Gainesville Driver Has License Suspension Vacated
An officer from the Gainesville Police Department observed a red truck parked in the median on NW 34th Street. The officer approached the vehicle and found that the driver was asleep and the vehicle was running. The officer attempted to wake the driver up. Eventually, officers were able to wake the driver up and have him step out of the vehicle.
The officer noted the driver smelled like an alcoholic beverage and the driver stated he was leaving a bar in midtown. Another officer responded to conduct a DUI investigation. That officer noticed the driver had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. The officer asked if the driver would participate in field sobriety exercises, which the driver agreed to perform. The officer stated that he observed the driver to have horizontal gaze nystagmus at maximum deviation, as well as prior to the onset of 45 degrees. The driver was ultimately placed under arrest and asked to provide a breath sample, which he agreed to provide. The driver provided two samples that tested at 0.160 and 0.164.
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 and also objected to the breath test affidavit based on an improper notary. The hearing officer later issued an order setting aside the license suspension.
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: January 5, 2020).
