DUI is an Opinion Crime

I’ve only posted tiny, generic parts of the firm’s knowledge, training and experience with DUI’s. Sam and I have been to jury trial on DUI alone over 50 times.

WHAT IS A DUI?
It’s DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE…there is no DRUNK driving in Florida…The State of Florida only has to prove that your NORMAL FACULTIES are IMPAIRED.
The state has to prove two (2) key elements in every case, One is easy, it’s DRIVING. The other is frequently subject to differences in opinion i.e. IMPAIRMENT.
The state chooses whether they plan to try and prove that it was alcohol or a controlled substance that was responsible for any impairment, or they can say it was both.
The controlled substances in Florida are all listed in five (5) “schedules” in Chapter 893.03 of our Statutes.
The list or “schedules” are always growing for “designer drugs”, and due to public policies…
We cannot define DUI without discussing “normal faculties” too, right? since the State must try to overcome your presumption of innocence and prove your normal faculties were impaired…
normal faculties are defined in the standard DUI jury instructions as:
“The ability to see, hear, walk, talk, judge distances, drive an automobile, make judgments, act in emergencies, and, in general, normally perform the many mental and physical acts of daily life.”
That list would otherwise be very boring, but there’s one important omission…
HINT: it’s something that is used in almost every DUI prosecution, and frequently becomes the subject of spirited litigation, strong argument, and a feature of every DUI trial,
Field Sobriety Exercises.

So you may now wonder how can a prosecutor ask a jury to convict you because of them? How can a police officer arrest you then, based upon them? It’s because DUI is an OPINION crime. Even if you give a breath result above .08, the State is only entitled to a presumption that you’re impaired, that presumption is rebuttable.

Our Legislature has never said that your normal faculties can be “defined” by Field Sobriety Exercises, yet every police agency in America uses them, and every prosecutor asks juries to convict you based upon how you complete them. This is the area we attack the most, the SUBJECTIVE aspects of your case i.e. The circumstances of your exercises.

Are you charged with DUI now? Did you just bond out?
Are you depressed, scared, thinking there’s no way out, and that it’s all over?
Don’t think that..
Do you want us to attack the State’s case for you?
Do you want to have a consultation with Sam Kaufman and I about your case? Call us today at (305) 292-3926.
We may have a lot more to talk about, and we may be able to keep you or a jury from making a huge mistake.