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The Safir Lawyer Blog

Florida DUI, criminal defense, and personal injury, explained by a forensic lawyer-scientist and former public defender. Seven running series cover the science behind the evidence, the cases in the news, the injury claims, and how a defense actually gets built, all in plain English.

Rory Safir

Every post here is written by Rory Safir, one of only six ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in Florida, the author of The Florida DUI Trial Manual, and a former Assistant Public Defender in Tampa.

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The Series

Seven running series, each with its own beat. Pick a lane or read them all.

The Safir WireThe Safir WireLegal news, court rulings, and law changes, read the way a lawyer-scientist reads them.Explore the series ➞Called SafirCalled SafirAthlete and celebrity arrests, broken down by a criminal defense lawyer.Explore the series ➞SafircrackingSafircrackingForensic science, taken apart piece by piece: breath, blood, DNA, drug testing, and the crime lab.Explore the series ➞Fail-SafirFail-SafirFalse alerts, misused databases, and lab failures, and what they mean in a real case.Explore the series ➞Safir HarborSafir HarborHow cases actually get defended, from the first night to the last motion.Explore the series ➞Better Safir Than SorryBetter Safir Than SorryCar crashes, insurance tactics, and what an injury claim is actually worth.Explore the series ➞Rory SafirAsk SafirHave a question about a DUI, an arrest, or an injury claim? Ask it, and the answer may become the next post.Ask your question ➞
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Why Terrion Arnold Is Being Held With No Bond in Florida

Terrion Arnold surrendered to authorities and is being held in a Florida jail with no bond at all, and the State has signaled it will ask a judge to keep him locked up until trial because, it argues, he is a danger to the community....
  • Rory Safir
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She Posted the Haul: What the TikTok Shoplifting Case Shows About Florida Theft Law

A Cape Coral TikTok creator with hundreds of thousands of followers was arrested after police said she used false barcodes at a Target self-checkout to pay a fraction of the real price on a batch of items....
  • Rory Safir
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Dillon Brooks Blew a 0.00 in a Marijuana DUI Stop. Here Is the Florida Version.

Early one morning this March, a Scottsdale officer said he watched Dillon Brooks weave across the lanes several times, pulled him over, and reported that the car smelled like a dispensary....
  • Rory Safir
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What Tyreek Hill's Traffic Stop Teaches About Your Rights in Florida

In September 2024, before a Dolphins home game, Miami-Dade officers stopped Tyreek Hill near Hard Rock Stadium....
  • Rory Safir
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Flat Tire, Keys Around His Neck, and a DUI Charge

The opening offer was 364 days in jail. The truck could not be driven, the only witness was a civilian, and the charge was dropped....
  • Rory Safir
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Justin Timberlake Refused the Breath Test. Here Is How That Plays in Florida.

Just after midnight in June 2024, police in Sag Harbor, New York stopped Justin Timberlake after they said he ran a stop sign and drifted out of his lane....
  • Rory Safir
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What the Jonathan Majors Verdict Shows About Florida Domestic Violence Cases

In 2023, a Manhattan jury convicted Jonathan Majors of misdemeanor assault and harassment after a dispute with his then-girlfriend in the back of an SUV....
  • Rory Safir
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The Evidence That Wins a Florida Truck Accident Case Disappears Fast

A crash with a fully loaded tractor trailer is not just a bigger version of a car accident, and treating it like one is how injured people leave the real case on the table....
  • Rory Safir
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The Store Started Building Its Case Before You Got Off the Floor

If you fell in a store or a restaurant, I can probably guess what you did next. You looked around, hoped nobody saw, told the concerned employee you were fine, and got out of there as fast as your body allowed. Embarrassment first, pain later....
  • Rory Safir
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Shot or Assaulted on Someone Else’s Property in Florida? The Owner May Share the Blame

After a shooting at an apartment complex, a nightclub, or a parking garage, the coverage focuses on the person who pulled the trigger, and rightly so. But the criminal is often never caught, or has nothing to pay, and that is not where the story ends for the victim....
  • Rory Safir
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You Get One Shot at a Clean Record in Florida. Spend It Well.

The case is over. The charges were dropped, or the judge withheld adjudication, and you walked out believing that chapter was closed. Then the apartment application comes back denied. The job offer goes quiet....
  • Rory Safir
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The Black Box in Your Car Knows What Happened. Here Is How a Crash Gets Reconstructed.

The other driver's story often changes between the roadside and the insurance claim, and by the time an adjuster is on the phone, a clear rear end or a plain failure to yield has somehow become your fault....
  • Rory Safir
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Hurt in an Uber or Lyft Crash in Florida? The Coverage Depends on One Thing

A rideshare crash is not an ordinary car accident, because the moment an Uber or Lyft is involved, who pays for your injuries turns on a corporate insurance structure the companies built to control what they owe....
  • Rory Safir
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The Call From Campus No Parent Wants: Three Things to Know Before You Do Anything

The phone rang at a terrible hour, or the text landed in the middle of your workday, and now you're managing a crisis from a kitchen table ten minutes from campus or a thousand miles away. I'm Rory Safir....
  • Rory Safir
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The Quiet Deadlines That Decide Florida Crash Claims

Nobody plans to need a guide about car crashes. If you're reading this, the wreck has probably already happened. Maybe your car is in a tow yard. Maybe you walked away feeling fine, and this morning your neck told a different story....
  • Rory Safir
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A Recall Landed on Thousands of Household Products. Does a Recall Mean You Have a Case?

Early in 2026, the FDA announced a recall that swept up more than two thousand products from brands as familiar as Tylenol, Advil, and Coca-Cola, after a Minnesota facility was found operating under insanitary conditions....
  • Rory Safir
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Who Pays My Medical Bills After a Car Accident in Florida?

It surprises many people to learn that after a Florida crash, the first coverage to pay your medical bills is usually your own, even when the other driver was clearly at fault....
  • Rory Safir
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Know Your Rights During Police Encounters in Florida

This article first appeared in The Paraclete, the magazine of the St. Petersburg Bar Association, March/April 2026 edition, pages 40 and 41. Republished here by the author, with citation to the original....
  • Rory Safir
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The Second Fight Has Different Rules: Three Things to Know Before a VOP Hearing

Maybe it was a phone call from your probation officer. Maybe it was a letter with the word affidavit in it. However it arrived, the message is the same: the State says you broke a condition of your probation, and the case you thought was behind you is awake again....
  • Rory Safir
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The Test I Want You to Give Every DUI Lawyer, Including Me

You have a court date you didn't ask for, a paper permit where your license used to be, and a phone full of search results that all say the same three things. Aggressive. Experienced. Fights for you....
  • Rory Safir

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Arrested for DUI in Florida, the bookI wrote the book on Florida DUIFree to anyone facing a charge in Tampa Bay. Plain English, nineteen chapters, no law degree required.Get your copy →ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist badgeForensic Lawyer-ScientistOne of six attorneys in Florida with the ACS-CHAL designation from the American Chemical Society.What that means for your case →

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Case Results

Acquittal, Pinellas County: DUI jury acquittal after the HGN eye test was challenged.

Past results are examples only and do not predict, promise, or guarantee the outcome of any other case.

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