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Palm Beach and Broward Attorneys for DUI Cases Involving Drugs
The number of DUI cases involving the use of drugs continues to soar each year. The increase is primarily attributable to the rise in prescription drug cases. These cases require the services of a skilled DUI defense attorney to challenge any evidence of drug use.
These cases are complicated because they revolve around an officer's opinion testimony, a drug recognition expert's testimony (if applicable in the case), and scientific evidence from a urine or blood test through the testimony of a forensic toxicologist.
After an arrest for driving under the influence of any chemical or controlled substance in Palm Beach County or Broward County, contact an attorney at Meltzer & Bell, P.A.. With offices located in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, we provide an aggressive defense in these cases throughout the area, including Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, Hollywood, and Pembroke Pines. Call to discuss your case today.
Florida does not require a test to quantify the amount of drugs in a person's body in a driving under the influence case. Instead, the prosecutor must prove beyond all reasonable doubt that your normal faculties were impaired by prescription drugs (or a combination of other controlled substance and/or alcohol). In many of these cases, proving impairment for the drugs are difficult for the prosecutor with the State Attorney's office.
In many of these cases, the prosecutor does not have evidence to quantify the amount of prescription drugs in the body, such as oxycodone, Xanax, Valium, and Ativan. Urine tests can show the presence of the prescription drugs, but not the quantity or whether that amount of drugs in the body would cause impairment. A blood test is often the only reliable way for the prosecutor to bring forth evidence of a quantitative analysis.
In addition, many substances found in a person’s system may not be classified as a “controlled substance” or “chemical substance”. For example, a person who is found to be impaired by Ambient and/or Benadryl may be operating a vehicle in a “reckless” manner, but is not, with those substances on their own, committing the crime of DUI.
Because Florida does not have a per se version of drug DUI, there is no administrative suspension of your driver's license if you submit to the requested chemical test. If you refused testing, the officer can administratively suspend your driver's license and issue a notice of suspension on your DUI citation.
If you are accused of DUI refusal, then you have only 10 days to request a formal review hearing to protect your driver's license. Call us to discuss the options and whether you are eligible for a "waiver review hearing" for immediate reinstatement or whether you should demand a formal review hearing to contest the suspension.
Law enforcement officers in the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office often use drug recognition experts (DREs) that are called to the scene. These officers have undergone additional training focused on collecting evidence of impairment due to drugs. However, not many officers throughout Palm Beach County are certified DRE’s. For this reason, the attorneys at Meltzer & Bell, P.A. will move to exclude any testimony regarding the results of the HGN and/or VGN tasks due to the officer’s inability to testify to that scientific matter. State v. Meador is the case on point which holds that testimony inadmissible in court during a trial.
These officers are looking for evidence of the drivers:
After looking for that evidence from a driver, a task is then requested called a Horizontal Gaze and/or a Vertical Gaze Nystagmus. This task must be administered properly. Although almost all officer administers it, the task does not come into evidence in a trial unless the officer is certified. There are not many certified officers, so leave it to our lawyers to move to exclude that evidence at the appropriate time in your case.
If you were arrested for driving under the influence, and the arresting officer alleged that you were under the influence of drugs, then contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Meltzer & Bell, P.A.. We represent clients for driving under the influence in Palm Beach County and Broward County.
Steven Bell
Lawrence Meltzer
Stephan Dobrinsky
Ari Goldberg
David Goudreau
No Points No School No Court Or your money back*
* Some restrictions apply. Non-Criminal infractions only. Court costs additional, if any. Call for more information.
