Is Uber Really Safe?

Uber was founded in 2009 and has taken over the transportation world by storm, especially in Gainesville and college towns around the world. Claiming to be the “easiest way around,” Uber offers a taxi like service through the use of their cell phone application.

With the simple touch of a button, you can track your driver as he/she goes to your location for pickup, and then track your ride to the final destination on the map. Payment is all done over the application with the cost being provided up front even before selecting the ride. According to their website, “[f]rom start to finish, a ride you can trust. Your safety is important to us before, during, and after every trip. That’s why we continue to develop technology that helps make millions of rides safer every day.” https://www.uber.com/ride/

But is it really the safest option? On the evening of June 14, 2017, a young lady in downtown Gainesville used the Uber App to get a ride home. As she clicked the button, she was assigned to 66-year-old Edwin Ricci as her driver.

When her ride arrived, she got in the car and began to track her route through the app. She quickly noticed Ricci was going the wrong way and headed down a dead-end road. When she asked where he was going, he advised, “We are just going for a little ride.”

Luckily for the lady, she was on FaceTime Video chat with a friend during the ride and advised her friend what was happening. When the car stopped, the lady was able to jump out and run away, but not before she was battered.

Edwin Ricci was subsequently arrested by the Gainesville Police Department on June 27, 2017 and faces one count of simple battery.

While these incidents are likely very rare, they do happen. Uber is a great and affordable option to prevent a DUI charge. But while Uber seems safe after a night of drinking, responsibility is key. Know your surroundings. If something doesn’t seem right, get out.

If however, you choose to drive and have the unfortunate circumstance of being arrested for a DUI, please contact the Law Firm of Michael P. Maddux to assist you in navigating through both the criminal court system and the DMV.

Florida Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Stand Your Ground

The Florida Supreme Court is currently considering whether a successful Stand Your Ground Motion in a criminal case would be a bar to a future civil action.

In Florida, a person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A person who uses or threatens to use deadly force in accordance with this subsection does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground if the person using or threatening to use the deadly force is not engaged in a criminal activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be. Fla. Stat. § 776.012(2).

Stand Your Ground may be raised both in a criminal prosecution, as well as an affirmative defense in a civil suit. Currently, there is a disagreement among the District Court of Appeals in the State of Florida with regards to Stand Your Ground and its application in a civil case after a successful criminal defense.

The Second District Court of Appeal concluded that when someone successfully demonstrates immunity from criminal prosecution under Florida’s so-call Stand Your Ground law, section 776.032(1) Florida Statutes (2008), he does not have to prove it again in a subsequent civil suit, as the same immunity applies in the civil action as well. Patel v. Kumar, 41 Fla. L. Weekly D1542 (2nd DCA, 2016)

However, the Third District Court of Appeal in Flemmings had previously stated that a similarly situated defendant would have to litigate the issue of his immunity in a civil action notwithstanding that he had successfully done so in a previous criminal prosecution arising from the same incident. Professional Roofing & Sales, Inc. v. Flemmings, 138 So.3d 524 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014)

Because the Second District Court of Appeal’s opinion constitutes an express and direct conflict with the Third District Court of Appeal’s statements in Flemmings, the Florida Supreme Court exerted its discretionary jurisdiction to review the Second District Court of Appeal’s June 29, 2016 opinion in order to address this conflict. The statute and these cases show the interesting interplay between criminal and tort law.