The Back Alley Archives

Nailed for a DUI last night.

http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20091201/ARTICLES/912019950?Title=UF-football-player-charged-with-DUI

throw the book at him at make an example.

just read the article....he was asleep at the wheel? i'm assuming parked? if he was parked, i'm thinking he realized he was too drunk to drive and stopped? if so, i soften my stance on this...if it's indeed the case that he stopped to sleep it off, i think he should be given leniency...bad judgment getting behind the wheel to begin with but minutely makes up for it by acknowledging his impairment imo.

a good lawyer will get the charges reduced but he won't be playing this weekend

WHAT A FUCKING IDIOT. That is my stance.

agreed Toothy

a good lawyer will get the charges reduced but he won't be playing this weekend

Not likely.

He was asleep...not likely. He was passed the fuck out behind the wheel, while car in gear, at a traffic light. Cops found his vehicle matching a bolo description for a vehicle considered to be driving recklessly.

Dude was drunk.

Come on now, I bet the kid just started a new medication and it affected him in a strange and unexpected way.

the flu?

I blame the Vols. I'm sure they drugged him to take the heat off of their program.








Just f'n stupid. You start for UF, I'm sure you could get a ride.

I'm tellin y'all...no reason to conclude it was alcohol, IMO...not yet anyway. We have no breathalyzer or blood test results to go off of that I know of (not sure if they subjected him to tests after arrest)...so, no way for us to say...way too easy to just assume he's a dumbass football player partying too much and thinking he's above the law.

Dude, if you refuse a breathalyzer, you go down, isn't that the deal?

If you refuse, they can suspend your license for a year but there is no proof of a DUI so they don't get a conviction. I though thems the rules.

I'm tellin y'all...no reason to conclude it was alcohol, IMO...not yet anyway. We have no breathalyzer or blood test results to go off of that I know of (not sure if they subjected him to tests after arrest)...so, no way for us to say...way too easy to just assume he's a dumbass football player partying too much and thinking he's above the law.

We don't have a breathalyzer because Dunlap didn't give one. We do have FSE's (Field Sobriety Exercises), and he performed "poorly" according to the police report. The officer says the smell of alcohol was readily apparent on his breath and person, and it was 3:30 in the morning in Gainesville...use your common sense.

If you refuse, they can suspend your license for a year but there is no proof of a DUI so they don't get a conviction. I though thems the rules.

Not quite.

You refuse you lose your license for a year, yes. However, the refusal can be used against you as an inference of guilt. Thus, the refusal, is, in and of itself, evidence of a DUI. Enough by itself to get a conviction? Probably not. But, it is evidence.

So, what else do we have in this case to support a DUI? Well, :

- Smell of alcohol on breath and person
- bloodshot, watery eyes
- slurred speech
- Civilian complaint of reckless driving
- asleep (which becomes "passed out" at trial in my opening and closing) at the wheel.
---car still in gear
---multiple cycles of green light
---one of the busier streets in Gainesville with plenty of places to pull off if you're tired and functioning
- poor performance on FSE's
- lack of balance (for an all-american athlete)
- and a refusal of a breathalyzer
-----let me ask you all this...how much money would it take for you to give up your driving privileges for a year? $500? $1,000? $10,000? how much? He gave his up FOR FREE.

Maybe the same thing will happen with Carlos that happened with Locke?

Imma side with Jimmy and Toothy on this: drunk and fucking idiot.

Hope it was worth it.

Not quite.

You refuse you lose your license for a year, yes. However, the refusal can be used against you as an inference of guilt. Thus, the refusal, is, in and of itself, evidence of a DUI. Enough by itself to get a conviction? Probably not. But, it is evidence.

So, what else do we have in this case to support a DUI? Well, :

- Smell of alcohol on breath and person

One drink can be enough to make someone smell like alcohol.

- bloodshot, watery eyes

Plenty of medications not listed in 877.11 or chapter 893 can cause this especially those that cause drowsiness.

- slurred speech

If a medication makes you that drowsy it will affect speech skills as well.

- Civilian complaint of reckless driving

We will concede that he may have been careless in taking the medication without knowing its full effects but he had no willful or wanton disregard for other motorists on the road.

- asleep (which becomes "passed out" at trial in my opening and closing) at the wheel.
---car still in gear
---multiple cycles of green light
---one of the busier streets in Gainesville with plenty of places to pull off if you're tired and functioning

The drowsiness simply hit him suddenly and there was nothing he felt he could safely do to move his car from the lanes of traffic. He's thankful that a fellow driver called for help and that no one was injured.

- poor performance on FSE's

Who wouldn't perform poorly when they're zonked on pills that they didn't expect to make them that sleepy.

- lack of balance (for an all-american athlete)

He'd never taken the medication before and has never been affected like this by a medication prior to this incident. He has no experience with such things and thus his balance was understandably affected.

- and a refusal of a breathalyzer
-----let me ask you all this...how much money would it take for you to give up your driving privileges for a year? $500? $1,000? $10,000? how much? He gave his up FOR FREE.

How many of us would even have known what we were being asked to do in that situation?

LOL Just playing devil's advocate here. I completely understand the common sense conclusion is to assume he was drunk AND that I'm simply making up a story (out of thin air).

Now, keep in mind the standard is a "reasonable doubt"...

Is your theory a reasonable doubt? or is it simply a possible doubt?

I realize I'm getting all lawyerly, but...

what is a reasonable doubt? Well, it is not a mere possible doubt. It's not a speculative, imaginary, or forced doubt.

Won't effect him the draft, but he's not playing this weekend and maybe not even the bowl game. Like Katie said...I hope it was worth it.

well, got a buddy of mine who went to UF's law school and graduated last year (Wes knows him). Apparently he's got some friends in the Alachua SAO, and according to him there's a good chance this gets knocked down to Reckless driving.

Politics at its best, it would appear.

i love that we have law dogs in the BA

Is it politics or is it the DA's office knowing what conviction they can get?

Is it politics or is it the DA's office knowing what conviction they can get?

A DUI w/o a blow over .08 is always a risk, however, I would think this is some combination of politics and conviction possibilities...but much more in the way of politics.