(openPR) - Seven clients of the Law Firm of Finebloom & Haenel, a criminal defense firm in Tampa, FL, saw their DUI cases dismissed after two county judges in Manatee and Sarasota Counties threw out evidence in 13 cases. The judges ruled that the sheriff office’s plans for DUI checkpoints during 2008 gave deputies too much power. The ruling means that prosecutors cannot use the breath-alcohol tests, field sobriety tests or officer observations in essence ending those prosecutions. Without this evidence the State Attorney’s office dismissed all charges.
Within the last year, The Second District Court of appeal made an important ruling on a checkpoint plan in Charlotte County, Florida. The Court held that the checkpoint plans were insufficient and gave too much discretion to the officers. This ruling is especially important in Tampa and all of Hillsborough County. Tampa is within the Second District Court of Appeal so this decision would be binding on every checkpoint case in Tampa. The ruling could be applied to anyone stopped at a Hillsborough County checkpoint and arrested for DUI.
Darren Finebloom gathered his seven checkpoint cases and filed a motion to suppress all of the evidence obtained as a result of the illegal checkpoint. Shortly after his clients were arraigned and pled not guilty the motion was filed with the court. The State presented several witnesses and the checkpoint guidelines. After a two hour hearing the Judges all unanimously ruled that the guidelines were unconstitutional and all evidence was excluded.
All of the clients were stopped at DUI checkpoint. Most were asked if they had been drinking and were subsequently arrested for DUI. One of the Defendant’s was on her 4th DUI which if convicted would have resulted in significant jail time and a permanent suspension of her license. Darren Finebloom was quoted in the article explaining that once the evidence obtained after the stop was suppressed the State is left with no case. Subsequently the State Attorney’s office dismissed all seven DUI charges against his clients.
If you or a family member has been stopped at a checkpoint in Hillsborough County whether it is Tampa or Plant City, it is imperative that you contact a qualified DUI attorney in the Tampa area. For more information about Finebloom & Haenel Tampa DUI Attorneys or for a free consultation please call us at 813-649-8690 or 1800-FIGHT-IT. You can also visit their website at www.fightyourtampadui.com. For helpful advice help with your Tampa DUI or Tampa criminal case you can visit their blog at www.floridacriminaldefenseattorneyblog.com.
The Law Offices of Finebloom & Haenel, P.A. is a DUI defense law firm servicing clients throughout the West Coast and Central Florida. At Finebloom & Haenel, each of our attorneys understand Florida DUI law and are passionate in our representation of each and every client. We use our knowledge, training and years of experience to defend our DUI clients to the fullest extent possible. You can be confident that our team of lawyers, comprised of former prosecutors and former public defenders, are well versed in all aspects of DUI law. In fact, David Haenel, a founding member of the firm, was named the 2004 State of Florida Prosecutor of the Year and spent a large majority of his time traveling throughout the State of Florida training new prosecutors on DUI related issues. With offices located in Sarasota, Tampa, Clearwater, and Brandon, we proudly extend our legal expertise and trial skill to people who have been arrested for DUI in Charlotte
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