February 2009 Archives

There's been a recent spike in DUI manslaughter arrests in the Tampa Bay area.  While a DUI conviction is serious and carries potentially lifelong negative consequences, DUI manslaughter is perhaps one of the most serious charges a person can face.  If convicted of the manslaughter charge, the penalty can be as stiff as 15 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.  In addition, a conviction carriest with it permanent driver license revocation.  If you've never been convicted of a prior DUI, you may be eligible for a hardship reinstatement after 5 years. 

Obviously, the best way to avoid such a charge is avoid drinking and driving in EVERY circumstance.  However, if you find yourself charged with any DUI offense, but especially a DUI manslaughter or vehicular homicide, you need to hire a criminal lawyer immediately.  In these types of cases, time is of the essence in order to properly defend you and potentially safeguard your freedom and civil liberties.

If you've been following the news today, you were bound to heard audio of peanut butter executives taking the fifth concerning their role in the peanut butter contamination cases that cause suffering and death across the country recently.

While it may be maddening to hear these officials refuse to answer Congress regarding the peanut butter fiasco, it's well within their rights to do so. 

Their refusal to answer questions is a right afforded them by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.  It's a right against self-incrimination.  It's a foundational right and part of the checks and balances system inherent in our judicial system. 

It's the same right of which you may avail yourself if you're questioned by the police in a DUI stop, a drug bust, or any other potentially criminal activity.  The right preserves your ability to defend yourself against the government's charges. 

It may not be particularly popular, especially in light of the peanut butter scandal, but in order for it to work, it has to apply to all person irrespective of the particular situation in which they find themselves. 

I posted a blog yesterday on Florida's 10 Day Rule regarding DUIs.  I didn't mention a few particulars that I thought the readers of my blog might find interesting.  If someone takes advantage of the 10 Day Rule, they should know the following:

1) it's an adminstrative hearing at which they may be present but they will not be asked or compelled to testify;

2) the hearing is a good opportunity to question the officer as to why he/she stopped you.  I get to question motives and evidence PRIOR to your DUI case; this is huge in terms of the defense getting a head start in your defense;

3) the burden of proof is squarely on the law enforcement officer; in fact, if he/she is not present you'll receive your license back immediately until your DUI case is resolved;

4) your attorney is allowed the unique opportunity to size up his opponent in a setting that can only help you, his client; I'll know the law enforcement's case's strengths and weaknesses at the end of the administrative hearing;

These are huge advantages to anyone facing a potential DUI charge.  If you're stopped and charged with DUI, know the particulars of the 10 Day Rule, it's to your benefit.

Most people who've been charged with a DUI in Florida don't realize they have to act within ten days in order to keep their driving privileges.  It's imperative to hire an experienced DUI criminal attorney who can petititon for a Formal Review Hearing on your case.  This may allow you to continue driving for another 4-6 weeks while awaiting the hearing as well as have the license suspension lifted altogether if the Revew Hearing is successful.  The only exception to the 10 Day Rule is if you were arrested for DUI and had had your license suspended prior to this DUI arrest.  Once the 10 days have expired, you've automatically forfeited your license.

In fact, your DUI citation acts as your temporary license to drive during these 10 crucial days. If you've just been arrested for DUI know and protect your rights!

For 141 revelers, the annual Gasparilla celebration in Tampa turned into a nightmare.  Of the 141 arrests, 57 people were cited for possession under the age of 21, 4 boating under the influence.  There were also 2 felony arrests and another 73 people were charged with misdemeanor crimes.

Tampa authorities estimated the Gasparilla event drew a crowd of 350,000.  The 141 who were charged with crimes either spent some time in the HIllsborough County Jail or will have to present themselves in court to face criminal charges. 

What started out as a day of fun and festivity for these 141 people ended in potentially life and career altering problems.  Depending on the seriousness of the criminal offense, some of those arrested on Saturday will lose jobs, relationships, and will now be faced with mentioning the arrest every time they apply for an apartment or a new job.  This isn't the way to kick off the new year.

http://www.baynews9.com/VideoPlayer/?Attorney_Speaks_128

Tampa police stopped Dennis P. Grogan, 58 around 2 am this morning after an officer noticed erratic driving.  As the officer approached Grogan, he noted the driver had bloodshot eyes and smelled alcohol on his breath.  (I have yet to find an officer who didn't report the same after every suspected DUI stop.)  Unfortunately, Grogan's blood alcohol was .089.  It's not clear from the report in the St. Pete Times whether Grogan consented to a breathalyzer or a field sobriety test. 

As I've mentioned in previous posts, breathalyzers can be notoriously inaccurate and should be refused.  Field sobriety tests are not required by law and only provide incriminating, subjective evidence of impairment to the law enforcement official whose goal it is to make an arrest. 

I can't emphasize enough the importance of protecting your civil rights in any encounter with the police.  It is not their job to protect your rights.  You have to be proactive and know your rights and the law in any given situation like this.  If you're not sure, call a criminal attorney.  Good representation may save you money, the embarassment of an arrest and incarceration, and potential loss of employment.

Mario Ghiloni, 26 was involved in a fatal car crash on Clearwater Beach 9 months ago.  At the time of the crash, blood was drawn and Ghiloni's BAC level was 0.072.  The legal limit at which a person is presumed to be impaired in 0.08.  The law enforcement officials asked the medical examiner to give them an estimate of his BAC at the time of the crash.  The medical examiner determined that Ghiloni would have a blood alcohol level in the range of 0.100 to 0.105.  The crux of the case will hinge on the medical examiner's estimate of his BAC.  His defense against the DUI manslaughter charges will in all likelihood be won or lost on the defense's refutation of this estimate.  This is an interesting case that will require hiring an expert to refute the medical examiner's estimate.

In 1989, Joe Sullivan was a 13 year old Pensacola teenager accused of robbery and rape of a 72 year old woman.  Joe was convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison without parole in spite of the fact that the victim's testimony appears to be impeachable. 

It's 2009 and Joe Sullivan is 33 years old and his lawyers are asking the US Supreme Court to consider whether his life sentence at the age of 13 violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.  The NY Times' article noted that there's not much factual argument to the "unusual" portion of the Amendment since "only eight people in the world are serving sentences of life without parole for crimes they committed when they were 13. All are in the United States. And there are only two people in that group whose crimes did not involve a killing. Both are in Florida and both are black."  Florida's Attorney General Bill McCollum has treated the case as frivolous.  Fortunately, the court thought otherwise requesting a response from the state.  This is not a guarantee that the nation's highest court will actually hear the case but it's a start. 

Furthermore, there's disturbing trial evidence that makes a compelling case that the original trial's decision should be re-evaluated.  The NY Times article noted, "

Mr. Sullivan's trial, for instance, lasted a day. He was represented by a lawyer who made no opening statement and whose closing argument occupies about three double-spaced pages of the trial transcript. The lawyer was later suspended, and the Florida Bar's Web site says he is "not eligible to practice in Florida."

There was biological evidence from the rape, but it was not presented at the trial. When Mr. Sullivan's new lawyers recently sought to conduct DNA testing on it, they were told that the state had destroyed it in 1993.

"I absolutely believe he is innocent," Bryan A. Stevenson, the executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, said of Mr. Sullivan. Mr. Stevenson said he believed that one of the older youths who committed the burglary with Mr. Sullivan and who testified against him was probably the actual assailant."

This is an important case that should be heard by the Supreme Court.  Disturbingly, our Attorney General Bill McCollum hasn't considered it so.  It's time to go over his head.

 

 

I was afraid we'd see something like this given the state of the economy.  Tampa Bay, especially St. Petersburg, has witnessed a spike in violent crime recently.  Robberies, shootings, murders, DUIs are all on the rise.  In fact the St. Pete Times posted a blog over the weekend about one night of violence.  People are on edge and desperate.  The rash of convenience store robberies in St. Petersburg can attest to that.  Recent employment figures also point to a continuing downturn in the economy. 

Other crimes such as fraud and larger scale theft have also seen a spike recently.  Midtown St. Petersburg has been hit especially hard with the recent crime wave including yesterday's arrest of Mathew P. Kiernan and Francis Huy Du who face 4 counts each of arson.  Police suspect them of setting 15 fires in a two hour period on Sunday. 

This isn't good for the Tampa Bay area, especially St. Petersburg whose reputation has improved the last decade.