Gainesville Driver Has License Suspension Vacated
An officer from the Santa Fe Police Department conducted a well-being or welfare check on a person who was seated in the driver’s seat of her vehicle, which was parked in a parking space at the Circle K located at 9408 NW 39th Ave. The officer stated that the vehicle was running, and that the driver was reclined back and appeared to be sleeping. The door to the vehicle was closed and the windows were rolled up.
The officer attempted to wake driver up by knocking on the window. The driver did not wake up; however, the officer could see that she was breathing and appeared to be sleeping. Eventually, the officer entered the vehicle and shook driver’s wrist, arm, and shoulder until she woke up. During this time the officer did not notice any signs of a potential DUI.
The officer then had the driver exit the vehicle and sit on the curb. During that time, a deputy from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Officer arrived and began a DUI investigation. The deputy stated that he observed numerous signs of impairment, including a strong odor of alcohol, swaying, as well as bloodshot and watery eyes. The driver agreed to perform field sobriety exercise. Ultimately the driver was placed under arrest for DUI and requested that she provide a breath sample, which she agreed to provide. The results of the breath test were 0.170 and 0.158.
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 an unlawful detention of the driver. 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: August 11, 2019).
