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This year, we wanted to illustrate the significance of Mothers Against Drunk Driving State-Wide recognition and, most importantly, highlight the Heroes among us!<\/p>\n
In this interview, we feature Garett Berman, Supervising Assistant State Attorney and Former Florida Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor of the Office of the State Attorney \u2013 17th<\/sup> Judicial Circuit.\u00a0 Mr. Berman was the 2017 top honoree for Outstanding Prosecutor Recognition.<\/p>\n Mr. Berman was nominated by Senior Supervising Assistant State Attorney Linda Berman.\u00a0 Her nomination reads:<\/p>\n [blogcontent width=’100′]<\/p>\n Garett Berman has shown extreme passion and dedication to saving lives on Florida’s\u00a0<\/em>roadways for the last ten years as a prosecutor with the Office of the State Attorney in\u00a0<\/em>the 17th Judicial Circuit in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For the last seven years he has\u00a0<\/em>spent tirelessly working as the Florida Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor training and\u00a0<\/em>educating prosecutors, law enforcement officer and the judiciary in all aspects of\u00a0<\/em>impaired driving enforcement and prevention, in an effort to eliminate impaired driving.<\/em><\/p>\n As Florida’s TSRP, Mr. Berman was instrumental in combating challenges to breath\u00a0<\/em>testing throughout the state, being entrusted by many of Florida’s elected State\u00a0<\/em>Attorneys to litigate issues for their offices on challenges to Intoxilyzer source code and\u00a0<\/em>breath and blood testing rules affecting all DUI cases in those jurisdictions. He has\u00a0<\/em>never faltered. Notably, Mr. Berman received two favorable opinions from Seminole\u00a0<\/em>County on the issue of the Intoxilyzer 8000 source code, which had been litigated over\u00a0<\/em>six hearing dates, over three years. Mr. Berman sits on several committees and\u00a0<\/em>working groups, locally and throughout the State, to address various issues pertaining\u00a0<\/em>to impaired driving, such as the Florida Impaired Driving Coalition, and the Florida\u00a0<\/em>Prosecuting Attorneys Association Education Board. He has drafted several legislative\u00a0<\/em>proposals and amendment to assist in the elimination and prosecution of impaired\u00a0<\/em>drivers, such as first refusal penalties, Drug Recognition Expert testimony and warrant\u00a0<\/em>exceptions for misdemeanor DUIs. Many of the prosecutors in the State today have, in\u00a0<\/em>some way, been trained by Mr. Berman, in 2016 and prior years. In some way, his\u00a0<\/em>fingerprint is on foundation of the training and education of many prosecutors\u00a0<\/em>throughout the State who litigate impaired driving cases. It would be difficult to find\u00a0<\/em>another prosecutor who has given more as Mr. Berman has done as a line prosecutor\u00a0<\/em>in Broward County and as the Florida TSRP when it comes to the prevention,\u00a0<\/em>prosecution and elimination of impaired driving. Unfortunately for the State of Florida,\u00a0<\/em>but fortunately for the citizens of Broward County, at the end of 2016, Mr. Berman\u00a0<\/em>returned to the front lines of prosecution when he returned to the State Attorney’s\u00a0<\/em>Office in the 17th Judicial Circuit. Although it is a loss to the State as a whole, Mr.\u00a0<\/em>Berman still assist other State Attorney’s Office, and continues in the fight against\u00a0<\/em>impaired driving as a Supervising Assistant State Attorney and the Director of Training\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>for the Broward County State Attorney’s Office.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/blogcontent]<\/p>\n Recently, we spoke with Mr. Berman.\u00a0 Here’s what he had to say:<\/p>\n It\u2019s definitely a great honor just to be nominated as one of the year\u2019s top prosecutors, so receiving top honors out of all the nominees for the year is certainly the penultimate honor.\u00a0 It is a great feeling to be recognized by one\u2019s peers and colleagues within the law enforcement and prosecutorial community, especially within a niche field like impaired driving.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I felt a sense of pride and graciousness when I received the notification of being nominated.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think there is a greater feeling of satisfaction than to be recognized by your peers for what you do.\u00a0 There are so many great prosecutors doing such good hard work throughout the State, so for a someone to take the time to nominate me is great honor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I honestly did not expect to win.\u00a0 In fact, it had become sort of a running joke amongst my friends and colleagues that I was always the bridesmaid but never the bride.\u00a0 So, to hear Larry [Coggins] call my name that year was a bit of a shock\u2014but one that eventually segued into a feel of pride and satisfaction once I started walking up to the stage.\u00a0 To sit in a room with the top law enforcement officers, prosecutors and civilians throughout the State of Florida and to hear your name called as the Top Honoree really gave me a sense of accomplishment.\u00a0 But receiving Top Honoree is only a testament to how good the law enforcement officers, breath test operators, agency inspectors, toxicologists, prosecutors and everyone else I have worked with are.\u00a0 All I do is analyze cases and make arguments, but it\u2019s really their dedication to their craft that enables me to be as good as I am and they are the real reason why I, or anyone, can really be worthy of receiving top honors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I don\u2019t have any interesting story or past experience that drove me to become a prosecutor.\u00a0 I had just graduated law school with my wife, we needed jobs, and Mike Satz took a chance on us.\u00a0 But my parents always instilled in me the need to have principals and the duty to always to the right thing, even if it\u2019s to your disadvantage.\u00a0 Those principals and morals fit perfectly with being a prosecutor.\u00a0 I enjoy pursuing justice for victims and keeping our communities safe.\u00a0 But at the end of day, I take pride in the fact that I\u2019m able to do justice and ensure that everyone\u2019s rights are upheld legally, not only for the State of Florida, its citizens and victims, but also for those accused.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n During my time as an Assistant State Attorney and as the former Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor I\u2019ve had the opportunity to lecture to and train thousands of prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and judges throughout the country.\u00a0 I\u2019ve created training manuals for prosecutors, written legal memoranda that been adopted as policy by State Attorney\u2019s Offices and law enforcement agencies throughout the State of Florida, and I have authored book chapters on prosecuting impaired drivers in Florida.\u00a0 However, the one thing that I have yet to accomplish that I feel would effectuate real change, not just in the community but throughout the State, would be to author legislation that is approved and passed into law.\u00a0 Having written several pieces of proposed legislation, I hope that my latest effort in revising the Florida warrant statute to allow for blood draws in any DUI or BUI case, is eventually adopted into law, and makes it easier for law enforcement to obtain chemical test evidence, which will enable our prosecutors to better prosecute impaired driving cases.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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