Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

A Jacksonville man is now charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident causing death after police determined he was the driver in a fatal wreck a year ago. Police linked Robert Sparrow's DNA to the blood found on the deployed airbag in the car that was abandoned on top of the Mathews Bridge, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Sparrow now faces up to 20 years in prison. Vehicular homicide in Jacksonville is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Leaving the scene of an accident causing death is a third-degree felony with a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Police said two Chevrolet Impalas were speeding and weaving in and out of traffic on the bridge in March 2012, the newspaper reported. The second Impala then hit two cars - one in the side and one from behind. The driver of the car, who police now say is Sparrow, allegedly got out of his car, talked to one of the victims, and then got in the second Impala, which fled the scene. The driver of the car who was hit from behind died a week after the crash. Several hours after the crash, Sparrow reported the car stolen, the newspaper reported, and an analysis of the airbag showed the car Sparrow is accused of driving was going 82 mph seconds before the crash. By leaving the scene of the accident in Florida, Sparrow now faces an extra five years he would not have been facing. On the other side of that coin, however, if Sparrow was intoxicated or had drugs on him at the time, there's no evidence of that now since it's been a year since the accident.

Assuming the state can prove this Jacksonville Traffic Case, the circumstances aren't likely to help Sparrow in an eventual sentencing. If a driver in Florida is involved in a traffic accident, he or she has the responsibility to see if anyone is injured and, if they are, either call for help or administer some sort of medical aid to the person. Sparrow is accused of getting out of the car, talking to someone and taking off. It's unclear whether Sparrow knew someone was injured, but when there's a crash at speeds that high, it's probably safe to assume someone was hurt. Prosecutors will also argue that because of media coverage of the crash, Sparrow had to know someone was killed and did nothing to turn himself in. His only contact with police was to report the car stolen, which the state will likely point to as means to cover up his involvement. While any defendant, including Sparrow, is entitled to a trial specifically on the facts of the case alone in this Jacksonville Traffic Case, judges often take a broader look when determining a sentence. Remorse often plays a big role and, in some cases, a person's actions after the crime can have more effect on a sentence that the crime itself.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Duval County Traffic Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Jacksonville police officer will appear before an internal police review board to face possible discipline for running a stop sign and causing an accident that injured three people. The officer also suffered minor injuries, but was not hospitalized following the crash last week, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The injuries to the three people were not thought to be life-threatening, the newspaper reported. The officer was in his patrol car and on-duty, but not responding to a call at the time, and would be considered at-fault for running the stop sign, according to the newspaper report. Not only will the officer face work-related discipline, he or she could also be exposed to a traffic ticket for running the stop sign, perhaps even a careless or reckless driving ticket in Jacksonville.

Traffic violations can quickly get very costly and drive up other costs, including auto insurance rates. And by simply paying the ticket and moving on from a Jacksonville Traffic Case, a person is admitting guilt and accepting the penalties. Just a few tickets in a short period of time can result in a person having their license suspended and driving privileges taken away. Duval County Traffic violations are scored on a point system, depending on the ticket that is issued. Speeding tickets have a wide range of points, based on how far over the speed limit the ticket is written for. A reckless driving ticket will assess you four points, while leaving the scene of an accident can cost a driver six points. As the points accumulate, they can add up to big trouble, including:

12 points in a year: 30-day license suspension
18 points in 18 months: 3-month suspension
24 points in three years: 1-year suspension

When penalties ratchet up as quickly as they do in traffic cases, saving yourself a few points here and there can be the difference in keeping your license or having it suspended. Just like in a Jacksonville Criminal Defense case, having a Jacksonville Traffic Attorney can in some cases help minimize some of the potential damage to your driving record and your bank account. In a city as large and spread out as Jacksonville, the inability to drive can affect one's ability to make it to and from work, which can then really hit someone's finances. In some cases, people will end up driving anyway on a suspended license, which will escalate problems even further if the driver is caught. Driving when your license has been suspended or revoked is a criminal charge, which then exposes people to time in the county jail.

If you or a loved one needs a Jacksonville Traffic Attorney in Duval County or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Duval County Traffic Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Florida Highway Patrol spent one day last week cracking down on speeders and aggressive drivers along Interstate 95 in Northeast Florida. The FHP dubbed it Operation Checkered Flag and camped out primarily in Duval County, Nassau County and St. Johns County, according to News4Jax.com. Officers handed out more than 300 Jacksonville traffic citations - 189 of which were speed-related. Further statistics were not published but our Jacksonville Traffic Citation Attorney is pretty confident there also some Duval County arrests made and tickets issued for other violations - including Jacksonville Possession of Marijuana or other narcotics, Duval County Driving with a Suspended License, even a Jacksonville DUI (despite the hours of the operation being between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.). Duval County Traffic Stops are often the gateway to further criminal charges. Police officers will often use a traffic stop as a way to see if there are other potential issues, for example if the driver smells like he or she has been driving, or if it appears the driver or passenger are using drugs.

If an officer asks to search your vehicle, you do not have to let them - you have the right to say no. Many people feel like they don't have a choice, particularly because they don't want to say no to a police officer who can make their life difficult. That is not the case. But even if all of the cases during Operation Checkered Flag were simply Duval County traffic violations - likely for speeding - they can still be problematic if you're the one who ends up pulled over along the highway. Jacksonville Traffic Violations can be expensive, can drive up your car insurance rates and even lead to a license suspension if the violations mount up.

Jacksonville Traffic Tickets are scored on a points system, which speeding tickets carry a vary of different levels based on how fast a person is going, whether it is in a school or construction zone and host of other factors. Reckless driving is four points and leaving the scene of an accident is six points. Accumulating points can result in the following penalties:

12 points in a year: 30-day license suspension
18 points in 18 months: 3-month suspension
24 points in three years: 1-year suspension

If you simply send in a check to pay your fine, you are admitting guilt and accepting all of the penalties that come with the ticket - including the points on your driver's license, which are then reported to your insurance company. Our Jacksonville Traffic Attorney can take your ticket before a magistrate with the possibility of having the points waived or reduced.

Our Jacksonville Traffic Attorney has represented thousands of clients on Duval County traffic charges and knows how important a driver's license is for people - especially when they need to get to and from work, shuttle kids around town or whatever the case may be. If you or a loved one needs a traffic attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County Traffic Attorney is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has shifted some of its traffic enforcement priorities, giving drivers more warnings instead of tickets that come with hefty fines and penalties.
The department more than doubled its warning tickets in 2011 to almost 40,000, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. At the same time, traffic tickets issued dropped 13 percent. Sheriff John Rutherford, according to the newspaper report, told officers the job of the police is to educate the public and make the roads safer - not necessarily to hand out a ticket every time a driver is stopped. It will be interesting to see how this plays out when drivers contest tickets. Judges may assume, if this policy gets more attention and continues, that if the officer didn't just give a warning, the driver must be doing something really terrible.

That wouldn't necessarily be the case, but it could hurt a driver's chances of reducing the penalties - especially if the person tried to contest it alone. Traffic violations are scored on a point system. Speeding tickets carry a variety of points. Reckless driving is 4 points. Leaving the scene of an accident is 6 points. As the points build, they can add up to big trouble:

12 points in a year: 30-day license suspension
18 points in 18 months: 3-month suspension
24 points in three years: 1-year suspension

Many drivers do not know that if they simply pay the ticket, that is admitting guilt and the penalties start piling up from there. When people think about times they'd need an attorney, a traffic ticket is pretty low on the list. It shouldn't be. Our Jacksonville traffic violations attorney will look at the traffic citation and work to see if there is a way to reduce the penalties. Traffic tickets can have high-dollar consequences and can sending car insurance rates skyward. If the points get out of control, drivers can get their license suspended, which affects their ability to get to work, pay off the tickets, etc.

If you or a loved one needs a traffic violations attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm, PA at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County criminal lawyer is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.