Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
The number of women arrested for Driving Under the Influence has jumped 36 percent, while arrests of men for the same charge are down 10 percent, research shows.
The new stats were compiled by AAA and reported by News4Jax. The study comes on the heels of another report that Jacksonville has the fourth most DUI arrests among the 25 largest cities in the nation. Yet not all of those arrests will result in a conviction.
Often times, the crux of a DUI case in Jacksonville is the traffic stop. In some cases, the judge will throw out the stop and could even dismiss the charges outright. In order to even approach the vehicle, the officer must have some reasonable suspicion the driver is committing a crime or breaking a traffic law – speeding, driving recklessly, etc. Once the officer makes the initial stop and sees the suspect, the bar raises. More suspicious activity must be seen or detected – watery eyes, slurred speech, the odor of alcohol beverages, to name a few — to ask the person to perform field sobriety exercises. If that hurdle is cleared, in the officers’ judgment, field sobriety exercises are next. Contrary to popular belief and urban/suburban legend, the officer will not ask someone to recite the alphabet backward. But what someone can expect is being asked to: recite the alphabet or a series of numbers in order; walk in a straight line and turn around; stand on one leg, then with both legs together to test balance and to move your arms to touch your fingers to your nose.
All of these tests are scored and, if the suspect does not score well, he or she will be arrested for DUI in Duval, Clay and Nassau County. From there, police will ask the person to take a breath test.
The steps are long, complicated and just one mistake found by the right Jacksonville criminal defense attorney can flip the case. In Jacksonville, the sheriff’s office has a unit specifically for DUI enforcement and will call one of those specialized officer to the scene if there is a suspected impaired driver. And even cases with the expert DUI officers are thrown out. And like those specially trained officers, our Jacksonville DUI Defense Law Firm knows each and every step that must be followed.
If you or a loved one needs a DUI attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm, PA at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County drunk driving attorney is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.