago in Polk County where the person was accused of hitting one of the booking deputies.  The video was not preserved and it became the person’s word against the deputy.  Is that fair?  Is it fair that state law mandates the video be retained for 30 days, but PCSO’s video loop is less than 7 days?

If you have been arrested that booking video may make the biggest difference in whether your case is dismissed or you are found guilty of a felony or a DUI.  If you have been arrested for a criminal offense in Polk County, you need to retain a lawyer that knows the police and procedures of local law enforcement, how to get the videos, what the videos may show, and how to argue your case should be dismissed if the video is not preserved.

Call and aggressive Polk criminal defense lawyer that will fight for you and your rights in court!

Thomas C. Grajek

863-688-4606

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh0MKeZdHNA – driving video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqR_iOXwcz0 – surveillance video

This is a copy of the police report obtained by TMZ.  WARNING! The police report contains profanity and strong language!

Bieber DUI police report

The police report alleges that Bieber and another person also driving a Lamborghini were drag racing and reached 55-60 miles per hour.  The problems with this allegation?  The car Justin Bieber was allegedly racing was a Ferrari, not a Lamborghini.  The second officer involved was readily able to distinguish between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini.  This shows that the officer’s observations are suspect and may not be credible.  Also, if you look at the video, the two vehicles do not appear to come close to reaching such a high rate of speed.  In order to issue a ticket for speeding, police officers are supposed to estimate a vehicle’s speed and then clock the speed using radar or pacing the car using their speedometer.  This was never done.  If the officer is wrong about these simple observations, what else is the officer wrong about?  Does he have a bias against people driving expensive sports cars?  Was the officer’s mind made up to stop the cars or request a DUI investigation based on the vehicles alone?  What affect did it have once he learned it was Justin Bieber driving?

The police report also indicates there were no problems with Bieber’s driving pattern.  He even made a right hand turn with no issues.  One of the “cues” or indicators of impairment and officer looks for in a DUI case is problems with the driving pattern.  Here there does not appear to be any.  This fact could then for the basis for a Motion to Suppress in which a DUI attorney asks the court to throw out evidence of the stop due to the illegal stop by the police.  In a DUI case, that would result in ALL the evidence being thrown out of court and the DUI charge and any additional charges would be dismissed.

Once pulled over, there were very few indications that Bieber was impaired.  He protested his innocence (with a lot of profanity).  He did not slur his words, he did not have trouble exiting the vehicle, Bieber did not need to use the vehicle for support, or lean on the vehicle.  These are all indicators that a driver may be under the influence that DUI officers are trained to look for in a DUI arrest.  It is not easy to exit and get out of a low-to-the ground sports car, but Bieber apparently did so perfectly.  Another problem with the prosecutor’s case.

The next problem is that Bieber was immediately arrested for DUI with NO Field Sobriety Exercises performed on him!  The police did not even call a DUI officer to the scene or ask if he would perform Field Sobriety Tests before arresting him.  That means he was arrested based on allegedly racing or speeding (does the video bear this out?), having blood shot eyes (up all day and tired? Coming from a smoky environment), a flushed face (because he was angry for being pulled over for no reason?), and the odor of alcohol on his breath (it is not illegal to drink and driver in Florida, it is only illegal if you have so much to drink that it affects the driving). You must not ignore the other facts that indicate Bieber was NOT IMPAIRED when determining whether there was probable cause to make a DUI arrest.  The perfect driving, not slurring his words, exiting the vehicle perfectly, not stumbling at the roadside, not swaying at any point in time, protesting his innocence, stopping the car immediately and pulling over the vehicle without any issues.  These are factors that bear on probable cause also.  Under Florida law, the odor of alcohol alone is insufficient to establish probable cause for arrest. State v. Kliphouse, 771 So.2d 16 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000).  So the motion to suppress the stop and have the case dismissed could prove to be very strong in Bieber’s case.

Bieber again protested his innocence at the jail.  Bieber was finally asked to submit to Field Sobriety Exercises and he refused.  The Field Sobriety Tests are voluntary under Florida law!  A suspected impaired driver does not have to do them.  Bieber again explained that he was innocent and was not impaired, drunk, or intoxicated so why should he have to do them.

Bieber took the breath test result which came in at allegedly at .011 g/mL and .014 g/mL of alcohol.  Breath Test results are NOT reported as a percentage and DO NOT represent the percent of alcohol in a person’s body.  The legal limit in Florida is 0.08 g/mL of alchol.  This means that Bieber’s breath test result was way BELOW THE LEGAL LIMIT.  Not only the legal limit for a DUI case, but even below the legal limit for an underage driver in Florida.  The legal limit is 0.08 no matter what your age is in a DUI case.  However, the administrative law states that the Dept. Of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) will suspend an underage drinker’s license if their breath test level is 0.02 or higher!  (Florida Statute Section 322.2616).  Bieber was below even this small amount.  There will be no administrative suspension of his driving privileges and no need to request a Formal Review because his license will not be immediately suspended by Florida’s DHSMV.

Finally, Bieber was allegedly requested to undergo a drug evaluation.  There is no information in the police report to indicate whether the DUI officer who performed the evaluation was a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) or whether Bieber underwent the 12 step protocol for the Drug Influence Examination (DIE).  DUI officers are required to get extra training in Driving Under the Influence of Drug cases (DUID).  It is illegal to drive while impaired by a controlled substance in Florida.  A controlled substance can be a lawfully prescribed medication.  Whether the lab analyst will find anything in the urine sample is fact we will learn at a later time.

However, there are a number of issues with the Drug Influence Evaluation.  The police need probable cause to request this evaluation.  There is nothing to indicate that Bieber was impaired by drugs in this case.  Unless Bieber made statements that he was currently taking medications or took some controlled substance, there is no reason to think drugs played any part in this case.  In addition, there are number of ways to defend against a DIE.  Was the DRE trained properly? Is the officer even a DRE?  Did he perform the DIE correctly?  Has the DRE kept up with the requisite training to maintain his status as a DRE?  Was the drug evaluation videotaped?  It does not have to be, but it can lead to valuable evidence in this case.  As part of the 12 step protocol, an arrested driver for DUI is asked to perform the Field Sobriety Exercises.

This case has a lot of legal issues and there may be a number of defenses to this DUI charge.  Roy Black is a phenomenal criminal defense lawyer and is representing Justin Bieber in his DUI case.  I will continue to post about Bieber’s DUI case as we learn more.

If you have been arrested for DUI, retain a DUI attorney that is part of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD).

Retain an DUI attorney who is experienced at handling DUI’s and located in Polk county in order to get the best defense and the best result to your driving under the influence case.

DON‘T HESITATE!!!   PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS!!! 

 CALL POLK COUNTY DUI ATTORNEY THOMAS C. GRAJEK NOW !!!

 863-838-5549 cell

 Because you only have 10 days to request a Formal Review or get a hardship license!

NCDD

The legal limit has been lowered over the years. Initially, the DUI breath test limit was 0.15 in 1941. It was later reduced to 0.12, then 0.10, and now the 0.08 that is the law in Florida DUI cases. The 0.05 limit is used in Europe which is a much less car-centric society. As a DUI defense attorney, I rarely see cases where the driver has a breath test under 0.08. A person must be arrested for DUI before a breath test can be requested. The police do no “unarrest’ you if you blow under the legal limit and these DUI cases are still prosecuted in court. They are difficult DUI cases to prove obviously and many times are dismissed or reduced to lesser charges. Therefore, it is clear that this law would only affect social drinkers who are not a problem or hazard on the road. That’s why a driver is presumed to not be impaired by alcohol when they have such a low blood alcohol level.

DUI is a very serious crime and can have devastating outcomes when a person drives impaired and there is an accident. DUI Manslaughter or DUI causing Serious Bodily Injury can result in substantial prison terms. I do not think lowering the limit will dramatically cut down on alcohol impaired deaths. Even safety groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and AAA declined to endorse the NTSB’s call for a 0.05 threshold.

If you have been arrested for DUI, call and speak to an aggressive Polk County DUI defense attorney. Always make sure that the DUI lawyer you retain is actually located in Polk county and will go to court with you and not send an associate. Get someone working on your DUI case now because it can make a difference in the outcome of your criminal case!

DON’T HESITATE!!! CALL NOW!!!
PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS!!!

CALL THOMAS C. GRAJEK, POLK COUNTY DUI ATTORNEY

CALL NOW 863-838-5549 cell

Aggressive Polk DUI defense attorney handling all DUI arrests, DUI Manslaughter, and DUI with Serious Bodily Injury in Polk county, FL.