Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - another celebrity DUI

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

Hopefully this won't become a pattern but not even a month after a Tampa Bay Buccaneer was arrested for drug possession, another player got arrested for drinking and driving according to an article in the St. Pete Times website.

TAMPA — Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout rookie wide receiver Mike Williams was arrested on a DUI charge early Friday.

Williams, 23, was arrested about 2:48 a.m. near U.S. 301 and Causeway Boulevard, according to jail records. He was booked at 4:44 a.m. and released at 8:04 a.m. after posting $500 bail.

Williams was driving a black Cadillac 57 mph in a 45 mph zone and weaving between lanes, said the Hillsborough County sheriff's spokesman.

Two Breathalyzer tests found his blood-alcohol level at .065 and .061, records show, below the limit of .08 at which the state presumes impairment.

But Williams failed a field sobriety test, smelled of alcohol and appeared to have glassy eyes per the reports. A urine test was conducted and results are pending, he said. A urine test is done if a deputy suspects a driver is impaired by a substance other than alcohol.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers officials said Williams will travel to San Francisco Friday with the team and play in Sunday's game against the 49ers.

Head coach Raheem Morris said the decision to let Williams play was tough.

"I'm very disappointed about the bad decision that he made to be out late and about the worse decision he made to drink and drive," Morris said Friday. "I was very pleased with his ability to be cooperative and not be disrespectful and make this thing even worse than it could be.

"It happens. It hurts our fans. It hurts our team. It hurts everybody on this football team. But Mike Williams not playing this weekend would hurt the fans more."

Officials aren't saying what impact the charge will have on Williams for the rest of the season.

"Right now we have a young team that's trying to search for the longevity," Morris said. "If he wants to be a part of that longevity, he certainly has to clean up his act."

With blood-alcohol results below .08, a case against Williams could be tough to prosecute, said a Tampa DUI defense attorney who is not connected to the Williams case. Urine test results are typically not a strong indicator of whatis in a driver's system at the time of the arrest. And the test results often take four months or longer to obtain. Often, a DUI defense attorney will ask for a speedy trial within 90 days, which is not enough time for a prosecutor to get the results.

The field sobriety test is a tool for law enforcement to use to determine if someone's normal faculties are impaired, but it's also not a strong enough indicator to prosecute someone, the lawyer said.

"I've never seen anyone pass the field sobriety exercises,".

Williams leads all rookies in receiving yards, ranks second among rookies in receiving touchdowns and has started all nine games this year for the Bucs. He has 40 receptions this season for 627 yards and five touchdowns. He averages 15.7 yards per catch. His longest reception this season was 58 yards.

His best game this season was against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 31 when he nabbed four catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.

The Bucs are 6-3 this year and tied for second place in the NFC South, one game behind the Atlanta Falcons.

The Buccaneers picked Williams in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft. He missed all of the 2008 season at Syracuse University after he was caught cheating on a test.

He missed part of the 2009 season after he was involved as a passenger in a car crash. Although the driver in the other car was faulted, Williams was suspended for violating curfew. It was the second curfew violation for Williams, and he left the team with five games left. He later said he left because of miscommunication with his coach.

Williams is the second Bucs player to run afoul of the law this season. The Bucs ended TE Jerramy Stevens' controversial tenure with the team Oct. 25, releasing the veteran two days after he was arrested on two felony marijuana possession charges.

Bucs' safety Tanard Jackson was suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Sept. 22 for violating its substance-abuse policy. He is not eligible for reinstatement until Sept. 22, 2011.

Cornerback Aqib Talib was suspended for the season opener for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, stemming from a 2009 arrest. Talib was arrested in St. Petersburg, Florida in August 2009 and charged with punching a cab driver while en route to the team hotel in Tampa. The case was not adjudicated until April.

A common misconception when dealing with DUI cases is the myth that police will let you go if your breath alcohol level is below a .08. In reality, Florida law presumes you are guilty of DUI if you are .08 or above. If you are in the .061-.065 range like Mike Williams that tends to neither prove or disprove the state of his impairment. Rather, the jury is supposed to take into account ALL the factors such as demeanor, driving pattern, field sobriety results, etc.

This article mentioned that his urine was tested for drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine or prescription medication. If he did have drugs in his system, depending on the amount and type, the state attorney may try and argue that the alcohol combined with the drugs resulted in a synergistic affect. In other words, the alcohol mixed with the drugs made him under the influence due to the two substances combining.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a drug charge or a DUI? Then contact the Clearwater criminal defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation!

For more information, or to speak directly with experienced Clearwater criminal defense lawyers please contact BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the lawyers your questions at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com. We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104 in Clearwater, across from the criminal courthouse in the airport business center, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.