Wednesday, September 29, 2010



If you have been arrested for a DUI in Dade, DUI in Broward, or a DUI in Palm Beach, you have the right to refuse to take a breath sample. The police do not tell you this because they want a breath sample from you demonstrating that you were drunk the night you were arrested.


If you refuse to give a breath sample, the DMV can suspend your license for 1 year but your attorney can fight to get your license back. The problem is if you give a breath sample and that sample is over the legal limit, then the DMV can and will suspend your license for 6 months. This again can be invalidated by your attorney.

Always remember, you can refuse to give a breath.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

You Get What You Pay For


I see clients all the time with criminal cases that come into my office and have been quoted fees from others attorneys that are far below the market rate for their crime. I have one simple statement to give them. Attorneys are like everything else in life….you get what you pay for. What I mean is if an attorney is willing to charge you a low fee, then he or she is probable not going to do the work that your case requires.


If you have been arrested in Dade, arrested in Broward, or arrested in Palm Beach, then I will be fighting my hardest to blow the doors off your case and get the charges dropped. I am not simple looking to go into court and plea the case out. I tell clients this all the time and then they understand that, “you get what you pay for”.


Call Dade criminal defense attorney, Broward criminal defense attorney, Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney, and Palm Beach criminal defense attorney, Phillip Menditto if you have been arrested in Dade, arrested in Broward, or arrested in Palm Beach.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Just Because You Are Arrested..

Just because you are arrested, doesn’t mean there isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel. I just had a client who was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and possession of cannabis. When I met with the client, he couldn’t see a way out of it and was thinking about using the Public Defender. I encouraged him not to because being arrested in the same as being charged with a crime.

The State Attorney’s Office makes the determination about whether a person is charged with a crime…not the police. The difference is that an attorney, not a cop, looks at the law and the offense to see if the State Attorney’s Office should proceed. The police have no idea what the current state of the law is. Secondly, the public defender’s office would not attack the case pre-file as I did.

Why is this important, if you are arrested in Dade, arrested in Broward, or arrested in Palm Beach, call criminal defense attorney Phillip Menditto to fight for your rights. I got all charged dropped for my client where the public defender’s office would not have.

Regards

Phillip Menditto P.A.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Labor Day DUI Crackdown Already Under Way In South Florida


Labor Day DUI crackdown already under way in South Florida




Labor Day is two weeks away, but law enforcement agencies throughout the state and South Florida are launching a crackdown on drunken and impaired drivers starting this weekend. At least six Broward agencies, in addition to the Florida Highway Patrol, will be conducting DUI saturation patrols during the 18-day period that runs through Monday, Sept 6.



They join hundreds of other agencies throughout the country that will be doing the same under the annual National Labor Day Enforcement Crackdown.


"It's the most traveled holiday and people like to do their barbecues and drink," said Shaun Van Beber, a coordinator with the Florida Public Safety Institute. "We are not saying to go out and not have a good time, what we're saying is go out, have a good time, but don't get behind a wheel."


Broward agencies joining the crackdown include police in Plantation, Hollywood, Hallandale, Wilton Manors and the Broward Sherriff's Office. Each agency will have its own plan of where and when to be on the streets checking for drunk drivers. Almost all said they will be working the checkpoints throughout Labor Day weekend – essentially making the entire region a DUI checkpoint..

"It's simple. The goal is to catch impaired drivers before they cause crashes," said Plantation Police Sgt. Joe Gallignani.

In Miami-Dade County, police departments will be work together to create large-scale checkpoints such as one planned this weekend in the North Miami area.

Statewide, the Florida Highway Patrol is also taking part in an enhanced enforcement campaign called "Over the Limit, Under Arrest." All FHP uniformed officers, including those assigned to administrative duties, will be out patrolling the interstates and other major state roads, said Sgt. Mark Wysocky.


According to FHP figures, 875 people were killed in Florida in alcohol-related crashes in 2009, including 29 who died during the three-day Labor Day weekend.