DUI Appeal-How, When?

[guruuno]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? (Florida)

After reading all of this, the bottom line is how do I get my appeal, that I wanted, and was never given, notified, or any record of?

I MAY have asked/posted here before, but I am doing so now only because of the unresolved nature of this issue.

In March of 2001, I was arrested for DUI, I passed the test with a .72.

I requested a Public Defender, and was assigned one. Later, he informed me that there would be two, another, K.H.. I requested a Jury trial, as I professed my innocence. They (the Public Defenders) were not happy. They offered pleas to reckless driving. In Florida, it will remain on record for LIFE, as a DUI arrest, and my concept was to have the records expunged after the trial, if found not guilty.

During the course of the time before the trial, I informed my attorneys that I wanted all of my medical records presented at trial, and with expert witnesses. I have a back problem, called 2nd degree spondolothesis. I was not offered an alternative test in the field.

I also am not sure, but I feel the Judge may have been biased. Also, during Jury selection, I had to use the bathroom, and my lawyer did not want me to walk by the jury. Yet, during the lunch break, we all sat across from one another in the cafeteria in the court house, and I even met a juror in the men’s room. Now is that supposed to be acceptable?

I filed for an appeal, I was never contacted, it is 4 years later, and I'm worried.

I had a friend who is an attorney contact the lawyer in Florida as well as the court, and I am told my appeal was denied. I never had any correspondence with anyone since the day in court in 2001 and am curios to know if 'that's the way it works'. (the appeal process)

In the meantime, I had several friend in the know, check me out, and there is a warrant for failure to appear, and nothing else. However, I cannot continue to worry every day of my life never knowing if I get pulled over for something, I would wind up in jail.

The Judge at the time of the case also told me I should write a letter to him indicating why I should not pay the $500, which as I stated before, I was not contesting. In any event, I wrote him a letter expressing my dissatisfaction with the way he handled the trial.

Excerpts below:


Dear Judge,

I am providing you this letter regarding my disagreement with the imposed penalty placed upon me by you referring to the fees to be paid to the Public Defender’s Office for $500, as you requested if I did so.

Also, for factual information to be part of this letter, I will provide the reasoning.

I will not be able to appear “Pro-Bono”, until I post my bail, unless you wish to reduce it to $500.

On multiple occasions, I requested that the Attorneys from the Public Defender’s Office proceed according to my wishes and demands. They were ignored. Specifically, and most importantly, the major reason that I am not happy with their representation was due to the reason that I had asked for medical records and medical expert witnesses be provided on behalf of my defense. I was told my Public Defender that it was in his opinion that we should not. I disagreed, and we went forward. Unfortunately, the attorneys were afraid to confront you on several occasions prior, believing that you would “chew their heads off” (my impression, and my Public Defenders' reply to my inquiries), and they made the impression on me not to piss you off, hence my inability to be open and freely speak regarding those issues. (Not being able to address the court, and not being able to rely upon my attorneys to advise me of the process and procedures to address this issue). Also, when “dealing” to “cop a plea”, my major concur was that my record could be expunged, as it is an unblemished one. My Public Defender stated, “I believe that it can.” I stated that I could NOT cop to a plea on her advice stating she “believed”, and questioned her ability to interpret the law and do her job, for ME, the defendant she was representing. After I did research, and forwarded the information to her, ("Information formalizing the petitioner's criminal history, such as an arrest, detention, indictment, information, or other formal criminal charge and the disposition thereof, would be subject to expungement under section 943.0585, Florida Statutes." Opinion #2000-16), she still could not make a solid statement of knowledge. I question her abilities.

Hence, the State was able to make a mockery of my medical issues, basically telling the jury, “Mr. XXX (me) is making up all these excuses….”, and when on the stand, he asked me where my medical experts were, and my attorneys objected, quelling due process regarding my defense.

I am not a drunk, not an alcoholic, nor do I drink for pleasure. I drink socially, on occasion, and that evening I fell victim to circumstance, and because of my vertigo and bad back, I was arrested and found guilty by a jury because I could not prove my case, because of Attorney Misrepresentation.

I’m still in the process of attempting to gather enough funds for my Supercedious Bail, and it’ll be a while. Unfortunate for me, but the “system” has made it very difficult for me from the very beginning of this fiasco. After the trial, my Public Defender asked you about reporting for probation, Florida, New Jersey, and all that, and you said, with tone, “Well you have a Florida driver’s license, so I guess you’ll have to come back to Florida.” Yet, at my appeal and hearing for bond, when asked about lowering the amount to the “normal” $500 amount from $2,500 you said, “You don’t live in Florida, so I must impose the maximum amount.”, or something to that effect. I could have very easily stated that I live in Florida again, and use my PO Box address or family’s address, to resolve that matter, while awaiting my appeal decision. But unfortunate for me (again), I’ll be in violation of Probation for not having the bond posted yet, and that in itself is going to create a myriad of issues, with a domino effect.

I feel that this entire process, and I’ll be glad to go into detail when needed, was a mockery of the judicial system. Lawyers and Judges making sidebar deals to cop a plea to a non-existent charge so a trial would not need to take place, and YOU swaying a jury because I used descriptive terms to emphasize my unfounded fright and disbelief of the course of events, and ME having to walk by my Jurors in the cafeteria during lunch break to be judged by them, yet during Jury selection, I was advised not to go to the men’s room when I needed to, by my Public Defender, as she did not want me walking by any of them. And then when I DID go to the men’s room, to see one of the jurors in there, and have him look at me. What a joke!!

I’m sorry that you had to have a trial that day, and if it took away from plans or other activities that may have been on you agenda if I did cop to a plea, well, I can’t help that. It appeared that you had a crass attitude and were very disturbed that you had to have that trial for me. Even at the beginning of the trial, instructing the Jury, “This shouldn’t take very long.” HOW DARE YOU!!! Most Jury trials, especially with all of the lifelong things that remain afterwards, should take as long as possible, to present a proper defense, and call as many witnesses as needed to prove or disprove a case. You slanted the jury, making them believe it was a cut and dry, open and shut case, by making that statement!

[TYRIS]

Originally Posted by guruuno

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? (Florida)

After reading all of this, the bottom line is how do I get my appeal, that I wanted, and was never given, notified, or any record of?

I MAY have asked/posted here before, but I am doing so now only because of the unresolved nature of this issue.

In March of 2001, I was arrested for DUI, I passed the test with a .72.

I requested a Public Defender, and was assigned one. Later, he informed me that there would be two, another, K.H.. I requested a Jury trial, as I professed my innocence. They (the Public Defenders) were not happy. They offered pleas to reckless driving. In Florida, it will remain on record for LIFE, as a DUI arrest, and my concept was to have the records expunged after the trial, if found not guilty.

During the course of the time before the trial, I informed my attorneys that I wanted all of my medical records presented at trial, and with expert witnesses. I have a back problem, called 2nd degree spondolothesis. I was not offered an alternative test in the field.

I also am not sure, but I feel the Judge may have been biased. Also, during Jury selection, I had to use the bathroom, and my lawyer did not want me to walk by the jury. Yet, during the lunch break, we all sat across from one another in the cafeteria in the court house, and I even met a juror in the men’s room. Now is that supposed to be acceptable?

I filed for an appeal, I was never contacted, it is 4 years later, and I'm worried.

I had a friend who is an attorney contact the lawyer in Florida as well as the court, and I am told my appeal was denied. I never had any correspondence with anyone since the day in court in 2001 and am curios to know if 'that's the way it works'. (the appeal process)

In the meantime, I had several friend in the know, check me out, and there is a warrant for failure to appear, and nothing else. However, I cannot continue to worry every day of my life never knowing if I get pulled over for something, I would wind up in jail.

The Judge at the time of the case also told me I should write a letter to him indicating why I should not pay the $500, which as I stated before, I was not contesting. In any event, I wrote him a letter expressing my dissatisfaction with the way he handled the trial.

Excerpts below:


Dear Judge,

I am providing you this letter regarding my disagreement with the imposed penalty placed upon me by you referring to the fees to be paid to the Public Defender’s Office for $500, as you requested if I did so.

Also, for factual information to be part of this letter, I will provide the reasoning.

I will not be able to appear “Pro-Bono”, until I post my bail, unless you wish to reduce it to $500.

On multiple occasions, I requested that the Attorneys from the Public Defender’s Office proceed according to my wishes and demands. They were ignored. Specifically, and most importantly, the major reason that I am not happy with their representation was due to the reason that I had asked for medical records and medical expert witnesses be provided on behalf of my defense. I was told my Public Defender that it was in his opinion that we should not. I disagreed, and we went forward. Unfortunately, the attorneys were afraid to confront you on several occasions prior, believing that you would “chew their heads off” (my impression, and my Public Defenders' reply to my inquiries), and they made the impression on me not to piss you off, hence my inability to be open and freely speak regarding those issues. (Not being able to address the court, and not being able to rely upon my attorneys to advise me of the process and procedures to address this issue). Also, when “dealing” to “cop a plea”, my major concur was that my record could be expunged, as it is an unblemished one. My Public Defender stated, “I believe that it can.” I stated that I could NOT cop to a plea on her advice stating she “believed”, and questioned her ability to interpret the law and do her job, for ME, the defendant she was representing. After I did research, and forwarded the information to her, ("Information formalizing the petitioner's criminal history, such as an arrest, detention, indictment, information, or other formal criminal charge and the disposition thereof, would be subject to expungement under section 943.0585, Florida Statutes." Opinion #2000-16), she still could not make a solid statement of knowledge. I question her abilities.

Hence, the State was able to make a mockery of my medical issues, basically telling the jury, “Mr. XXX (me) is making up all these excuses….”, and when on the stand, he asked me where my medical experts were, and my attorneys objected, quelling due process regarding my defense.

I am not a drunk, not an alcoholic, nor do I drink for pleasure. I drink socially, on occasion, and that evening I fell victim to circumstance, and because of my vertigo and bad back, I was arrested and found guilty by a jury because I could not prove my case, because of Attorney Misrepresentation.

I’m still in the process of attempting to gather enough funds for my Supercedious Bail, and it’ll be a while. Unfortunate for me, but the “system” has made it very difficult for me from the very beginning of this fiasco. After the trial, my Public Defender asked you about reporting for probation, Florida, New Jersey, and all that, and you said, with tone, “Well you have a Florida driver’s license, so I guess you’ll have to come back to Florida.” Yet, at my appeal and hearing for bond, when asked about lowering the amount to the “normal” $500 amount from $2,500 you said, “You don’t live in Florida, so I must impose the maximum amount.”, or something to that effect. I could have very easily stated that I live in Florida again, and use my PO Box address or family’s address, to resolve that matter, while awaiting my appeal decision. But unfortunate for me (again), I’ll be in violation of Probation for not having the bond posted yet, and that in itself is going to create a myriad of issues, with a domino effect.

I feel that this entire process, and I’ll be glad to go into detail when needed, was a mockery of the judicial system. Lawyers and Judges making sidebar deals to cop a plea to a non-existent charge so a trial would not need to take place, and YOU swaying a jury because I used descriptive terms to emphasize my unfounded fright and disbelief of the course of events, and ME having to walk by my Jurors in the cafeteria during lunch break to be judged by them, yet during Jury selection, I was advised not to go to the men’s room when I needed to, by my Public Defender, as she did not want me walking by any of them. And then when I DID go to the men’s room, to see one of the jurors in there, and have him look at me. What a joke!!

I’m sorry that you had to have a trial that day, and if it took away from plans or other activities that may have been on you agenda if I did cop to a plea, well, I can’t help that. It appeared that you had a crass attitude and were very disturbed that you had to have that trial for me. Even at the beginning of the trial, instructing the Jury, “This shouldn’t take very long.” HOW DARE YOU!!! Most Jury trials, especially with all of the lifelong things that remain afterwards, should take as long as possible, to present a proper defense, and call as many witnesses as needed to prove or disprove a case. You slanted the jury, making them believe it was a cut and dry, open and shut case, by making that statement!

-Did you provide a breath sample or a blood test? If so what was it.

You state that you passed the tests. If you did, you would not have been arrested. And what exactly do you mean that you passed with a .72?

And as to your "Factual Letter" to the judge....I highly doubt that it will be looked upon favorably.


Tyris

[racer72]

Your letter to the judge is worthless. Judges are barred by law from making decisions based on letters sent to them, they can only make decisions based on testimony given in a court of law. The judge most likely never saw your letter, it was probably tossed by a secratary to prevent any possible conflicts. And a .072 reading does not mean you passed the breathylizer, instead of being charged with driving while intoxicated, you were probably charged and rightfully convicted of driving while impaired.

[guruuno]

FLA

-Did you provide a breath sample or a blood test? If so what was it.
BREATH, .72, .80 IS LIMIT

You state that you passed the tests.
PASSED THE BREATHALYZER TEST

If you did, you would not have been arrested. And what exactly do you mean that you passed with a .72?
.72 OF A .80 (WHICH IS THE LIMIT)

WAS ARRESTED FOR DUI BECAUSE WHEN I DID THE "TURN" I DIDN'T DO IT CORRECTLY.
I WAS ASKED IF I HAVE ANY MEDICAL ISSUES TO PROHIBIT ME FROM DOING THE WALK AND TURN TEST, AND I REPLIED YES, I HAVE A BAD BACK. NO ALTERNATIVE TESTS WERE OFFERED.

The issue I need to address/resolve is why I was not notified of anything regarding my appeal, and how to go to the next level to have the appeal continue to be presented until accepted and have the trial redone, as well as bring into evidence the fact the the Judge biased the jury and I was railroaded, being (trying to) force to to "cop a plea" which I did not, nor will I ever, to something I am not or was not guilty of.

The fact of the matter is that in Florida, tremendous amounts of revenue is derived from DUI's, and because I was driving a new BMW M3, was driving a tad quick, and was pulled over at a DUI checkpoint, and didn't meet the requirements of the test (walk and turn), yet passed the breath test, have/had medical issues with my health/back, and fell into the 'system', was in the middle of a bankruptcy, used a public defender and the fact that I had a $50,000+ car probably pissed off everyone, etc., etc., etc. are the reasons why.

Bottom line is:
I was not DUI, nor was I convicted of "Driving while impared" My jury trial convicted me of DUI because of poor representation, not being allowed to have expert witnesses (doctors regarding my back/health), and the Judge slanting the jury.

In actualllity, the issues that may have been the deciding factor was when on the stand, my attorney asked me to tell the jury/court a little about myself, (in my own words) so I started the story with me falling out of a tree when I was 10 years old, messing up my back, and finishing up when I saw lights in my rear view mirror (red flashing) and I stated to the court, "I was scared ****less and pulled over".

The Judge asked the Baliff, "Remove the Jury from the court room!!" and then proceeded to lecture me about use of the work ****less in his courtroom (I was told to descibe in my own words, which I did). Upon the retun of the Jury, they all looked at me like I was guilty.

The Judge "played his game", told the Jury before the start of the trial, "Don't worry, this one will be over quick", as well as allowing the Jurors to mingle with me in the luch room as well as the bathroom.

That's is acceptable, and not grounds for a retrial/appeal?

Remember, in Florida, it's on your record for LIFE, it never goes away, no expungement, nothing, hence my desire to have a jury trial to prove my innocenence.

Look, I know law is law, but what makes Judges and Prosecutor "above the law", playing their "side bar" games, and all the things that go along with trying to win THEIR case, as well as having piss poor representation, etc.

I was setup, played, and railroaded, and I wish to prove my innocence.

If I was more knowledgeable about the processes and procedures to follow during the incident, I probably could have "played the game", as they do so well, but having NEVER before EVER been in any type of legal issue in my life, I was green, and they saw it.

After all, it's the Prosecutors job to win, as well as it's supposed to be my representations job to win. Facts don't matter? THey way they are presented? The way I was denied my expert witnesses? THey way the Judge influcened the Jury?

Prior to the trial, the very same day, before Jury selection, he had me go to 2 other courtrooms with different Judges to see if it would be pleaded....which made no difference to me.....I wanted to prove my innocence, not plea to something I didn't do, hence pssing off the Judge because he probably had a golf date and was livid that each and every person previous to me pleaded a deal, but not me.

That's what it is about. Fighting for your rights, and then getting screwed because they are in control, not you.

Of course, if I was like OJ, or Jackson, and paid for a top dollar attorney, I probably would have won, but it's not supposed to be about money, is it....it's supposed to be about law, justice, and a fair trial, not a slanted one controlled by the ones who do it every day and know the angles, especially with green, new Public Defenders.

[BigMistakeFl]

You blew under the legal limit which is .08; yours was .072. Ok, but that's just one piece of evidence. People have been convicted of being impaired and have blown under the limit before. This is a good reason to fight the charge though.

What other evidence is there against you? Film, cop's testimony, other witnesses, field sobriety tests, etc? The case does not rest only on the BAC.

With regard to the field sobriety tests, the cops here in Florida always ask prior to instructing you, "do you have any physical problems", or something like that. If you answered "no", then you can't change your mind now. Here in Florida, the cops HAVE to file a specific criteria for their DUI check points. Example, every black car, or ever fifth car, or something like that. And they have to follow it, to the letter. The price of your car would not have been an issue with the stop. The treatment after that, perhaps.

[guruuno]

Other than the BAC, yes, there was film. My car was going 35 in a 25, the reason for the pullover.

Also, the film shows my front left tire touching the double line in the center of the road, nothing more....never crossed it (BTW, I was leaning over to open the glove box to get a cigar when that happened...as it happens to all of us each and every day of the week, I know for a fact that it's commonplace for me anyway, with roads, tires, etc......as well as that particular road, which I never was on in my life, was so super super narrow, I'd say with about 2 feet tops on each side of the car, when the car was centered in between the dobule yellow line and the curb)

Upon asking me if I had any physical imparements (the officer) prior to the field tests, (yes he did ask), I informed him that yes, "I have a bad back, but it isn't too bad today", and NEVER offered any alternative tests.

My issue remains the same:

The issue I need to address/resolve is why I was not notified of anything regarding my appeal, and how to go to the next level to have the appeal continue to be presented until accepted and have the trial redone, as well as bring into evidence the fact the the Judge biased the jury and I was railroaded, being (trying to) force to to "cop a plea" which I did not, nor will I ever, to something I am not or was not guilty of.