Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
If bad news comes in threes, then one more Florida judge needs to be on the lookout. From the Miami NBC affiliate, two south Florida judges were arrested for DUI just a few months apart…
In Broward County, Judge Lynn Rosenthal became the second County judge to be arrested for DUI after she crashed into a parked police car in the Fort Lauderdale courthouse parking lot! After an investigation, she was arrested on the spot.
Per the police report, the judge’s SUV hit the patrol car and then continued toward the judicial parking lot, where it also hit the security gate. The SUV then backed up and hit the gate a few more times before the police intervened.
When Judge Rosenthal got out of her vehicle the police stated that she had no odor of alcohol but was “unsteady on her feet, her speech was slurred and she had difficulty obtaining the required (driving) documents.”
The Judge told the police that she hadn’t drunk alcohol in a long time but then her story got more bizarre.
Whipping out her cell phone, she claimed that a truck had earlier tried to run her off the road on the way to work and she had the video to prove it. Police saw the footage and it showed the Judge drifting between lanes and hitting the barrier wall. Nowhere on the cell video was there a truck or anything that would affect her driving.
Police began field sobriety tests and the judge admitted to taking an ambien the night before. Per the police report, the judge “failed to maintain balance during instructions, missed all heel-to-toe steps, stopped multiple times to request instructions to continue the exercise. The judge also had problems standing on one leg, putting her other leg down on multiple occasions”.
While she blew a .000, she then refused to take a urine test, which would show what drugs were in her system.
She was arrested for DUI and DUI with property damage.
This was the second Broward County judge to be arrested in the past few months. Fellow Broward Judge Gisele Pollack was just suspended for her recent arrest for DUI in Boca Raton. She was charged with multiple traffic offenses as well as a DUI.
Judge Pollack was arrested and refused a blood draw. Officers noted a strong alcohol odor and that in her car were multiple empty alcohol bottles and empty red cups. When arrested, the judge was very vocal, sceaming that she didn’t want to go to jail.
Have you or a loved one been been arrested for driving under the influence or possession of a controlled substance? Then call the Pinellas DUI defense lawyers of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today! These former prosecutors are experienced trial attorneys.
The lawyers of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. handle all criminal and personal injury cases along the Gulf Coast including Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Citrus and Pasco counties.
To speak directly with your Clearwater criminal defense lawyer click on the contact button above or call them at 727.286.6141. Blake & Dorsten, P.A…when your case matters!