Miami DUI Attorney Blog

A Broward County mother has been charged with DUI and child neglect after passing out in the driver's seat of the family car. Her two toddlers were later found wandering the streets miles from their home. The mother, 44-year old Brenda Lee Duclos, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, fell asleep behind the wheel in her driveway prior to picking up her eldest child at school.

After a couple of hours, the driver's two younger children, ages 3 and 4, left the vehicle to find their elder sibling. A concerned citizen contacted police after finding the two toddlers walking the streets alone. Officers responded to the scene and found Duclos passed out in the driver's seat of the running vehicle. She refused to submit to breath or sobriety testing and then subsequently arrested on charges of DUI and child neglect.

The toddlers of the children are currently in the custody of their father. The father has stated to Police that he hopes this arrest is a wake-up call for his wife. Duclos has not posted the $5,000 bond and remains inside the Pompano Beach Jail.

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Around the country, stories involving driving under the influence/driving while intoxicated often make it into the news, even thousands of miles from where the events occurred. Unfortunately, a story from Chicago has made national headlines after a police officer's bail was set at $2 million this week. Law enforcement officials familiar with the case believe that Richard Bolling was driving while under the influence of alcohol early on Saturday morning, traveling the wrong way down a one way street in the Windy City. Bolling has been charged with DUI, reckless homicide, and leaving the scene of an accident after he allegedly hit a young teenager who was riding a bike. Trenton Booker, who was 13 years old, was riding down the one way street in his South Side neighborhood at about 1:30 in the morning after he snuck out of the house sometime after he went to bed. Booker was struck and died at the scene. Bolling allegedly failed to call authorities. He remains in jail in lieu of the $2 million bond and has been relieved of his law enforcement duties; the Chicago Police Department is also investigating the accident as a personnel matter.

In news from the Northeast, the actor Rip Torn has been allowed to complete an alcohol education class rather than face jail after a DUI arrest in December. He pleaded not guilty to the charge earlier this year. Torn, who is 78, is known for his roles in \ television shows, including "30 Rock" and movies such as "Men in Black." He resides in Salisbury, Connecticut, and this is his first DUI offense in the state. He has, however, been arrested for DUI on two prior occasions in New York. Torn's driving privileges have been not been revoked by the state.

The original reports are available here and here.

A woman in Cape Coral, Florida was arrested recently for driving under the influence. After police pulled over the vehicle she was driving, they discovered the presence of a three-week-old infant in the car. The woman, Malissa MacQuillan, 27, was stopped after a police officer saw her driving and became suspicious.

The law enforcement officer who conducted the traffic stop asked MacQuillan to perform a roadside field sobriety test. After her unsatisfactory performance, the officer placed MacQuillan under arrest. According to the law enforcement breathalyzer device, MacQuillan's breath alcohol concentration was almost 0.17, over twice the level at which a driver is presumed to be impaired for purposes of Florida DUI/DWI laws. MacQuillan was taken into custody but later released.

Prosecutors have charged MacQuillan with driving under the influence and cruelty toward a child. Police notified the Florida Department of Children and Families about the incident following MacQuillan's arrest. The baby is now in the care of a relative, a fairly common practice. When the parent of a young child is arrested for a crime, the DCF frequently makes an inquiry into the fitness of the parent and the home more generally. This is particularly true if the crime in any way endangered a child. Driving under the influence of alcohol with a minor present in the vehicle is just a single example of the type of charge that could result in the temporary or even permanent placement of a child into the custody of another caretaker, such as a family member or foster home. Other crimes that could trigger a DCF investigation include selling or manufacturing a controlled substance, violent crimes, sex crimes, and any criminal activity that occurs in the home or in the child's presence. Additionally, using illegal drugs in the home can result in the intervention of DCF.

A crime report is available here.

Under Florida law, the penalty for a driving under the influence conviction can be enhanced for certain reasons. These reasons, which can result in harsher sentencing for those convicted of DUI/DWI, are known as aggravating factors. First, if the driver had a very high blood alcohol concentration, which grossly exceeds the 0.08 percent concentration at which state law presumes a driver is impaired, the judge can and likely will impose a tougher sentence. The second factor that can result in a more severe sentence is having a child under the age of 18 years of age in the vehicle at the time the DUI occurred. Police, prosecutors, and judges tend to take the presence of a minor seriously, because the driver is endangering the welfare of a child. Additionally, the driver of the vehicle is setting an example of poor adult behavior by drinking and driving in front of a young and impressionable person.

DUI is also an enhanceable crime under Florida law. An enhanceable charge is one for which the penalty worsens each additional time a person is convicted of the charge. For example, a driver who is convicted of misdemeanor driving under the influence one time will typically receive a much lighter sentence than a driver facing his third or fourth conviction for the same offense. Third-time DUIs are frequently, and fourth-time DUIs are generally always, charged as felonies in accordance with state law. The enhanceable DUI/DWI scheme in Florida is similar to those used in other states. Incidentally, the earlier DUI convictions need not have occurred in Florida: even out-of-state DUI convictions will count toward the total necessary to enhance the offense. For subsequent DUI convictions, longer terms in jail, higher fines, and longer periods of driver's license suspension - or even permanent driver's license revocation - can result. The fourth time a driver is convicted of DUI, his license is usually permanently revoked by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.