Alachua County Driver has DUI License Suspension Invalidated
A Gainesville Police Department Officer responded to the scene of a traffic crash near the area of Northwest 2nd Ave., upon arrival the officer observed the driver seated on the ground. The officer observed the driver’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, that his speech was slurred and that the driver appeared to be swaying while he was seated. The officer asked if the driver would perform field sobriety exercises (FSE’s) which the driver agreed to perform. The first exercise that the officer conducted was the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) exercise, the officer stated that the driver did have horizontal gaze nystagmus in both eyes at maximum deviation and prior to the onset of 45 degrees. The officer then had the driver perform the walk and turn exercise, the officer stated that the driver failed to touch heel to toe on any step, the driver took the wrong number of steps, used his arms for balance, and made an improper turn. Ultimately, the driver was placed under arrest and transported to the Gainesville Police Department to provide a breath sample, which the driver agreed to perform. The results of a breath test were .400 and .387.
The driver hired Meldon Law. The attorneys at Meldon Law filed an application for a Formal Review Hearing through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle (DHSMV) to challenge the basis of the driver’s license suspension. During the hearing, the attorney from Meldon Law made a motion to invalidate the license suspension based on there being no arrest affidavit or sworn testimony to provide jurisdiction regarding the license suspension. The motion was granted and the driver was able to reinstate his full class E driving privilege.
DISCLAIMER: The results are specific to the facts and legal circumstances of each of the clients’ cases and should not be used to form an expectation that the same results could be obtained for other clients in similar matters without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client’s case. (Date of Suspension: September 18, 2021).
