Location: Broward County
Charge Type: DUI
Result: Dismissal
The Situation
Our client, an 18-year-old young adult, was stopped by a deputy who randomly checked his vehicle's license plates and found a suspension. Despite no evidence of unsafe driving, the deputy proceeded to investigate further, noting an open alcohol bottle on the rear passenger floorboard. Although our client registered a 0.00 on the breathalyzer test, law enforcement pursued DUI and alcohol possession charges based on conflicting officer observations of impairment, creating significant risks for our client’s clean record and future opportunities.
The Defense Strategy
Recognizing the critical need to preserve our client’s clean criminal record, we employed a proactive, fact-intensive defense:
- Detailed depositions of officers revealed significant contradictions in officer testimonies. While one officer cited signs of alcohol impairment, another asserted marijuana impairment—contradictions which severely undermined the credibility of their observations.
- Filed a Motion to Suppress Stop to challange the legality of the initial stop, highlighting the officer’s lack of probable cause to assume our client was driving based solely on vehicle registration information, as the officer had no prior identification of our client.
- Filed a Motion to Suppress – Argued that law enforcement lacked reasonable suspicion for the DUI investigation, highlighting that officers observed conflicting signs of impairment—one noted alcohol, the other marijuana—casting doubt on their claims.
- File a Motion to Suppress for Lack of Reasonable Suspicion and Probable Cause. We demonstrated through body-worn camera (BWC) footage and deposition testimony that the officers lacked objective evidence of impairment necessary to initiate and justify a DUI investigation, particularly since their observations were contradictory and unsubstantiated by the client’s field sobriety test performance.
- Filed a Motion to Dismiss Possession Charge arguing convincingly that the state lacked evidence of constructive possession. The alcohol bottle was closer to other passengers, and there was no independent evidence tying our client directly to the bottle.
- Leveraged contradictions and inconsistencies in officer testimonies and body-worn camera (BWC) footage, showing that our client performed very well on field sobriety exercises, contrary to the arresting officer’s claims.
We effectively undermined the state’s case through these strategic motions, highlighting a lack of probable cause and insufficient evidence to sustain the charges.
The Result
Our diligent strategy and robust motions successfully led to the dismissal of both the DUI and possession of alcohol by a minor charge. The remaining charge, operating without a valid driver's license, was resolved with a withhold of adjudication and minimal court costs.
This outcome allowed our client to avoid a damaging criminal record and ensured that these charges would not impact his future.
Result: Dismissal
Thanks to our team's dedication and strategic use of motions, our client can now confidently move forward without the long-term impact of a DUI or possession conviction, maintaining his opportunities and reputation intact.