Aggravated DUI Fleeing and Eluding (High Speed) Amended to Reckless Driving
The criminal justice system in Florida has a unique punishment code compared to other states. Although the goal of the criminal punishment code is to provide punishment to individuals that break the law, there are different features of the code that try and limit consequences for first-time offenders of certain crimes. In Florida, you can be convicted of a crime, but have the adjudication of guilt withheld. At first this concept seems confusing, but it is actually pretty simple.
If you are charged with a felony and you receive a withhold of adjudication, that means that you are not a convicted felon. You will still receive punishment for the offense and may need to complete a term of probation along with other special conditions, but you can still vote and you do not need to report on a job application that you are a convicted felon.
There are certain crimes that require a mandatory adjudication such as DUI and fleeing and eluding. If you are adjudicated for the crime you cannot get the case sealed or expunged. When a charge requires an adjudication the consequences you face are stiffer. The only way to avoid an adjudication for these crimes is to take the case to trial and be found not guilty, negotiate with the State for a change of charge or be eligible for a youthful offender sentence.
The reason that certain crimes require a mandatory adjudication is because the legislature found these crimes require an enhanced punishment for deterrence purposes. It is important to have a skilled attorney who is familiar with the intricacies of the law when you are charged with crimes that require a mandatory adjudication.
Our law firm was retained on a case where the client was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding, a second-degree felony. When reviewing the case with the client during the initial consultation we were able to identify some holes in the State’s case. We realized that it would be difficult for the State to prove the identity of our client since he was never stopped by the police during the course of the alleged fleeing and eluding.
The first element the State must prove for a defendant to be convicted of fleeing and eluding is “Defendant was operating a vehicle upon a street or highway in Florida.” We knew that the State would have difficulties proving identity beyond a reasonable doubt. However, it was not until we took the depositions of the officers involved in this case that we found the golden ticket.
During the deposition of the lead officer we learned that this officer was reprimanded as a direct result of his actions in this investigation. Another police officer from another police department saw a YouTube video that showed the police officer in this investigation breaking police policy regarding proper protocol for police chases. The police officer from the other department sent this YouTube video to internal affairs and the police officer in our case was reprimand as a direct result of his actions in this case. The icing on the cake that we also learned in deposition was that the officer was recently placed on administrative leave due to his recent arrest for DUI.