The Florida Court of Appeals recently handed down its decision in the case of Flores v. State, No. 4D08-3866 (Fla.App. 2010), in which a foreigner accused of DUI and drug possession pled guilty on the advice of his attorney. Although Jose Flores's attorney had assured him that the court would not seek to deport him, the court did so, prompting his appeal on the grounds that he was misled by his lawyer. The appeals court ruled that because the trial judge had explained the consequences of pleading guilty correctly, bad advice from his attorney did not entitle Mr. Flores to relief.

Mr. Flores was charged with possession of cocaine and DUI in 1998 and was sentenced to a drug rehabilitation program. He failed to complete the program, however, and a warrant was issued for his arrest in 2000. Florida police caught up with him again in 2007, and he reached a plea agreement with the prosecutor to plead guilty to a reduced charge. His lawyer had advised him that there was no chance he would be deported if he pled guilty because the new charge was a misdemeanor. The judge who accepted the plea, as required by law, informed Mr. Flores of the consequences of pleading guilty, including the possibility of deportation. Mr. Flores listened to the judge's statements but did not think they applied in his case. Two weeks after he plead guilty, the department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") began deportation proceedings.

Joseph Gannascoli, who is well-known as Vito Spatafore from the HBO series "The Sopranos," was arrested this weekend in Tampa for a DUI charge.

The actor was stopped just before 3AM Sunday morning after he crossed over a center lane in the process of making a wide turn. The 51-year-old appeared intoxicated, according to arrest reports, and was issued field sobriety tests. After reportedly failing these tests, Gannascoli suppled a breath sample confirming his BAC was .11%, slightly over the legal limit.

Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court of Florida heard the case of State v. Blair, No. SC09-1407 (Fla. 2010). The appeal came up from the 4th district of the Florida Court of Appeals, which had made a decision that directly contradicted a decision made by the 5th circuit of the appeals court in Ricks v. State, 961 So.2d 1093 (Fla. 5thDCA 2007). The dispute centered around what circumstances would allow a court could order a defendant placed into custody before their trial and when the court would have to set bail.

Arthur Blair had been arrested for misdemeanor DUI and had appeared in court when summoned. On that day, however, he was told that the hearing he had come for had been cancelled and the prosecutor had declared nolle prosequi in his case. "Nolle prosequi" is a legal term that essentially means that the plaintiff or (in this case) the prosecutor chooses not to pursue a case at the present time but can restart the case later. What Mr. Blair did not know and was never told was that the prosecutor had filed a separate case against him for felony DUI. When Mr. Blair (not surprisingly) did not show up for the initial appearance in the felony case, the judge ordered that he be taken into custody and denied any release on bail.

A Port Charlotte, Florida, driver was sentenced to 30 years in jail for a February 2009 DUI accident that took the life of a 7-year-old girl.

25-year-old Ronald Smith was convicted of seven separate charges stemming from a Feb. 13 accident when he ran a red light at the intersection of Toledo Blade Blvd. and state road 776. Smith, driving a pick up truck at the time, hit the Mustang driven by Rick Heineman who was carrying his two young daughters. Heineman suffered brain injuries, 9-year-old Madison broke several bones, and then 7-year-old Sarah-Dian died 10 days after the wreck from neck injuries.

Months after a traffic accident that took the life of a passenger, 40-year-old Duane Livernis has been charged with Florida DUI  manslaughter.

Livernis was officially arrested Monday evening for DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage. The accident occurred slightly after 2AM on May 16. At that time, Livernis failed to yield to oncoming traffic when making a left hand turn. He collided with another vehicle, causing significant damage. 

In the wake of the infamous DUI arrest of Carlos Dunlap this fall, another Florida Gator has been arrested for DUI and alcohol possession on the Gainesville campus.

20-year-old Frankie Hammond, Jr., was pulled over for speeding in excess of 40mph in a 20mph zone. During the routine traffic stop, police officers found Hammond to have two empty bottles of Crown Royal in his car; the bottls were year 750-mL. After initiating a field sobriety tests, officers confirmed Hammond's BAC was over .08 percent with a breath test.

DUI charges against a semi-truck driver pulled over n I-75 near Orlando on Monday may lead to severe consequences.

51-year-old Curtis Bernard Hamilton was charged with two counts of DUI after a traffic stop where his BAC registered at .127 percent, well over the state's legal limit. The arrest occurred when a state trooper received reports the truck passed two motorists, nearly running them off the road in the process, according to the police report.

After they were struck by a DUI driver early Saturday morning, two veteran sergeants with the Miami Police Department were seriously injured.

Sgt. Robert G. Laurenceau and Sgt. Orlando R. Villaverde were injured in the process of carrying out a search for a suspected robber. As they were setting up a perimeter around 2:30AM, a DUI driver crashed into their vehicle, hitting both officers who were standing outside of the car at the time.