WINS FROM JURY TRIALS

THROUGHOUT HIS MANY YEARS OF PRACTICE, MR. CANET HAS KEPT OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION OF THE CASES HE HAS WON AT TRIAL. THESE CASES HAVE BEEN LISTED BELOW.

THIS LIST, HOWEVER, IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE. IN THE YEARS PRIOR TO 1990, MR. CANET, OBTAINED NUMEROUS ACQUITTALS FOR CLIENTS CHARGED WITH EVERYTHING FROM SIMPLE BATTERY TO ARMED ROBBERY TO FIRST DEGREE MURDER. THE LIST BELOW IS FROM CASES REPRESENTING THAT PART OF MR. CANET’S CAREER (FROM 1990 TO THE PRESENT) DEVOTED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO DUI DEFENSE.

ACTUAL VERDICT FORMS OBTAINED FROM THE CLERK OF COURT ON THE DAY THE CASE WAS WON (WHETHER A CASE NUMBER IS PROVIDED OR NOT) DOCUMENTING THE RESULTS OF EACH TRIAL ARE AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION UPON REQUEST.

52. 08/02/07 V-218043 (Mirranda): This client was on his boat at the Columbus Day Regatta with friends and family when he was unceremoniously stopped by officers of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. The officers had on board their vessel a camera crew from Court TV filming a program called “Wild on the Water, Party Police 2.” Officer Eddie Perez investigated the client for BUI and eventually detained and brought him into Elliot Key for further testing. Officer Perez’s on-the-water investigation was videotaped by the Court TV camera crew. In fact, the video footage that was recorded by that camera crew was introduced during the trial of this case. The video showed the client attempting certain on-the-water field sobriety exercises and later showed the client falling down while being taken off the FWC vessel at Elliot Key. The client was brought to Miami-Dade Police Department DUI investigators who had him perform some additional field sobriety exercises. Before trial the Court heard Mr. Canet’s pretrial motions and excluded the exercises administered by the MDPD DUI officer. The case proceeded to trial and took two days to complete. The jury came back NOT GUILTY in 25 minutes.

51. 07/26/07 06CF004297A02 State v. Estrich (Miller): This case was publicized in Palm Beach County as being the first-ever Defendant to be charged with DUI MANSLAUGHTER while impaired only by XANAX. The client had also been charged with LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT INVOLVING DEATH. The case was prosecuted by ASA Ellen Roberts, chief of the Traffic Homicide Unit of the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office. The State had alleged that the client went through a red light colliding with the victim causing her death. The State also alleged that because the client had driven his damaged vehicle at least 200 feet north of the crash scene he was attempting to flee the scene. After the accident the client was transported to the hospital where a blood draw was ordered by sheriff’s deputies. The results of the blood analysis were reported as 139 nanograms per ml. The State’s expert toxicologist would testify at trial that such a concentration would impair anyone. This was significant because the client had a prescription for Xanax and had been taking it for two years. The victim in the case was also discovered to have at least 2635 nanograms per mil of Zoloft in her blood at the time of her death. At that level, the experts testified, the victim would have been impaired and should not have been driving. In addition, the testimony of the paramedics was that the client had suffered closed heads trauma that could have accounted for the observations of alleged impairment due to Xanax. Lastly, there was testimony that the light had been green for the client at the time of the accident. This was a grueling that trial lasted 10 days and the jury took a day and a half to reach a verdict. The client was found NOT GUILTY of Leaving the Scene and Guilty of MISDEMEANOR DUI, First Offense.