It is also suggested that the selection of the jury that the educational qualification of the Juror is to be considered. A Juror having faith on the testimony of a Police Officer often suffers from a misconception of the purity of law enforcement, and their judgment is most probably be biased. A West Palm DUI lawyer has cross-examined Police Officers innumerable times and submitted motions to suppress evidence at jury trials. Experienced Police Officers have mastered the way to depose before the jury, and they have been trained to convince the jury. They have an art of talking straight into the eye of the Juror and give an impression that the deposition is based on truth. The Juror is often convinced by the professional representation of the officer.

If it is the first time that a Juror has attended a Court, he or she may be nervous. So, too, is the person who has been convicted under DUI for the first time. A West Palm DUI lawyer will always point out to the Juror that his client may feel nervous as a result because this is the first time that he or she is appearing in court. An efficient Juror will always take into the consideration the testimony of the accused, especially if this is the first time they have appeared in Court, rather than the professional deposition of the Police Officer.

In the absence of your Defense Counsel, the State Attorney will send all necessary documents to you, and prepare the case for future hearings. The Prosecutor will offer you a one-time deal for arraignment. Failure to accept the offer will result in more severe penalties in the future for the defendant. The defendant is deprived of investigating their own case and defense if they appear at the arraignment on their own. In these circumstances, the Court will try to settle the arraignment by applying pressure, so that they can reduce the burden of pending cases.

Those who are unfortunate to not have a Defense Counsel at the time of hearing their arraignment will have to withstand the pressure alone, unsupported of experienced legal techniques, and ultimately submit the case themselves. The only way to get out of the situation is to hire a West Palm DUI Lawyer to stand as your Defense Counsel. Your Attorney will then file a Notice of Appearance, and a written plea of not guilty. This avoids having to appear for the arraignment, and protects you from the pressure of the Prosecuting Attorney. The only way to avoid arraignment without knowing the State’s evidence against you is to hire a West Palm DUI Lawyer. The Defense Attorney will take all necessary steps to ensure that the defendant is not required to attend the first arraignment.

Should you land in such situations it is best to seek legal and professional help.  Contact a West Palm Beach DUI Lawyer at Musca Law to receive solid advice about the defense of your DUI situation.

County Court Judge Paul Damico ordered a new trial on Wednesday after Curtis’ attorney William Abramson filed a motion to overturn the conviction and hold a new trial. Curtis alleged that Judge Marni Bryson, who heard the case in May, had an “intimate relationship” with Doug Greene, an adversarial firefighter of Curtis and the vice president of the West Palm Beach Association of Firefighters.

Curtis said he didn’t learn of the relationship until after the trial, and Bryson never disclosed it.

Bryson later recused herself from the case, but never confirmed or denied the relationship with Greene. Greene also didn’t comment on the relationship, saying he first wanted to review Abramson’s motion.

“The judge is going to be an unbiased,” Curtis said on Thursday. “Judge (Bryson) allowed the case to continue when a police officer was out of state. The day before the trial she allowed a new witness. She did a lot of things that affected the outcome of the trial.”

Curtis said he was not drunk at the time of the arrest. He said he refused a sobriety test because he has a bad back and was worried that he would appear intoxicated.

Curtis is one of three West Palm Beach fire-rescue workers who unsuccessfully sued the fire department, claiming that they were denied promotions because of their race.

However, in August 2010, the Palm Beach County Office of Equal Opportunity ruled that Curtis was discriminated against.
The city ignored the order from the administrative agency to pay Curtis $56,506 in lost wages and $24,000 in attorney fees and give him the next open battalion chief or assistant chief position.

Curtis, 45, was arrested in January 2010 by North Palm Beach Police for DUI. He was also charged with speeding but that charge was dropped.

Bryson sentenced Curtis to three days in jail, even though the state attorney’s office didn’t request any jail time. She blasted Curtis for using his position as a firefighter to receive preferential treatment, which the city used in its determination to fire Curtis. Curtis has denied trying to use his position as a firefighter to his advantage.

Former Fire Chief Phil Webb, who retired in May, used the conviction and the harsh criticism by Bryson as grounds to terminate Curtis.

“He should get his job back,” said Abramson, who is not related to the writer of this article. “The point of the termination was what happened in the case. The conviction has been vacated and the case is going back to square one.”

On Thursday, the city released a statement saying Curtis would not be reinstated: “The termination was based on a number of factors and not based solely on the guilty verdict which was reached by the jury. Mr.Curtis remains charged with a crime and the city stands by the termination and the reasons for which the action was taken.”

Curtis said he will “absolutely” sue the city. He said he’d been written up in the past for “unfounded” charges of being late to respond to a call and missing an intubation, but he said no firefighter has a perfect record. The city didn’t cite any past charges in its termination letter.

“That’s double jeopardy,” Curtis said. “They’re trying to say it was other things, using past accusations.”

Lia Gaines, president of the West Palm Beach branch of the NAACP, said Curtis already has an ongoing lawsuit with the city and, “they’re continuing to strengthen his suit. My taxpayer money is being utilized to defend this injustice. It’s time for the city to just stop and do the right thing. It’s bordering on the ridiculous now. It’s almost unconscionable.”

Union president Tom Wesolek, who refused to fight for Curtis’ job, was not immediately available for comment. Vice President Greene was also not immediately available for comment.

On June 16, Wesolek said the city had just cause for termination. Although other firefighters have kept their job following DUI and other misdemeanor convictions, Wesolek said, “Other employees resolved their DUI charges by other means that the legal system allow — plea bargaining it down, taking lesser charge, not requesting and going for a jury trial.”

Wesolek also criticized Curtis for using the race card.

“He’s one of those guys that when something goes wrong he tries to point to someone and say, ‘you’re against me because I’m black.’ He’s very well known for that and people are tired of hearing it,” Wesolek said.

In an affidavit, Curtis alleged that in 2006, Greene “sought to disqualify me from participating on a test to become captain. Wesolek said Greene did not participate in the union’s hearings on whether to back Curtis in an appeal to the city.

Abramson, who was not Curtis’ attorney in the initial trial, said he will review the entire case thoroughly. The next hearing will take place on August 15. The trial date has not yet been set.

Brooke Kennerly, a spokesperson for the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission, said if the allegations of a relationship between Bryson and Greene are true, it could be investigated by the commission as an ethics violation by Bryson.

In February, Bryson entered a settlement agreement with the Florida Commission on Ethics after the commission recommended Bryson pay $2,100 file for filing “inaccurate or incomplete” financial disclosure at her former job as an assistant attorney general as well as during her campaign for the judicial seat. In return, the ethics commission halted any further investigation.