Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

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An elderly man struck a pedestrian in Winter Park on Friday night. John Sepelak, Jr., 78, hit Paula Carrison, 48, who lives in Winter Park. Carrison was taken to a hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Sepelak was driving on Howell Branch Road when Carrison began crossing that street near Banyon Tree Road. Carrison apparently stumbled and fell as she made her way across and Sepelak drove over her when she was on the ground.

Sepelak stopped and assessed the situation, but according the law enforcement report, he "became scared and drove off." A local good Samaritan saw him, however, and tailed him for more than five miles to Lake Howell Road. The witness who followed him there blocked in Sepelak's vehicle.until police could get there. According to law enforcement officials, they do not believe that Sepelak was intoxicated at the time of the accident, but criminal charges against him are expected.

It is not clear whether Sepelak's age played any role in the accident or if he was simply unable to see Carrison because she had already fallen to the ground at the time of the accident. Still, many road safety advocates have proposed differing rules in order for elderly motorists to retain their drivers licenses. Drivers over the age of 65 account for far more than their fair share of motor vehicle accidents, just as drivers under the age of 18 do.

Just four states have laws stating that age may never be a factor in determining the method of drivers license renewal. Only two states require a road test for the elderly; both Illinois and New Hampshire require the same type of road test at age 75 that most drivers took when they were 16. Ten states do not require that younger drivers take a vision test in order to renew their drivers licenses, but require that older drivers must - although the age varies significantly - anywhere from 40 years old to 80. Florida's vision retesting does not begin until age 80. Most commonly, older drivers must renew their licenses more frequently than other drivers.

Collier County, FL.  A twenty-six year old father of four was stopped when an officer noticed a defaced license plate and what appeared to be an illegally tinted window on the vehicle. When a routine check revealed that the license of our Client was suspended for delinquent child support payments, he was arrested for Driving While License Suspended (DWLSR).

At the time of arrest the Client was on probation for Burglary of a Dwelling, Grand Theft and Habitual Driving on a Suspended License.  Therefore, he received additional charges of two Felony Counts of Violation of Probation. If convicted on the Violation of Probation charges, the Client was facing a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. 

In the State of Florida, there are two types of probation violations, technical and substantive. A technical violation is any violation of either the general, or special, conditions of the probation. Some examples include: failure to pay court costs or fines, missing a probation meeting, or change of address without permission. Substantive violations occur when the probationer commits a new criminal offense. Violation of probation is a serious offense. Penalties for violating probation can result in a judge revoking probation. If a judge revokes probation, Florida law allows the judge to impose the maximum penalty for the charge.

In Florida, as in most states, the failure to pay court ordered child support can give rise to many forms of penalties. A teaching certificate or professional license may be suspended or denied along with other licenses or registrations, like fishing, driving and hunting license. 

 
However, the Florida Statute (FS 322.34) provides that the driver must have actual knowledge that the license was suspended. During his extensive research of the case, the Musca Law Defense Attorney discovered that the Client had no actual knowledge of the child support hearing that lead to the penalty that suspended his license. The Attorney argued, to the

Continue reading "Father of Four Facing 25 years for Probation Violation: Found NOT GUILTY by Judge!" »

Collier County, FL.  At Musca Law, our traffic violation lawyers represent Florida residents, over-the-road truck drivers, and tourists who have received citations for traffic violations such as: speeding/racing/reckless driving, driving too fast for conditions, driving on a suspended or revoked license, drunk driving/DUI charges, careless driving, stop sign violations, Commercial driver's license (CDL) offenses, and improper or excessive lane changes. If you get a traffic ticket, an experienced Florida traffic violation lawyer can appear for you at a hearing, challenge the law enforcement officer to prove the infraction beyond a reasonable doubt, and minimize the damage to your driving record by requesting that no points be assessed by the court.

Frequently, a traffic infraction can involve complex issues that need to be sorted through. An experienced attorney can help guide the process to a successful outcome. Recently, Musca Law was retained by a client who was charged with an offense because her driver's license did not reflect the fact her vision was corrected through surgery.

Our client was pulled over for speeding and for an expired tag.  During the stop, it was determined that she did not have proof of insurance, had an expired tag, and was not wearing corrective lenses in violation of a restriction on her driver's license.  She was cited for expired registration (a traffic citation) and violation of restriction on driver's license, under Florida Statute 322.16 (a criminal misdemeanor offense).  She paid the traffic citation as it was the only way to immediately clear her driver's license and allow her to drive.  However, the misdemeanor offense remained.

Continue reading "Lasik Eye Surgery Client Caught Speeding - Charged with Violation of Driver's License Restriction: CHARGE DROPPED!" »

Collier County, Fl.   Florida police issue more than 4 million speeding citations each year.   Most people don't realize that if they pay a ticket, the payment is an automatic admission and adjudication of guilt on their driving record. In addition, points are assessed for all moving violations and can result in a license suspension. Insurance companies use this information as justification to raise insurance rates. 

Traffic ticket defense attorneys at Musca Law help their clients reach the most desirable outcome for traffic violations. We work to prevent driver's license suspension, to mitigate any additional points on your record, and to protect your driving privileges. We represent local Florida residents, over-the-road truck drivers and tourists for all types of traffic violations, including those related to DUI offense. 

Recently we were able to assist one of our clients who was facing very serious traffic violations.  Our client had just signed a lease agreement for a new BMW and on his first day driving his bimmer was caught speeding by police.  Police radar clocked his vehicle traveling 107mph in a 70 mph zone.  He was issued a citation for speeding and upon conducting the traffic stop the police arrested our client for Failure to Register Vehicle.

Our experienced attorneys quickly filed a Motion to Consolidate the Defendant's Criminal Case with the traffic citation and the Motion was granted.  Our attorney aggressively challenged the Failure to Register Vehicle Charge and presented the State with the lease agreement, indicating that our client was not the responsible party for getting the vehicle registered.  The Court agreed with our argument and issued a Nolle Prosse, dismissing the charge against our client.  Because of our attorney's timely actions, both charges were merged and dismissed.  This means our client did not have 4 points assessed to his license and he is able to have his record sealed on the criminal charge.