Significant Appellate Cases

In addition to the trial work, the Firm is also frequently retained to handle appeals in DUI, DUI serious injury and death and other types of criminal cases. The following is a list of some of the significant cases.

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Significant Florida Supreme Court Cases

Dobrin v. State of Florida, Department of Highway Safety and motor Vehicles, 874 So.2d 1171 (Fla. 2004)

This is the only case dealing with the current Implied Consent law that has reached the Florida Supreme Court. Mr. Dobrin's license was suspended as a result of his arrest for DUI. He challenged the legal authority to stop his vehicle at this Formal Review hearing. The DHSMV hearing officer ruled against Mr. Dobrin and an appeal was filed with the Circuit Court in Volusia County. The circuit judge reversed the order upholding the suspension of his license. The DHSMV then appealed to the Fifth District Court of Appeal, which reversed the circuit court and reinstated the suspension. Mr. Whited then sought review by the Florida Supreme Court. That court accepted jurisdiction and then reversed the Fifth District, holding that there was no objective evidence to support the seizure of Mr. Dobrin's vehicle.

Cuda v. State, 639 So.2d 22 (Fla. 1994)

Mr. Cuda was arrested and charged with exploitation of the elderly. He retained Mr. Whited to defend that charge. A Motion to Dismiss the charges based on the unconstitutional vagueness of the statute, filed by Mr. Whited, was granted by the trial judge. The State appealed and the Fifth District Court of Appeals reversed. Mr. Whited appealed the matter to the Florida Supreme Court and won. The exploitation statute was amended by the Florida Legislature the next year.

State v. Mehl, 632 So.2d 593 (Fla. 1993)

The trial level work ending in this decision was the start of the attack on the administrative regulations dealing with blood testing. The Florida Supreme Court ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to enact sufficient regulations to ensure the accuracy of blood alcohol testing. They failed to do so and in 2000 suffered a crushing defeat in State v. Miles.

Robertson v. State, 604 So.2d 783 (Fla. 1992)

This is the benchmark case setting forth the predicate for the introduction of breath and blood alcohol evidence in DUI and DUI manslaughter cases. Mr. Whited was asked to assist the local Public Defender's Office in this appeal. During the handling of this appeal a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel followed Mr. Whited as part of the research for the article A Drunken Driver's Best Friend: Its Flem Whited for the Defense that appeared in the Florida Magazine on November 17, 1991.

Woods v. State, 575 So.2d 205 (Fla. 1991)

One of several cases that established the rule of law that a criminal defendant may have an adverse ruling of the Circuit Court, sitting in their review capacity, reviewed by the District Court of Appeal.

Significant District Courts of Appeal Decisions

State v. Flood, 523 So.2d 1180 (Fla. 5^th DCA 1988) (upheld a trial court ruling suppressing from evidence a substantially modified Intoximeter 3000; the ruling in the case resulted in the exclusion of thousands of breath tests throughout the State of Florida)

Armstrong v. State, 547 So.2d 1293 (Fla. 5^th DCA 1989) (multiple convictions for DWI manslaughter and Vehicular Homicide reversed; straight probation with no jail sentence eventually not appealed by the state)

Edwards v. State, 603 So.2d 89 (Fla. 5^th DCA 1992) (reversing a DUI conviction where the trial court instructed the jury that they could consider the refusal to submit to a breath test as evidence of guilt)

Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v. Farley, 633 So.2d 69 (Fla. 5^th DCA 1994) (first and still only ruling holding that once the driver has identified a deficiency in the predicate required for introduction of a breath test at an administrative license suspension hearing the burden shifts to the Department to sustain the suspension)

Cox v. State, 635 So.2d 153 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (reversing a conviction for DUI Serious Bodily Injury where the trial court refused to give a jury instruction on DUI as a lesser included offense)

Cole v. State, 700 So.2d 33 (Fla. 5^th DCA 1997) (establishing that failure of defense counsel to do any trial preparation is per se ineffective assistance of counsel under the first prong of Strickland v. Washington)

Department of Highway Safety v. Stockman, 709 So.2d 179 (Fla. 5^th DCA 1998) (first case to hold driver may obtain stay of administrative suspension pending appeal from adverse administrative ruling sustaining suspension)

Walters v. State (Fla. App. 1 Dist.)
(In this case, Mr. Whited represented a young man living in south Florida who had a case pending in Alachua County. The trial judge ordered him to be present at his pretrial conference in total contravention of a Rule of Criminal Procedure that allows a defendant to waive their presence. Mr. Whited sought review in the Circuit Court which affirmed the order of the county judge. Mr. Whited then appealed to the First District Court of Appeal. In a matter of first impression for that court, they reversed the circuit court and remanded the case with instructions for the trial judge to follow the rules of criminal procedure.)