Everyone’s case is different, but the odds of successfully fighting a DUI case never looks good at first. My own cynical view of the legal system today sees a giant, incredibly complex bureaucracy that grinds along with relative indifference to efficiency, and as a characteristic consequence, entail...s a huge number of procedural missteps large and small. And here’s where selecting an attorney to represent you becomes critical. If you locate that individual most able to spot and exploit those tiny flaws, your prospects can be dramatically improved. I found such an individual in Sarasota, and his name is Darren Finebloom.
As a businessman, I’ve had to deal with a lot of attorneys over the years, some feckless, some pompous, and a few outstanding. But never have I encountered one as sharp and as diligent as Darren. Here’s what happened in my case:
In Florida, one’s license is automatically suspended for six to eighteen months, depending on various circumstances, as soon as one is arrested on a DUI charge. When eventually let out of jail (I think they have to detain the transgressor there for at least 8 hours) one can still drive for the next 10 days provided one carries a copy of the DUI citation (in lieu of a license which remains confiscated) at all times. The suspension can be challenged within those 10 days, but there is a gocha or two involved. This is something that the Florida DMV does and is completely independent of, and separate from the criminal DUI proceedings in court. In my case, Darren challenged that suspension and got it overturned over some small inconsistency in the documentation provided by the officer that arrested me, and one who specialized in DUI arrests, no less. I was amazed, and pleasantly surprised, but also figured it was just the luck of the draw this time. There was still the criminal charge to deal with.
The case dragged out for over a year due to unusual circumstances – the officer involved had been hospitalized for some time – but when the pre-trial hearings proceeded, Darren got the breathalyzer and field sobriety tests (the comical exercises they ask you to do to reveal your impairment) suppressed on an obscure and seemingly inconsequential detail during the arrest. Not only did he spot the error in the video recording of the event from the officers dash cam, but he dug up all kinds of precedent in his research to support his motion. I was present in court that day, and never before have I seen an attorney calmly and deftly finagle his way through the prosecutors response with his arguments. He was ready for everything. The state attorneys wouldn’t have it so they appealed for a rehearing before the same judge. Darren was quick to respond with a ton of research to argue that with no new evidence or facts it did not qualify for a rehearing. As he put it to me, “Hey, they just get one bite at the apple”. The State lost there too.
They still wouldn’t have it, so they appealed to the District Court of Appeals. This time however, they (the State) submitted their documentation a couple of days late, and once again Darren pounced, arguing that the appeal should be thrown out as untimely. The State still wouldn’t give up, so they filed a “petition for writ of mandamus” which seems to be a last ditch effort demanding the appeal not be thrown out. Then the State dragged their feet with two more pre-trial hearings scheduled over the next month before they finally gave up and dropped the case. With all the evidence they had being suppressed, all they would be able to say at a trial, had it gone that far, is that the officer believed I was intoxicated, without being able to indicate why he felt that way. i.e. not worth prosecuting.
In my mind, to see someone succeed time after time cannot simply be attributed to luck. Some people are just damn good at what they do. Darren is undoubtedly one of them