Charge: DUI
Gainesville Police Department officer stopped a vehicle for an expired temporary tag. Upon making contact with the driver, the officer noticed that he had bloodshot and watery eyes. The driver also slurred his speech and had an odor of alcohol on his breath. The driver stated he was coming from a piano bar and admitted to having two or three beers.
The officer requested that the driver complete the field sobriety exercises and the driver complied. During the horizontal gaze nystagmus exercise the driver displayed a lack of smooth pursuit, onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees, and a distinct nystagmus at maximum deviation in both eyes. The driver was unable to maintain proper balance during the walk and turn exercise, stepping off the line and using his arms to help balance. The driver swayed during the one leg stand exercise. Additionally, the driver failed to touch the tip of his nose and failed to point forward during the finger to nose exercise. The driver agreed to provide breath samples and blew 0.116g/210L and 0.120g/210L.
The driver retained Meldon Law and after filing a Motion to Suppress evidence of the breath tests we were able to negotiate with the State Attorney’s office a reduced charge of Reckless Driving with Alcohol, which allowed the driver to receive a lesser penalty. The court agreed to withhold adjudication for these charges. One of the consolidated traffic tickets in the case was inadvertently left out of the final judgment and sentencing which resulted in a suspension of the driver’s license. We filed a motion to the court to correct this error, which the court granted. The court corrected the judgment and sentence, dismissing the traffic ticket and withdrawing the resulting suspension for the driver’s license.
