DUI and Driving Cases

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

State of Florida v. C.W.
DUI, Driving on a Suspended License DROPPED

Our client, C.W., was arrested in Jacksonville for Driving Under the Influence and Driving on a Suspended License. Police pulled over our client’s car for speeding. (71 mph in a 45 mph zone) The officer claimed that C.W. had bloodshot, glassy and watery eyes. Our client could not find his vehicle registration and the officer noticed a slight odor of alcohol coming from our client’s breath as he spoke. The officer also claimed to smell burnt odor of marijuana coming from the car. An open beer can was in the center console. As our client exited the car, he dropped his phone on the ground. Our client did the Field Sobriety Exercises the the officer said our client performed poorly. Our client admitted to drinking one beer two hours prior. Our Jacksonville DUI Attorney investigated the case further and revealed problems with the case. Both Jacksonville driving charges, the DUI and the Driving on a Suspended License, were DISMISSED.

State of Florida v. J.J.
Oxycodone and Xanax in system, Clay County DUI reduced to a Reckless Driving

Our client, J.J., was arrested for Driving Under the Influence in Clay County, Florida. Police were called out in reference to a suspicious vehicle. Two witnesses saw our client slumped over on the driver’s side of his vehicle for over an hour. When the officer arrived, he also observed J.J. slumped over the wheel of his car with his foot on the brake, the car in gear running. Our client awoke and the officer said he observed a plastic container with white residue in it and a straw with white residue on it. The officer observed our client to be disoriented and slurring his words. Officers reported that J.J. did not do well on the Field Sobriety Exercises. Our client consented to urinalysis and tested positive for Oxycodone and Xanax. Our Clay County DUI Attorney presented mitigating information to the prosecutor on the case and the charge was reduced to a charge of Clay County Reckless Driving.

State of Florida v. E.S.
Client blew .117 and .119, Jacksonville DUI reduced to a Reckless Driving

Our client, E.S., was arrested in Jacksonville on a charge of Driving Under the Influence. Our client was clocked speeding and pulled over in Jacksonville Beach. The stopping officer detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the car. The officer observed that our client had a flush face, watery eyes and thick tongued speech. A Duval County DUI officer came to the scene and conducted a DUI investigation. The DUI officer also smelled the strong odor of alcohol and wrote that our client had a distant, unfocused gaze as she spoke. When exiting the vehicle, E.S. stumbled and had to use her vehicle for balance. Our client admitted to drinking three to four liquor drinks. She also admitted to taking prescription medication. The Jacksonville DUI officer conducted Field Sobriety Exercises and arrested E.S. for Driving Drunk in Jacksonville Beach and citing her for speeding for not having proof of Florida insurance. When at the jail, our client blew into the Breathilizer and blew .117 and .119, well over the .08 legal Driving Under the Influence limit. Our Jacksonville DUI Attorney presented mitigation to the Duval County Assistant State Attorney on the case and our client’s DUI case was reduced to a reckless driving.

State of Florida v. M.J.
Strong odor of alcohol, car allegedly almost hit a pedestrian, DUI DROPPED

Our client, M.J., was arrested for DUI in Atlantic Beach, Florida. Police were dispatched to a dispute. Upon arrival at the scene, the officer spoke to the witness. The witness told police he was taking his dog for a walk when he heard an engine revving and saw the truck at the end of the street. He claims that our client accelerated quickly and swerved at him as it passed by. The witness called the police and our client was pulled over shortly after. When the officer made contact with M.J., the officer observed the “strong” odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from him and that his eyes were bloodshot and watery. When asked how much he had to drink, our client stated “only two beers”. The officer had our client perform field sobriety exercises and said he performed them poorly. M.J. was then taken to jail for DUI. Our Jacksonville DUI Law Firm was able to get the DUI charge DROPPED.

State of Florida v. J.L.
Charges dropped after crash

A Florida State Trooper approached our client’s car after he caused a traffic crash in Jacksonville. The trooper said our client smelled like alcohol, and was wobbly when he stood up to speak with the trooper. Our client asked to be taken to the hospital and went to Shands. When the trooper arrived there, he said our client’s speech was slurred, he was saying things that had nothing to do with the trooper’s question and he again smelled of alcohol. The trooper then read our client his Miranda rights and asked if he could ask some questions. Our client declined to talk to the trooper and also declined to take a blood test. He was arrested for DUI (a misdemeanor) and ticketed for the accident. Our Jacksonville DUI attorney investigated the case and was able to get the charges dropped and the ticket dismissed.

State of Florida v. S.S.
Man on DUI probation arrested for another one, attorneys get charge reduced

Jacksonville police said our client drove over a curb and admitted to drinking between 6 and 8 beers and a lemon drop shot. Officers also said our client, who was on probation for a previous DUI, had bloodshot and watery eyes, as well as a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. Our client refused to do field sobriety exercises and also declined to take a Breathalyzer test. Because he was charged with DUI and violation of probation, he was facing up to 15 months in jail. Our Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer got the new DUI knocked down to reckless driving and our client was able to stay on probation.

State of Florida v. B.M.
Man blows over legal limit, attorneys get DUI down to reckless driving

Police said our client cross over lanes and ran off a Jacksonville roadway. Officers said he had slurred and mumbled speech, as well as watery and bloodshot eyes. Police also said he smelled strongly of alcohol and failed field sobriety exercises. He also registered .105 and .102 on the Breathalyzer test, both times over the legal limit of .08. He was charged with DUI and could have gone to jail for 6 months. Our Jacksonville DUI attorney worked to get the DUI reduced to a reckless driving and all traffic tickets were dismissed.

State of Florida v. O.M.
Man arrested at checkpoint, charges dropped

Jacksonville police stopped our client at a sobriety checkpoint and smelled an odor of alcohol coming from our client’s breath. The officer said our client did not do well on field sobriety exercises. Our client was arrested for DUI and faced up to six months in jail. Our Jacksonville criminal defense attorney got the charge dropped.

State of Florida v. K.H.
Charges reduced for woman who leaves scene of crash, falls asleep in police care

Jacksonville police tracked our client down, shortly after they were called about her leaving the scene of an accident. Police said she had a flushed face, glassy eyes and smelled of alcohol. She also fell asleep in the police car. Our client struggled in the field sobriety exercises and was then arrested for DUI, DUI with damage and leaving the scene of an accident with attended property. At the jail, she blew .118 and .122 – both above the .08 legal limit. Our Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer got the DUI reduced to reckless driving, and the adjudication was withheld – preventing her from being convicted of any crime.

State of Florida v. J.B.
Man admits to drinking and taking Xanax, DUI charge reduced

Jacksonville police pulled our client over after he ran a red light. Officers said his face was flushed, his eyes were bloodshot and watery, he was slurring his words and had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. He told police he had four beers and also took Xanax. He did not do well on field sobriety exercises and was arrested for DUI. Our Jacksonville criminal lawyer got the charge knocked down to reckless driving and our client was not convicted of a crime.

State of Florida v. S.C.
Jury takes just 6 minutes to acquit woman stopped with half-empty wine bottle in reach

Jacksonville police stopped a client of Ms. Mussallem’s, a Jacksonville criminal defense attorney, for speeding and said she was staggering and smelled like alcohol. Officers said they found a “cold,” half-empty wine bottle on the passenger seat and said some of the wine was spilled in the console between the two front seats. Police said she was speaking incoherently, behaving irrationally and had a poor performance on the field sobriety exercises. She would not take a breath test and was charged with DUI. Ms. Mussallem dug into the specifics of the case and vigorously defended her client at trial. The jury deliberated just 6 minutes before returning a Not Guilty verdict.

State of Florida v. K.J.
Charge reduced for woman who plowed into mailboxes and cable box

Our client was driving in a gated Jacksonville neighborhood and smashed into several mailboxes and a cable box. When police saw her car, both tires on the driver’s side of her car were blown out. Officers said she had slurred speech and her eyes were glassy and watery. Police said she was emitting a strong odor of alcohol from her breath. She could barely keep her balance, telling officers she had two shots of Southern Comfort and a beer. During the field sobriety exercises, she missed her nose on all five tries at the finger to nose exercise and could not do the one leg stand. She blew .132 and .133 – far higher than the .08 legal limit. She was charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident with damage. Our Jacksonville criminal defense attorney got the DUI reduced to reckless driving and the leaving the scene of accident charge dropped.

State of Florida v. J.W.
Attorneys find flaw in blood test, get DUI charge reduced

Our client was found in the driver’s seat of an overturned car after driving his car into a ditch. He was taken to the hospital and, when police arrived, the officer said our client smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech. Our client told the officer he had been drinking and taking Xanax. The officer said our client gave permission to take a blood sample, and the results confirmed our client had alcohol and Xanax in his system. He was charged with DUI, his second in the past five years. Our Jacksonville DUI attorney analyzed the ins and outs of the case – including the details of the blood test – and got the DUI knocked down to reckless driving.

State of Florida v. T.B.
Charges dropped against man who drove over median

Jacksonville police stopped our client after he drove over a raised median. The officer said our client’s eyes were red and watery. Police also said he was swaying noticeably and his breath smelled of alcohol. Our client consented to field sobriety exercises, but struggled throughout. Police said he sang the alphabet instead of reciting it and swayed during the test. He always swayed during the walk and turn exercise, failed to stay on the line and kept using his arms to keep his balance. During the finger to nose exercise, police said he continued to sway and had to be told each time to take his finger off his nose. And in the one leg stand test, police said our client never had his balance, hopped and raised his arms for balance. He was charged with DUI. Our Jacksonville criminal defense attorney helped get the charge dropped.

State of Florida v. J.T.
Attorneys get diversionary program for man found drunk, shirtless in bar parking lot

Our client was arrested when Jacksonville police were called and found him lying in a bar parking lot, shoeless and shirtless at 2 a.m. He would not respond so rescue was called, but crews determined he was not injured. A bar employee said she saw him drinking inside earlier. He was charged with disorderly intoxication (2nd degree misdemeanor). Our team of Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer helped land our client a spot in a diversionary program. When all required components are finished, the charges will be dropped.

State of Florida v. J.G.
Man going 86 in 45 mph zone gets DUI knocked down to reckless driving

Florida State Troopers with radar guns nabbed our client going 86 mph – nearly double the 45 mph speed limit – on Beach Boulveard near the Intracoastal Waterway in Jacksonville. When the trooper made contact with our client, he said he could smell the alcohol on our client’s breath. The trooper also said our client’s speech was slurred and his eyes were watery and bloodshot. Our client agreed to do field sobriety exercises and showed many of the clues of impairment police are trained to look for. On the one leg stand test, he puts his arms out for balance, stumbled, put his foot on the ground, hopped and swayed. When he tried the walk and turn test, the trooper said he lost his balance four times while getting the instructions and then stepped off line before nearly falling while making the turn. He was arrested for DUI. He declined to take a breath test at police headquarters. Our Jacksonville criminal defense law firm helped our client avoid a DUI and get the charge reduced to reckless driving.

State of Florida v. R.A.
Attorneys fight to suppress evidence, state relents and drops DUI for lesser charge

Jacksonville police tried to pull our client over after she allegedly jerked her car around another vehicle at a stop light and drove straight through the red light. The officer put his lights on, but says our client drove another 200 yards in the emergency lane before finally stopping. The officers said our client had glassy eyes and slurred speech. When our client said she had a glass of wine, the officer called for a DUI unit. The DUI officer said our client’s speech was dry, her eyes glassy, face flushed and she had a moderate odor of alcohol on her breath. She told this officer she had two glasses of wine and he determined our client was impaired when she did not perform well on field sobriety exercises. Our client did not allow for the breath test to be done. Our Jacksonville criminal defense attorneys fought the premise of the arrest, arguing the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to either detain her in the first place or ask her to perform the exercises. Therefore, the officer did not have probable cause to make a DUI arrest, our Jacksonville DUI law firm argued, and the arrest should be thrown out. After a detailed hearing, the prosecutor’s office dropped the DUI to a reckless driving charge. Our client was not adjudicated, thereby not convicted of any crime.

State of Florida v. J.R.
Man rear-ends car, attorneys get DUI charge reduced

Jacksonville police arrested our client after he caused an accident by rear-ending another vehicle. Officers at the scene noticed he smelled of alcohol, was slurring his speech and had glassy eyes. Police said our client did not do well on field sobriety exercises and took him to jail. He blew .10 two times on the Breathalyzer test – both over the .08 limit. Our client was charged with DUI. Mitigation given to the state by our Jacksonville DUI lawyer helped get the charge reduced to reckless driving.

State of Florida v. C.A.
Reckless driving, not DUI, for driver who blows over legal limit after weaving through traffic

Jacksonville police ran our client’s truck down after they saw him speeding and passing several other vehicles. He told police he didn’t have a license and, when he complied with police by getting out of his truck, the officer said he needed to hold onto the truck to stand up. The officer detected the odor of alcohol on our client’s breath and said his face was flushed and his eyes glassy. Our client said he was leaving a bar and had two beers. He was arrested after showing impairment in some of the field sobriety exercises. His two breath samples were .099 and .098, higher than the .08 limit. Our Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer got the DUI reduced to reckless driving.

State of Florida v. M.B.
Charge reduced for man accused of DUI

Jacksonville police pulled our client over when they noticed the lights on the trailer he was pulling were not working. Police said that our client staggered when he hopped out of the car to show them a broken electrical part on the trailer. He fumbled in his wallet to get his license when the officer asked to see it. The officer also said he smelled of alcoholic beverages, slurred his speech and had watery, red eyes. He told police he drank one beer, but did poorly enough on the field sobriety exercises that he was arrested. He refused to take a breath test and was arrested for DUI. Our experiences Jacksonville DUI lawyer got the DUI down to a lesser charge of reckless driving.

State of Florida v. E.M.
Attorneys negotiate Atlantic Beach DUI down to reckless driving

Our client was pulled over in Atlantic Beach after an officer claimed our client took a turn too wide and briefly left the roadway with his tires. The officer said he clocked our client at 53 mph where the speed limit is 35 and said our client was weaving as he drove. The officer put on his blue lights and pulled our client over, noticing his watery, bloodshot eyes and smelling alcohol on his breath. Our client told police he had one or two beers and, when he took field sobriety exercises, the officer deemed him impaired. At the jail, he twice blew a .111 – higher than the .08 limit. Our Jacksonville DUI law firm negotiated with the State Attorney’s Office in this case and was able to get prosecutors to agree to a reckless driving charge instead of a DUI.

State of Florida v. T.B.
Pulled over for Driving on a Suspended License – Charge Dropped

Our client was issued a citation for Driving on a Suspended License in Jacksonville, which is a misdemeanor. The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles suspended his license in error and T.B. had no knowledge it was suspended. Our Jacksonville Driving Attorney was able to get the charge DROPPED.