Marzo 22, 2016
A Miami driver was pulled over by officer Mark Slimak of the Miami-Dade Police Department's DUI task force. He was stopped because the officer said he failed to maintain his truck in a single lane and he tailgated the car in front of him. According to officer Slimak, the driver failed all of the following roadside exercises: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), Finger-to-Nose, Walk-and-turn, One-Leg-Stand, and Romberg Balance. The driver also had blood-shot eyes, a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, and he had to use the side of his truck for support because he was extremely unsteady on his feet. Based upon the officer's observations, the driver was arrested. He was transported to the police station, where he refused to blow into the breath test machine. The Prosecutor wanted the driver to spend 20 days in jail, serve one year on probation, pay close to $1,000.00 in fines and court costs, accept a suspension of his driver's license for 5 years, and perform 50 community service hours. After consulting with a Miami DUI lawyer at DMT, our client rejected the offer and took the case to jury trial. Despite the overwhelming evidence presented by the prosecutor and Officer Slimak, the jury deliberated for less than 15 minutes, before returning a unanimous verdict of not guilty.
