Miami DUI Attorney Blog

Donte Stallworth is a famous former National Football League wide receiver who played with the New Orleans Saints, the Philadelphia Eagles, the New England Patriots, and most recently with the Cleveland Browns during the 2008 season. Stallworth had signed his seven year contract worth $35 million with the Browns before the beginning of the last season, but later suspended indefinitely by the NFL after his criminal issues began, according to Miami DUI defense attorney John Musca. Stallworth was arrested earlier this year and charged with DUI Manslaughter in the death of a man he struck in the early hours of the morning of March 14. Stallworth's blood alcohol concentration was approximately .126 percent, according to testing carried out by law enforcement officers. If the blood test was accurate, his BAC was well in excess of the 0.08 percent level at which the law presumes that he was intoxicated. Stallworth was driving to his Miami home after staying out all night drinking at a fancy Miami Beach club. His victim, a Cuban immigrant, was killed as he crossed the street to catch the bus home to his wife and 15-year-old daughter. The football ex-star has issued a public apology for his actions to the family of Mario Reyes, the accident victim. Stallworth ultimately accepted a DUI Manslaughter plea deal from the State Attorney's Office. In exchange for his guilty plea, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail, as well as a long period of probation and house arrest. Stallworth claimed to have honked his horn and flashed his lights in warning to the pedestrian he struck. He also made the 911 phone call summoning emergency responders to the Macarthur Causeway and submitted to field sobriety tests at the scene of the accident. Stallworth was released from jail today, July 10, after serving just 24 days in prison. He was released prior to the end of his sentence for good behavior, which is a common method employed by corrections authorities to reduce prison overcrowding.

Miami DUI lawyer John Musca notes that the crime of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is one that has affected even the powerful and well-connected. On June 12, Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, son of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, checked himself back into a rehabilitation facility to deal with his ongoing problems with depression, prescription drug addiction, and bipolar disorder. Congressman Kennedy made headlines in 2006 when he crashed his 1997 Ford Mustang into a barricade in Washington, D.C. at 2:45 A.M., while apparently under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs. Surprisingly, Kennedy was not asked to perform field sobriety tests after the crash, but was instead driven to his home by the police officer who responded to the scene. Several witnesses later noted that Kennedy had been drinking at a local bar prior to the accident.

At a court appearance several months later, Kennedy pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle while impaired and was ordered was ordered to pay a $250 donation to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington, a $100 fine to the Victims of Crime Fund, and to perform 50 hours of community service with the Boys and Girls Club, says Miami DUI attorney John Musca. Kennedy was also given 12 months of probation and required to attend weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Kennedy blamed his car crash on an ongoing addiction to prescription medication which stemmed from his struggle with bipolar disorder. Prior to his sentencing, Kennedy spent one month in in-patient treatment for alcoholism and prescription drug abuse at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Interestingly, Kennedy's sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous has been a former Congressman from across the political aisle, Republican Jim Ramstad from Minnesota. Congressman Ramstad, who had his own addiction problems when he was first elected to Congress in the early 1980s, stated that the AA organization is well-equipped help people like Kennedy with a wide range of problems such as mental health and prescription drug abuse that go beyond alcoholism. Congressman Kennedy's office was reluctant to provide details about his decision to re-enter treatment. The Congressman's office did not disclose where Kennedy was entering treatment. Kennedy has admitted to attending treatment as a teenager for a cocaine addiction and having ongoing problems with alcoholism and depression.

Many drivers cannot envision a DUI arrest. Imagine that you have been at a friend's housewarming party. While there, you snacked on various cheeses and enjoyed several glasses of red wine in the company of friends, staying late into the night. At around midnight, however, the party begins to die out as most people depart to leave for their respective homes. You stay behind for about ten minutes to help the host pick up after the guests before saying good night yourself. After pulling out of the driveway in your own car, you drive slowly down the deserted residential street, becoming increasingly aware of the wooziness you feel from the wine. Up ahead is a 24-hour drug store, so you decide to pull into the parking lot and relax for a few minutes, until you feel that you are in a safer driving condition. You pull into a spot, remove the keys from the ignition, and place them into your pocket. Then, you lean back, and maybe even doze off for a few moments, only to be abruptly jolted by a very suspicious police officer. His demeanor is immediately alarming to you, because he is acting as though you have done something wrong. Have you?

According to the criminal laws of the state of Florida, you probably have. If you are impaired by alcohol or another substance while "driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state," you are guilty of driving under the influence (Florida Statute 316.193). This reading of the law is surprising to most people. After all, in the scenario above, the motorist is trying to be safe and is not actually operating the vehicle when the police officer appears. However, the term "actual physical control" has been construed to apply to people who are not literally driving a car, even when the keys are not in the ignition. In fact, even if you had relaxed for a few moments in your car in the friend's driveway - on private property and without ever turning on the car - you could still be arrested and convicted for DUI.