Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers charged the revelers with boating under the influence — the nautical version of the DUI charge for drunken driving.

Under Florida law, a person can be charged with BUI if they operate any type of boat with a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher.

Penalties for a first-time BUI offense include a fine of $500 to $1,000 and up to six months’ imprisonment.

The boaters were booked at Escambia County Jail. Six were released on $500 bond. The seventh, who faced additional charges of resisting arrest and failure to appear, was released on $2,000 bond.

The arrests come in the wake of “Operation Dry Water,” a nationwide BUI education and enforcement campaign held annually on the weekend before Independence Day.

Boating under the influence is the leading contributing factor in fatal boating accidents, according to the campaign, which is a partnership of state boating law administrators, law enforcement agencies and the Coast Guard.

If you were one of the men or women charged with BUI recently, you should approach the situation just like you would a DUI arrest. The best thing you can do for your future is contact a Sarasota DUI defense lawyer to discuss your legal options.

Source

Canada Accesses U.S. DUI Information

You may be wondering how Canada has access to U.S. criminal databases? That access is part of post 9/11 information sharing between the two countries. The effort to prevent terrorists from entering the U.S. has created red flags for Florida drivers who have made a DUI mistake in the past.

How to Restore Your Ability to Enter Canada After a DUI

Canada provides three ways to get into the country if you have had a DUI conviction in your past, so not all hope is lost if you want to visit our neighbor to the north. If you have an urgent reason for your visit—a sick family member, a business meeting, etc., you can apply for a temporary resident permit. This is the only option if your DUI happened within the last five years.

Continue reading a DUI Conviction Can Limit Your Vacation Plans.

If you’ve been charged with DUI in Sarasota, it important you contact an attorney now; after all, your freedom is at stake. Call 941-916-3627 now to schedule your free consultation with a Sarasota DUI lawyer at Musca Law.

Supporters feel that anyone who gets stopped for DUI deserves to have their picture flashed across cyberspace. However, we join the critics who say the photo gallery stains a person’s reputation even before he or she has been proven guilty, assuming guilt, something that violates the very foundation of the legal system of this country.

The Hawaiian police department feels that the pictures are public record. The department argues that if people are aware that their picture will appear on the Internet, they might be less likely to drive under the influence. Defense attorneys in Hawaii are voicing strong doubts the strategy will stop anybody from getting behind the wheel. They believe that innocent people could be seriously hurt by the practice.

Continue reading Could DUI Mug Shots Be Posted in Florida? or contact a Sarasota DUI lawyer at our firm for your free and confidential consultation.

The suspect, 50, was charged with driving under the influence and careless driving, according to a report.

The Kinnan Elementary School teacher told deputies she was driving her maroon PT Cruiser from Ed’s Tavern in Lakewood Ranch 10 miles away to her home in Sarasota, according to the report.

She left the tavern going west on University Parkway when she crashed into a crosswalk island and hit a bolt cover on the base of a traffic light pole at the intersection of Cooper Creek Bouelvard, the report said.

The suspect was released from jail after posting a $2,000 bond. Margi Nanney, spokeswoman for Manatee County Schools, said the suspect is teaching this week.

“Unless students are transported, it’s not our policy to remove (a teacher),” Nanney said. Nanney added that the suspect  reported the arrest to the school district, which is required by law.

Are you facing DUI charges in Sarasota? If so, we welcome you to contact the Sarasota DUI lawyers at our firm for your free and confidential legal consultation. Call 941-309-5231 now.

Source

To help address a 5.8 percent increase in domestic violence murder, and in recognition of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Florida, Governor Crist also announced a pilot project in Manatee and Sarasota counties aimed at helping survivors of domestic violence connect with employment opportunities and maintain self-sufficiency.

“By assisting survivors of domestic violence who need help finding work, we can help prevent individuals from feeling financially trapped in an abusive relationship,” said Governor Crist. “I commend Florida ’s law enforcement agencies for their commitment and dedication to keeping Floridians and visitors to our state safe. We must never forget that each crime represents at least one victim, and we must continue to be ever vigilant to do all we can to keep our communities and neighborhoods secure.”

Commissioner Bailey was joined at the Capitol by Leisa Wiseman of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo of the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. Workforce Florida Inc. is providing the $500,000 grant and working in partnership with AWI and Suncoast Workforce, which serves job seekers in Sarasota and Manatee counties, to develop and implement the pilot project.

“The first six months of the year typically provide a good picture of where we are going the rest of the year, and the fact that we had 19,000 fewer crimes is a positive sign,” said Commissioner Bailey. “The men and women in law enforcement are working hard across our state.”

The Semi-Annual Uniform Crime Report showed a 6.1 percent decrease in the number of forcible sex offenses, a 17.1 percent decrease in robberies, an 8.9 percent decrease in aggravated assault, a 5.5 percent decrease in burglary, a 1.7 percent decrease in larceny, and a 17.3 percent decrease in motor vehicle thefts.   The number of murders increased 3.6 percent.  Domestic violence offenses declined 2.4 percent.

Have you been charged with a crime in Sarasota County? Whether your arrest occurred in North Port, Venice, Englewood, Fruitville, Longboat Key or elsewhere in the county we can help you. Contact a Florida criminal defense attorney at our firm today for your free and confidential consultation.

Source

Detectives said the suspect was driving a white Ford Crown Victoria with tinted windows and a green emergency light. They said he also had a police-type badge around his neck and was carrying a loaded handgun.

When questioned by officers, the suspect said he was a private investigator.

He was arrested and booked on charges of impersonating an officer and driving under the influence.

Are you facing drunk driving charges in Florida? If so, we welcome you to contact our team of Sarasota DUI lawyers for your free and confidential initial consultation.

Source

The victim, of Oshkosh, Wis., was pronounced dead on the scene of the wreck by Bay Medical EMS, according to a news release from Florida Highway Patrol. the victim was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle during the wreck.

The driver of the vehicle,23, of Slidell Louisiana, was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol and charged with DUI manslaughter and driving without a valid driver’s license causing death. She was booked into the Bay County Jail.

The girls were traveling south in the outside lane on U.S. 231 in a Buick Rendezvous when the vehicle entered the west shoulder. The suspect brought the car back into the lane, but then steered the right again, reentering the shoulder and losing control, according to a news release from FHP. The car spun around, flipped and landed in a ditch on the west side of the road.

RIP

Source

Florida laws call for judges to place the least restrictive conditions on pretrial release to assure appearance in court and the safety of the community.

But defendants looking to be released from Sarasota County’s jail before their trial are twice as likely to have to post a commercial bond.

And they are far less likely to be released based only on their promise to later show up in court — even first-time offenders for crimes like DUI or those charged with nonviolent crimes.

The study cites a surprising reason: Judges fear for their job if the person they release does something bad.

And much of it goes back to one of Sarasota’s most infamous cases: the abduction, rape and murder of 12-year-old Carlie Brucia, the study found.

The abduction was caught on a surveillance video that captured the nation’s attention, and when Joseph P. Smith was arrested a media firestorm rained on Circuit Judge Harry Rapkin, blaming him for letting Smith out of jail just before the crime.

While most in the local legal community defended Rapkin for following the law and said he did nothing wrong, even though Smith was a repeat offender, the flare-up caused the tough-on-crime Rapkin to retire.

It resonates even now, the study found.

Sarasota’s judges have “the overarching concern with the possibility of making ‘the wrong decision’ on release or bail, resulting in harm to persons and/or the community,” the study states.

Defense attorneys say they see it every day. And getting out of jail before trial can allow someone to keep their job, keep their place to live and help care for their family.

An arrest does not mean the person is guilty. About 40 percent of the time, defendants who were released before trial have their charges dropped or are acquitted, a U.S. Department of Justice study found.

Larry Eger, 12th Circuit public defender, said many people cannot afford even the lowest bail. And judges let innocent people sit in jail because they do not want one guilty person to go free.

“We have entered an era of paranoia where everybody is a potential child molester,” Eger said.

The study, looking at whether the county’s pretrial program is efficient, compared releases from Sarasota County’s jail to national figures.

In Sarasota, 61 percent of defendants post commercial bonds, compared with 37 percent of defendants nationwide, the study from the Pretrial Justice Institute states.

Also, only 3 percent of defendants are released only on a promise they will show up, called “released on own recognizance,” compared with 26 percent of defendants nationwide.

The study does not compare Sarasota to equally sized counties, but focuses on the largest 75 counties in the country.

It also does not compare how Florida, with its tough-on-crime laws, affects the findings.

Defense attorneys say judges fear situations like the DUI defendant who gets released, drives drunk again and kills someone.

Requiring bail or other release conditions is a knee-jerk reaction to those fears, said defense attorney Varinia Van Ness, president of the county’s chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

“That way no one can say they went light on a certain person,” Van Ness said, adding that judges think: “Oh God, if this guy does something it’s going to be my neck on the headline.”

12th Circuit Chief Judge Lee Haworth said he is not convinced Smith’s case affects how judges here release arrestees, saying releases “haven’t been much different before or after Smith.”

Haworth says the county’s pre-trial release program does background checks for every new inmate, giving the judges more information than they used to have about criminal histories.

Before that and the advent of electronic records, judges would release people all the time who were wanted in other states for serious cases.

But Haworth said judges here are conservative and the system should work on releasing more defendants on their own recognizance.

“We want to see if there’s some way we can improve to make it work for more people,” Haworth said.

Have you been burdened with a DUI charge in Sarasota, FL? If so, feel free to contact our team of experienced Florida criminal defense lawyers for a free consultation either in person or on the phone:

Sarasota County Office
1990 Main Street, Suite 750
Sarasota, FL 34326
Phone: 941-916-3627

Source

The case against him is tough. It includes BAC levels of nearly 3 times Florida’s legal limit, police reports indicating there was empty and full Michelob beer bottles and cans in the Ex-coach’s Ford pickup truck and a testimony from Venice High School football coach John Peacock that the suspect was drinking at a party before the deadly wreck that killed his passenger. An FHP report also states that the suspect smelled of alcohol and had watery, bloodshot eyes at the scene.

The good news for the defendant is that the manslaughter charges requires not only proof that he was driving under the influence, but that he contributed to the crash in some way. Both unharmed passengers in the Ford truck claim the defendant swerved to avoid hitting a deer.

I can easily see this man avoiding a DUI manslaughter charge because I see no way of proving he contributed to the crash. However, the passengers credibility could be skewed. Updates as they are available.

Have you been accused of DUI in Sarasota? If so please fill out the form to the right or call 941-916-3627 for your free consultation. Our FL DUI attorneys can handle your case whether you were arrested in Venice, Sarasota, North Port, Longboat Key or smaller municipality such as Braden River.

Source

The sheriff’s office reports that 51-year-old Tommy Charles Miller was riding a bike Saturday night without any lights. When deputies stopped him, they reported that his eyes appeared bloodshot, and he smelled like alcohol. Deputies also found two cans of beer in the bike’s front basket.

Miller was arrested and charged with DUI, refusing to submit to a DUI test, having an open alcohol container in public and refusing to sign a citation. He was being held on $7,000 bail.

Musca Law handles a full range of Sarasota County felony and misdemeanor crimes, including DUI. If you have been charged with a drunk driving or other criminal offense in Sarasota call 1-800-MUSCA-Law to schedule a free initial meeting. Musca Law also services the rest of Florida with DUI charges.

Source