For the most of us, the possibility of getting a DUI increases during the holidays.

The holidays are a time when we attempt to leave work at work and spend some quality time with the ones we love. The holidays also include parties and a drink or two with old friends.

In this post I wanted to pass on a few tips from the trenches during my experience as a prosecutor and now Florida DUI Defense Lawyer.

Tip 1. Don’t drink! Ok, this is an easy one but I felt obligated to include it in the post. Driving after you’ve had too many will not only cost you a lot of money but it could cost you your job and possibly your life, or the life of another.

Tip 2. If you insist on drinking alcohol, be smart about it.  Eat enough food to have a full stomach and watch those drinks. For a 120 pound female 3 beers/shots/glasses of wine in an hour and your right at .08 (Florida’s legal limit).Take a look at this link for a blood alcohol calculator and figure out your limit.

Tip 3. Make sure your vehicle is in good working order, your driver’s license is valid, and your registration is current. An expired tag or a bad tail light is a sure-fire way to get pulled over and peppered with questions from a law enforcement officer. If you live in Florida, you can quickly check the status of your driver’s license at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles website.

Tip 4. Obey every traffic law to the “T”. This means: no rolling stops, signaling every time you switch lanes, and keeping it between the lines.

Tip 5. If you decide to “sleep it off” in your car, make sure that the car is not running and the keys are nowhere near the ignition. I know it’s cold and the heat would feel so nice but don’t risk it. In Florida, a person can be prosecuted for DUI if they are in “actual physical control” of the vehicle; this has been interpreted to mean the ability to control use and non-use (aka. drive the vehicle if you wanted to). Throw those keys in the bushes!

Tip 6. If you do get pulled over, make sure that you have your driver’s license, insurance, and registration ready to hand to the officer. Fumbling and searching for this information is the first thing the officer will write in the police report.

Tip 7. Check the local paper and watch the news for any mention of a planned checkpoint stop. Not only will this add time to your commute but who wants to stand on one leg , touch your nose, or walk a straight line if it can be easily avoided.

Tip 8. Stay off your cell phone and leave the radio where it is; it doesn’t matter if you hate “Grandma got runned over by a reindeer”; Just let it play. You need to be focused on your driving; too many people die each year from Texting and Driving alone, add alcohol to into the mix and the results are incredibly deadly.

Not only will having a designated driver keep you from getting a DUI but it just might save a life . Impaired driving could not only ruin your life but it could ruin (or even end) the life of another.

I hope everyone has an amazing: Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, and any other holiday I forgot. In the event that your holiday season takes a turn for the worse, the Garvin Law Firm is here and ready to act in court on your behalf; we can help pick up the pieces and get things back on track; whether your facing a Criminal Arrest or injured an Auto Accident.

After a recent string of arrests for videotaping law enforcement officers, the internet has been buzzing with talk over whether or not it should be legal to videotape police officers while they are performing their duties. Depending on the state that you are located in, the penalty could either be a misdemeanor or even a felony. Take a look at Carlos Millers story on the South Florida model who was jailed overnight and originally charged with a felony for videotaping Boynton Beach Police Officers in 2009.

Law enforcement officers all over the U.S. argue that being filmed interferes with their investigation and is a danger to their safety. This position of police officers however, must be balanced with the safety and constitutional rights of civilians who all to often become the victim of over zealous police misconduct.

Lets take a look back at some of the more recent videos which further enforce the point that videotaping Cops should always be legal.

10. Police Brutality: Cop Slams Elderly Woman’s Head On The Concrete.

9. Police Brutality at Ultra Music Festival, Miami, 2007

Cop beating the crap out of some guy. I am sure the guy was on drugs, maybe even dealing drugs. Still doesnt warrant the cop beating him sensless. This clip is only the middle of the fight. I didnt have my phone ready and I stopped right as the crowd started to react to the violence. Added: It seems from reading the comments there are some people saying that this does not look like brutality. What the video does not show is the beginning part that grabbed my attention in the first place; which was the cop jumping the guy and punching him several times, thus the bloody nose.

8. Woman arrested for DWI, beat by police off camera

A police officer has been fired after an incident in which a female prisoner, who was taken into custody on suspicion of DWI, wound up lying on the police station floor in a pool of blood. Much of what happened was recorded on a videotape, but there is a gap of undetermined length.

7. South Carolina Police Brutality

6. Fort Lauderdale PD police brutality

5. Surveillance video shows Fort Lauderdale police beating man in elevator

After a beat down in an elevator, Joshua Daniel Ortiz ended up with his nose broken and facing a charge of battering a Fort Lauderdale police officer. The 22-year-old man was surprised and delighted to learn Wednesday that Broward prosecutors were dropping the case against him after reviewing an elevator surveillance video showing three officers aggressively rush and beat Ortiz to the ground.

4. Utah Police Brutality

“Comes back at me, and falls down on the freaking ground…. Yeah, he just fell here and passed out.” – Millard County deputy Crete Carter

3. Hollywood PD Frame Driver On Tape!

“We’re going to bend this a little bit” – Officer Dewey Pressley, a 21 yearr veteran

2. SFPD Officer Threatens to Break Skater’s Arm “Like a Twig”

1. Rodney King

Last week Broward County Court Judge Lee Jay Seidman concluded a four-day hearing by ruling that the accuracy of many breath tests using the Intoxilyzer 8000 has been “fatally compromised.”

The Intoxilyzer 8000 is the most recent version of a device that is designed to detect the percentage of alcohol in the breath of a suspect who has been arrested upon suspicion of drunk driving; this device is commonly referred to as a breathalyzer. Pursuant to Florida law these machines must be periodically inspected and certified for accuracy by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Previous to this ruling F.D.L.E. inspector, Sandra Vegia, testified that during her inspections of the Intoxilyzer she would commonly cut off the power to the device if it did not meet specifications and then conduct the inspection a second time with the hopes of receiving a passing score.

In addition to ruling that state law “was not substantially complied with” Judge Seidman went on to say that “Moreover and certainly more troubling is the further finding that fraudulent practices and the systematic intentional destruction of evidence occurred regarding these state-regulated breath alcohol testing machines.”

While Judges in Monroe, Manatee, and Sarasota counties have already ruled that the Intoxilyzer 8000 results are not admissible in a criminal prosecution, Judge Seidman is the first Broward Judge to make this ruling. His ruling will only apply to DUI cases that occurred from 2007 through the summer of 1008.

Broward criminal defense lawyers are anxiously awaiting the rulings of many other Fort Lauderdale county court judges who have yet to weigh in the matter. Meanwhile, DUI Attorneys in Palm Beach are preparing to file these same motions on cases involving the Intoxilyzer 8000.