Reviews On
DISCLAIMER: The results are specific to the facts and legal circumstances of each of the clients’ cases and should not be used to form an expectation that the same results could be obtained for other clients in similar matters without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client’s case.
The morning of the trial, the State dropped the DUI charges against Damani H.
Damani was conerned about what a DUI charge would mean for his record and for his future. He knows he is not a dangerous person and he feared that this offense would paint him in that light.
Damani has a thick Hatian accent, and was worried that authorities would misconstrue his speech as slurred. Damani was partying in downtown Fort Lauderdale when he decided to drive home to his house in Boca Raton. While on East Palmetto Park Road, Damani was pulled over for speeding, weaving and drifting. Damani tried to complete the field sobriety exercises but failed. The police officer reported that Damani was slurring, unsteady and stumbling on the walk and turn exercise. When Damani was asked to take a breath test, he refused. Damani was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence.
We got the dash camera footage from the police officer’s car that showed that Damani’s driving over the line was very slight and was not to the extent described by the officer. The video also revealed that the sidewalk where Damani did the field sobriety exercises was unlevel and cracked. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the guidelines for proper field sobriety exercises mandate they be done on a clearly-lit level surface with no debris. We hired an expert to measure the slope and grade of the incline to prove the sidewalk wasn’t level.
Additionally, when we deposed the police officer, he swore that his overhead, bright lights were turned off, but the dash cam showed the stop sign reflecting the strobe lights from his car. We got the cop to admit that the strobe lights are very bright and should have been turned off so that they could not distract someone doing the field sobriety exercises. With this information, we aggressively pushed forward and prepared to go to trial.
Call our office to schedule an appointment for a free consultation:
Take a moment to fill out the form on this page to get in touch with us, and we will get back to you shortly.
Rossen Law Firm
