Safir Injury and Criminal Defense Law
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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.

About Rory →

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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Hit by an Unlicensed Driver in Florida? A New Law Just Changed the Picture

One of the roughly ninety new Florida laws that took effect on July 1, 2026, is aimed squarely at a problem many injured drivers already know too well....
  • Rory Safir
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When a Florida Theme Park Ride Hurts You: Lessons From the Epic Universe Coaster Cases

Universal's Epic Universe opened in Orlando in 2025, and one of its headline attractions, the high-speed Stardust Racers coaster, has become the center of serious injury claims....
  • Rory Safir
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Ethan Jamieson, a Protective Order, and Your Gun Rights in Florida

Ethan Jamieson, who played a District 4 tribute in the 2012 film The Hunger Games, was charged in North Carolina this spring over a shooting in which a gun was allegedly fired toward an occupied vehicle....
  • Rory Safir
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Lil Nas X, Battery on an Officer, and How Florida Handles a Mental Health Crisis

In August 2025, Lil Nas X was found walking in the street in the early morning hours, in obvious distress....
  • Rory Safir
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Four Charges, Zero Filed: Winning Before the Case Begins

An arrest is not a charge. The State announced a No Bill on all four counts, and our client left Florida without a record....
  • Rory Safir
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Clavicular, a Filmed Fight, and How Florida Charges the Person Who Did Not Throw the Punch

The online streamer known as Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, was arrested in Broward County on a warrant out of Osceola County for misdemeanor battery and criminal conspiracy to commit battery....
  • Rory Safir
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A Punch and a Trashed Lounge: The Trey Songz Charges in Florida Terms

Trey Songz was charged in New York over two December incidents....
  • Rory Safir
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Terrion Arnold and the Law of Directing a Crime You Did Not Carry Out

Terrion Arnold, a cornerback for the Detroit Lions, turned himself in at a Hillsborough County jail this week and was charged with eight felonies: four counts of kidnapping and four counts of armed robbery, with a possible life sentence....
  • Rory Safir
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What the Chris Brown Dog-Bite Case Shows About Florida's Strict Liability Law

A housekeeper named Maria Avila says she was mauled by Chris Brown's dog, named Hades, while she was removing trash from his home, and that she was left covered in blood....
  • Rory Safir

Remember the Name: Taylor Teeple

Every so often you meet a law student and you know, within a week or two, that this profession is in good hands. That is how it has felt having Taylor Teeple with us this summer....
  • Rory Safir
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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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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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