Suspended Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon was arrested for driving under the influence (more commonly referred to as DUI) in Oklahoma this past week.   According to an Ardmore Police Department arrest report, a traffic stop was conducted by the police on a 2015 Jeep Wrangler that Blackmon was driving due to a non-working brake light at 3:46 a.m.   Upon being pulled over, the police officer noted an odor of alcohol and asked Blackmon and the passenger if they had been drinking.  Blackmon admitted to having two alcoholic drinks at a local bar and had both slurred and slow speech.  The officer then asked Blackmon to take several field sobriety tests.  The police noted that Blackmon failed those field sobriety tests and also failed a preliminary breath test conducted on the scene.  Blackmon was subsequently arrested, and refused to provide a breath sample after being taken back to the police station.  Upon being booked at the Carter County Jail for the DUI, Blackmon became angry and refused to give police officers his phone number.

In Florida, there are dual theories of prosecution for DUI:

1. driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state;

2. while under the influence of alcohol or a chemical or controlledsubstance;

3. to the extent that his normal faculties were impaired

OR

4. with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or a breath alcohol level of .08 or more grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath

Actual Physical ControlActual Physical Control (APC) “means the defendant must be physically in or on the vehicle and have the capability to operate the vehicle, regardless of whether or not he is actually operating the vehicle at the time.”  A vehicle is any device, in, upon, or by which any person or property is, or may be, transported or drawn upon a highway except devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.  See Fla. Stat. § 316.003(75).  Any amount of alcohol may cause a defendant to be under the influence and affect his normal faculties.  Normal Faculties include, but are not limited to, the ability to see, hear, walk, talk, judge distances, drive an automobile, make judgments, act in emergencies, and, in general, normally perform the many mental and physical acts of daily lives.  See Fla. Stat. § 316.1934(1).

Depending on one’s driving history, the penalties for a DUI vary as follows:

First DUI Conviction:

• Fine: Not less than $500, or more than $1,000. With Blood/Breath Alcohol Level (BAL) of .15 or higher or minor in the vehicle not less than $1,000, or more than $2,000;
• Jail: Not more than 6 months. With Blood/Breath Alcohol Level (BAL) of .15 or higher or minor in the vehicle not more than 9 months;
• Probation: Total period of probation and incarceration may not exceed 1 year;
• Mandatory 50 hours of community service or additional $10 fine for each hour of community service required;
• Vehicle impoundment for 10 days (unless family of the defendant has no other transportation)
• Minimum 6 months license revocation; maximum of 1 year;
• Increasing cost of insurance as you will be required to purchase 100/300 coverage

Second DUI Conviction (within 5 years):

• Fine: Not less than $1,000, or more than $2,000. With Blood/Breath Alcohol Level (BAL)  of .15 or higher or minor in the vehicle: Not less than $2,000, or more than $4,000;
• Jail: Not more than 9 months. With BAL of .15 or higher or minor in the vehicle: Not more than 12 months. If second conviction within 5 years, mandatory imprisonment of at least 10 days. At least 48 hours of confinement must be consecutive;
• Vehicle impoundment for 30 days (unless family of the defendant has no other transportation)
• License revocation: Minimum 5 years revocation.  Maximum lifetime revocation.  May be eligible for hardship reinstatement after 1 year.

Third DUI Conviction:

• Fine: (More than 10 years from second): Not less than $2,000, or more than $5,000. With BAL of .15 or higher or minor in the vehicle: Not less than $4,000;
• Jail: If third conviction within 10 years, mandatory imprisonment of at least 30 days. At least 48 hours of confinement must be consecutive. If third conviction more than 10 years, imprisonment for not more than 12 months. Minimum sentence of 30 days if convicted within 10 years of a first offense
• Vehicle impoundment for 90 days if convicted within 10 years of a first offense;
• License revocation: Within 10 Years of the second conviction: minimum 10 years revocation. May be eligible for a hardship reinstatement after two years

Fourth DUI Conviction:

• Third Degree Felony Charge
• Minimum fine of  no less than $2,000;
• Up to 5 years State prison;
• Mandatory permanent license revocation;
• No hardship reinstatement.

Conditions for Release of Persons Arrested for DUIs. (Florida Statute 316.193 (9)):

• The person is no longer under the influence;
• The person’s normal faculties are no longer impaired;
• The person’s blood/breath alcohol level is lower than 0.05; or
• Eight hours have elapsed from the time the person was arrested.

If you have any questions about driving under the influence (DUI), please feel free to contact Miami Criminal Defense Attorney Adam K. Goodman, managing partner of the Law Office of Adam K. Goodman, PLLC, at 305-482-3265.  For more information, please see us online at ‪‪www.adamgoodmanlaw.com.

---

The law in Oklahoma towards DUIs is similar to that in Florida with regards to the elements of the crime.  In order to prove a DUI in Oklahoma, the State must prove that a defendant is driving, operating, or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle within and:

1. Has a blood or breath alcohol concentration of eight-hundredths (0.08) or more at the time of a test of such person’s blood or breath administered within two (2) hours after the arrest of such person;
2. Is under the influence of alcohol;
3. Is under the influence of any intoxicating substance other than alcohol which may render such person incapable of safely driving or operating a motor vehicle; or
4. Is under the combined influence of alcohol and any other intoxicating substance which may render such person incapable of safely driving or operating a motor vehicle.

However, the penalties vary from Florida greatly.

First DUI Conviction:

• Ordered to participate in an alcohol and drug substance abuse evaluation and assessment program offered by a certified assessment agency or certified assessor for the purpose of evaluating and assessing the receptivity to treatment and prognosis of the person and shall follow all recommendations made in the assessment and evaluation for treatment;
• Be punished by imprisonment in jail for not less than ten (10) days nor more than one (1) year;
• Be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00);
• 30 day license suspension

Second DUI Conviction (within 10 years):

• Follow all recommendations made in the assessment and evaluation for treatment at the defendant’s expense; or
• Placement in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than one (1) year and not to exceed five (5) years;
• Fine of not more than Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00);
• 6 month license suspension

However, if the treatment does not include residential or inpatient treatment for a period of not less than five (5) days, the person shall serve a term of imprisonment of at least five (5) days.

Third DUI Conviction (within 10 years):

• Shall participate in an assessment and evaluation;
• Follow all recommendations made in the assessment and evaluation for treatment at the defendant’s expense;
• Two hundred forty (240) hours of community service and use of an ignition interlock device; or
• Placement in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than one (1) year and not to exceed ten (10) years;
• Fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00)

However, if the treatment i does not include residential or inpatient treatment for a period of not less than ten (10) days, the person shall serve a term of imprisonment of at least ten (10) days.

Fourth DUI Conviction (within 10 years):

• Shall participate in an assessment and evaluation;
• Follow all recommendations made in the assessment and evaluation for treatment at the defendant’s expense, followed by not less than one (1) year of supervision and periodic testing at the defendant’s expense;
• Four hundred eighty (480) hours of community service, and use of an ignition interlock device for a minimum of thirty (30) days; or
• Placement in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than one (1) year and not to exceed twenty (20) years;
• A fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).