Sammis Law Firm
Sammis Law Firm
Florida Senate Bill (SB 1810) introduced by Senator Stephen R. Wise, Republican, on January 7, 2012, would change Florida’s DUI laws to a DWI standard. DWI stands for “Driving While Impaired.” The proposed legislation amends the term “under the influence to the extend normal faculties are impaired” to “impaired to the extent that the person […]
Update: April 2, 2013: Ding Dong. Laura Barfield is gone… from FDLE’s alcohol breath testing program. Something about she resigned or was fired or “FDLE is moving in a new direction.” Make a comment if you know why. Update: April 6, 2013: Looks like the official reason she is leaving can be found in FDLE’s […]
The Temple Terrace Police Department conducted a DUI checkpoint / roadblock on Friday night, December 30, 2011, near 56th Street and Whiteway Drive. The roadblock began at 10 p.m. Friday, and was scheduled to end at midnight. Following the roadblock the Temple Terrace Police Department scheduled a “saturation patrol” from midnight until 4 a.m. on […]
UPDATE: This DUI sobriety checkpoint in New Port Richey in Pasco County, FL, proves why Florida should ban checkpoints altogether. The officers at the New Port Richey Checkpoint managed to record their misconduct on video. We discovered the video during our representation of one person arrested for DUI during that checkpoint. Although the operational plan […]
SB 1790 prohibited any state or local law enforcement agency from conducting a “no refusal” DUI checkpoint where a judge is present on site to issue a warrant for a blood alcohol test without the driver’s consent. On May 7, 2011, the Florida legislatures’ Senate Bill 1790 (SB 1790) died in the judiciary committee. The […]
Matthew Malhiot recently published an informative article discussing the Intoxilyzer® 8000: Flow Sensor Problems in Florida. The article describes how Florida never bothered to develop any procedure for testing whether the Intoxilyzer 8000 instruments could accurately measure the amount of air blow into the machine. As a result, the instrument may have produced unreliable breath […]
[brightcove vid=1211602848001&exp3=35214809001&surl=http://c.brightcove.com/services&pubid=35087134001&pk=AQ~~,AAAACCtbLTE~,Euz3dgEqY7FO41McJges-UDcgJmMTpjJ&lbu=http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1211602848001&w=300&h=225] What happens when you attempt to submit to the DUI breath test in Florida and the breath test operator tells you that you were not breathing hard enough? The arresting officer will count that as a “refusal.” The allegation that you refused to take the breath test carries with it additional penalties including […]
Judges throughout Florida are beginning to hear evidence about big problems with the way the Intoxilyzer 8000 attempts to calculate breath flow (which is one factor used to estimate whether a sufficient sample of 1.1 liters of breath is provided). If the machine is calculating flow incorrectly then all the other readings produced by the […]
The media has finally picked up on the story. Numerous DUI convictions in Brooksville, Florida, may be reversed because of newly discovered evidence that the breath test machines used at the Hernando County Jail were not in substantial compliance with administrative rules. Moreover, officials at the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office and the prosecutors at the […]
What is going on in Hernando County? Anyone with a client charged with DUI at the courthouse in Brooksville, FL, should pay special attention to the whether the DUI breath test instrument was really “approved” and whether Hernando County even had a legitimate breath test operator or agency inspector. Unfortunately, many individuals plead guilty […]
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Sammis Law Firm, P.A.
1005 N. Marion St.
Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 250-0200
Sammis Law Firm, P.A.
7509 Little Rd.
New Port Richey, FL 34654
(727) 807-6392
Sammis Law Firm, P.A.
14010 Roosevelt Blvd. #701
Clearwater, FL 33762
(727) 210-7004
