Polk County Dui Lawyers

Drinking just became much more high-tech. Funtoxication, an iPhone and iPod Touch application that measures users’ blood alcohol content, has been garnering attention recently for its fun, easy-to-use format and unique design.

Michael Tankenoff, owner of North Loop Media, LLC and creator of Funtoxication, came up with the idea last year as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota. He didn’t see any apps that combined a Blood Alcohol Calculator with entertainment and decided to create his own.

Tankenoff partnered with TryCatch Games of St. Paul, Minn., to develop Funtoxication. It launched in the iTunes App Store recently for 99 cents, but Tankenoff has recently been promoting it as his schedule allows.

“There’s definitely been a good response. When it first came out, it was an interesting app because it was one of the few out there,” Tankenoff said. “… The BAC calculator and the taxi pop-up reminder and the games – those three elements have definitely set it apart from other apps.”

Funtoxication’s BAC calculator asks for a user’s gender, weight and age, as well as the type and amount of drinks consumed to estimate his or her blood alcohol content. It tracks the amount of time someone has been drinking in real time based on the initial starting point he or she indicates using a slider function.

When users hit the legal limit of 0.08, the program even offers them the option of calling a cab every time they open the app. If one chooses to call a cab, it locates a nearby taxi service using Google maps.

Have you already been accused of DUI? If so, you would be well advised to contact a Polk County DUI lawyer at our firm for a free and confidential consultation. You may be surprised at the results our Florida DUI lawyers can achieve for you.

Read further about the new app here.

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The Florida Highway Patrol is part of a national campaign today through Sept. 6 to reduce the number of drunken drivers on state roads.

The campaign, “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.,” encompasses the Labor Day holiday weekend, which begins Sept. 3, the Highway Patrol said in a news release.

In addition to cracking down on drunken driving, troopers will participate in Operation Combined Accident Reduction Effort during the four-day holiday weekend to enforce the state’s seat belt law.

Florida’s primary seat belt law authorizes law enforcement officers to stop and cite motorists solely for failure to buckle up, the news release said.

Dial *347 from your cell phone to report an aggressive or impaired driver or to request roadside assistance.

If you have recently been accused of DUI or a related criminal offense in Bartow, Lakeland or elsewhere in Polk County contact a Florida DUI lawyer at our firm today.

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Here are excerpts from a documentary produced by WCOT in Tallahassee, FL.

My take: If the city and law officials are really concerned about public safety and alcohol related car accidents then why does the public transportation shut down before the bars close on weekends in major cities? The system in place seems to have as much or more emphasis on generating money for the city and state as it does for keeping the roads safe.

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If you have recently been charged with driving under the influence (DUI), boating under the influence (BUI) or a related criminal offense in Florida, you may not realize that fighting the charge is an option and a great notion at that. You may feel this doesn’t apply to your case because of the overwhelming evidence against you, the fact that you admitted your guilt, etc., but I assure you this is not the case; there is always a way around a drunk driving conviction if proper steps are taken. Your perceptions of your case are most likely being distorted by fear of what could happen by not pleading guilty. However, this is exactly what the prosecution wants and probably expects from you. By investigating things such as the constitutionality of your arrest, the methods used to conduct sobriety/chemical tests, the chain of custody on blood samples taken, etc. a DUI conviction is often avoidable. The trick on your part being: Contacting a Florida DUI attorney in a timely manor.

If you do indeed want to fight your DUI charge it is essential you contact DUI attorney at our firm ASAP. This is to ensure we utilize the already small window of time after an arrest to build your case.

Charged with DUI in Polk County? If so, contact a Bartow DUI attorney at our firm for a free and confidential consultation today. If anyone can help you avoid being convicted, we can.

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A former counselor for Polk County’s DUI/Drug Court faces additional charges that he stole from clients who were trying to pay fees in the program, according to a complaint affidavit.

The suspect, 42, of Lakeland was arrested Thursday on two counts of grand theft and two counts of petit theft.

He was released from the Polk County Jail on $3,000 bail, records show.

He now faces a total of 24 charges, including scheme to defraud, official misconduct, uttering forgeries, grand theft, petit theft, and tampering with a witness and evidence, court records state.

The charges carry a maximum of 115 years in prison and two years in jail.

The State Attorney’s Office released complaint affidavits that provide the following account:

The suspect is accused of stealing more than $5,000 in cash and items from six clients who were trying to pay fees as part of the intervention and treatment program.

He was arrested in May 2009 after a State Attorney’s Office investigation concluded he took money, a battery charger and audio amps from two clients.

In October, investigators seized more than 280 files from the Polk County DUI/Drug Court and later determined that the suspect took money from four more clients.

Are you facing DUI, drug related or other criminal charges in Polk County? If so, we have the experience you need on your side at this critical time (over 100 years combined!) Our Florida DUI Lawyers are not limited to defending those accused of a criminal offense in Polk County, but all of FL. If you have been arrested in a city such as St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Lakeland, Tampa we can certainly represent you; and with convenience due to our 9 offices.

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A South Florida elementary school teacher is under arrest and facing a long list of charges after being pulled over on the side of the road when a police officer noticed her erratic driving.

The suspect, 42, is a Spanish teacher at Dr. William Chapman Elementary School. She was arrested Wednesday, August 4th after an officer noticed her SUV swerving in and out of traffic on South Homestead Boulevard.

When the first officer pulled her over, he noticed she had “watery eyes, flushed face and slurred speech,” according the arrest affidavit. The officer also noted in the report that she had trouble finding her drivers’ license, needed help regaining her balance while exiting the SUV and had to hold onto her vehicle to get her balance before walking.

The suspect was handcuffed and taken to jail but not before threatening the officer. She stated, “I am taking your job, I am going to say you took my shirt off, lifted by skirt and touched my (expletive),” according to the arrest report.

She didn’t stop there.

When she arrived at the jail, police say she managed to take off the handcuffs and threw them at another officer, before she kicked him in the groin. The officer tasered the suspect in the chest but she still got up and tried to punch the officer. He then tasered her a second time.

When other officers arrived and attempted to handcuff her again, she tried to kick and punch them, according to the arrest report. Once handcuffed and in the booking room, the report states, the suspect continued to make threats against the officers by stating, “I am going to take your jobs, I have a Jewish lawyer.” She also made disparaging racial remarks against the officers.

The arrest affidavit also states that the suspect told them that she was taking Xanax because she was studying to become an assistant principal.

The suspect is charged with Battery on a law enforcement officer, Driving Under the Influence and Resisting an officer with violence.

She has bonded out of jail and is back home.

Have you been charged with a DUI or related criminal offense in South Florida? If you have been the smartest thing you could do is contact a South Florida DUI attorney to protect your rights, investigate your arrest and all in all advise you on how to proceed with your case. Feel free to contact our South FL drunk driving lawyers for a free and confidential consultation. Call 863-512-5269 today.

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Before police can decide a driver is a suspect of driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI) they must have probable cause (aka reasonable suspicion) to pull the driver over. By pulling a driver over with suspicion of DUI and without probable case, police are breaking the law themselves.

Arrested for DUI in Polk County, Florida? Call Musca Law at 863-512-5269 for a free consultation.

To justify reasonable suspicion of DUI, law enforcement must see a driver violating a traffic law. The most common causes of DUI traffic stops are (in no particular order):

• Driving too slow
• Weaving, Swerving
• Driving the Wrong Way
• Disobeying traffic signs or lights
• Driving too fast

By avoiding any of the above, many DUI arrests would be avoided; or at least justified ones. However, non DUI related traffic stops can sometimes turn into a drunk driving arrest if the driver exhibits certain behaviors.

If an officer pulls someone over for, lets say, their brake lights being out, the stop can still result in a DUI arrest if the driver:

• Smells of alcohol
• Has bloodshot eyes
• Has slurred speech
• Isn’t making sense with their speech

If an officer decides their is reasonable suspicion that the suspect is drunk they may ask them to perform field sobriety tests. These tests, to many’s surprise, can be refused without penalty.

My point with this post: Many DUI arrest can be avoided. Don’t give police the right to pull you over and you will be fine.

If you have recently been unfortunated enough to be charged with DUI in Bartow, Lakeland, Polk City or elsewhere in Polk County we can help you. It may seem like avoiding a conviction is impossible, but we assure you that is far from the case. Call 863-512-5269 to schedule your free consultation with a Florida DUI attorney at Musca Law now.

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Free Consultation: 863-512-5269

No. Sobriety tests (i.e. one leg stand) are not mandatory and can be refused without the risk of being penalized. If you do refuse them there is no guarantee you won’t be arrested for DUI, but in such a case you haven’t given police/state’s attorneys any ammunition. On the other hand, if you have already failed sobriety tests there is probably still a strong possibility you can avoid being convicted. When police administer sobriety tests everything is caught on tape and they often misconduct tests which can lead to them being disregarded as evidence.

Have you recently failed sobriety tests and, in turn, been accused of DUI in Bartow, Lakeland or elsewhere in Polk County? If so, contact our Bartow DUI attorneys for a free and confidential consultation. Call 863-512-5269 now.

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Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)

Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus is an involuntary jerking of the eye that occurs naturally as the eyes gaze to the side. Under normal circumstances, nystagmus occurs when the eyes are rotated at high peripheral angles. However, when a person is impaired by alcohol, nystagmus is exaggerated and may occur at lesser angles. An alcohol-impaired person will also often have difficulty smoothly tracking a moving object. In the HGN test, the officer observes the eyes of a suspect as the suspect follows a slowly moving object such as a pen or small flashlight, horizontally with his or her eyes. The examiner looks for three indicators of impairment in each eye: if the eye cannot follow a moving object smoothly, if jerking is distinct when the eye is at maximum deviation, and if the angle of onset of jerking is within 45 degrees of center. If, between the two eyes, four or more clues appear, the suspect likely has a BAC of 0.08 or greater. NHTSA research found that this test allows proper classification of approximately 88 percent of suspects (Stuster and Burns, 1998). HGN may also indicate consumption of seizure medications, phencyclidine, a variety of inhalants, barbiturates, and other depressants.

To learn further about HGN you should view the official guide from the NHTSA.
Continue reading “Common Sobriety Tests Conducted in Florida” »

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