DUI Law

How Can You Fight a DUI Without an Attorney?

If you are charged with driving under the influence (DUI) in Florida, you could face severe penalties, including license revocation, heavy fines, and jail time. It’s understandable if you’re worried about finances right now, and you might think the most cost-effective option is to fight the charges yourself instead of hiring a lawyer. However, due to the complexities of Florida’s DUI laws, it can be very challenging to defend yourself successfully in court, and your choice may cost you more in the long run. Experienced attorneys for DUI cases in Fort Lauderdale can explain what you should know before you decide to fight a DUI on your own.

What Are Florida’s DUI Penalties?

First, it’s essential to understand what consequences you could face if convicted. Florida takes DUI charges seriously; even first-time offenders can face imprisonment and significant fines.

The penalties for a DUI conviction are:

• First-offense DUI: A misdemeanor that can result in up to six months in jail, $500 to $1,000 in fines, and license revocation for six months to one year.
• Second DUI: A misdemeanor offense punishable by up to nine months in jail and fines of $1,000 to $2,000. If your second DUI was five years or more after your first conviction, you face license revocation for six months to one year. If it was within five years of your first DUI, it is a minimum of five years revocation.
• Third DUI within ten years of second conviction: A felony with mandatory imprisonment of at least 30 days, 48 hours of which must be consecutive, and a fine of $2,000 to $5000. Your license will be revoked for a minimum of ten years.
• Third DUI after ten years from second conviction: A felony that requires you to spend up to 12 months in jail. You’ll also pay $2,000 to $5,000 in fines and have your license revoked for six months to one year.
• Fourth or subsequent DUI: You could spend up to five years in incarceration for this felony and pay $2,000 to $5,000 in fines. Mandatory permanent license revocation will follow incarceration, although you may apply for hardship reinstatement after five years.

What Situations May Lead to Enhanced DUI Penalties?

While the penalties for a DUI may be harsh, you could be subject to even more severe consequences if there are complicating factors in your arrest. These situations can potentially lead to felony charges, extended imprisonment, increased fines, or other legal issues:

• A minor in your vehicle at the time of the DUI arrest
• A blood alcohol level (BAL) above .15
• Involvement in an accident that caused property damage, injury, or death while you were accused of driving under the influence
• Possessing a commercial motor vehicle license (CMV)
• Refusing a breath, urine, or blood test after your DUI arrest

Navigating the legal system following a DUI without experienced legal counsel can be complex. The court process is often long and involved, and an unsuccessful defense can leave you open to significant legal ramifications. In most cases, your best chance of avoiding or reducing these penalties is hiring a lawyer who has handled DUI cases. Otherwise, if you plead guilty or try to fight your charges yourself, you have a much higher chance of receiving the maximum criminal penalties.

What Additional Civil Penalties May You Face?

The stakes are high if you are facing a DUI conviction, but the issues caused by your charges can extend well beyond jail time and fines. The court may require you to attend a DUI school or install an ignition interlock device (IID) in your vehicle(s) following a conviction. An IID is a device that measures the alcohol content of your breath that is attached to your car’s ignition. To start your vehicle, you must blow into the IID and have it register a BAL of 0%. You must pay fees to have the IID installed and maintained.

Unless your family only has one vehicle, your car will likely be impounded or immobilized for 10 to 90 days, depending on the circumstances of your conviction. This cannot occur concurrently with any jail time you must serve. The court might also require you to complete a substance abuse treatment program or perform community service as part of your sentencing. If your DUI defense is unsuccessful, you could spend a lot of time and money completing the necessary actions following your conviction.

What Are Possible DUI Defenses?

Whether you hire a lawyer or represent yourself, there are several defense angles to choose from. Some of the questions you can raise to get your case dismissed or charges reduced include the following:

• Were the field sobriety tests administered properly?
• Did the police have probable cause to pull you over?
• Was the breath test administered correctly?
• Was the breathalyzer working correctly?

Depending on the answers to these questions, you may be able to defend yourself from a DUI. However, it will be your responsibility to choose the right defense strategy, gather necessary evidence, meet all filing deadlines, and follow proper court procedures. This will take time and extensive knowledge of the laws in Florida, which is why we suggest consulting an experienced legal professional before you decide to represent yourself.

How Can a Lawyer Help You?

Everyone has the right to manage their own DUI defense. However, representing yourself may not be the best choice for your case, especially if your situation is complex. You don’t have to do this on your own. A skilled Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyer knows what details to consider and what evidence to collect to fight your specific charges. When you hire a seasoned lawyer to handle your DUI defense, you are giving yourself the best possible chance of avoiding the most severe penalties.

You can learn your legal options from experienced attorneys for Fort Lauderdale drunk driving cases. Call George Reres Law, P.A. at 954-523-3811 today to get started.

For information on DUI law, please see:

• What Happens If A Commercial Driver Is Convicted Of A DUI In Florida?
• Penalties for a Florida DUI Conviction

While a DUI comes with major consequences for any Florida resident, a conviction is particularly serious for a commercial driver. Due to the inherent safety risks associated with operating a large commercial vehicle, drivers with a CDL are held to a higher standard.

Commercial Drivers Have Different BAC Rules

For the typical motorist over the age of 21, the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08%. A person’s BAC depends on a number of factors, including their weight, sex, medications they are taking, and whether or not they are drinking on an empty stomach. However, drinking three to five servings of alcohol in an hour is generally enough for someone to be considered legally drunk.

For someone with a CDL, the legal BAC is only 0.04%. As you might expect, this means a person with a CDL could potentially face DUI charges after enjoying only one or two drinks with dinner.

Effect of Implied Consent Rules

All Florida drivers are subject to implied consent rules that require a blood or urine test after being pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving. If you refuse to submit to a test, your CDL will be suspended for 12 months even if the DUI charges are later dropped. If you refuse a test in a second incident, your CDL will be suspended permanently.

Refusal to comply with implied consent laws can be used against you in court. However, you are not required to consent to any field sobriety tests such as the walk and turn test, one-leg stand test, or finger to nose test.

Potential Penalties

After your arrest, you will be placed on out-of-service status for 24 hours. If you are convicted, your CDL will be disqualified for one year. The disqualification would increase to three years if you were hauling hazardous substances at the time of your arrest.

Additional DUI penalties include:

• Up to six months in jail
• Possible fine of up to $1,000
• Probation
• Community service
• Mandatory completion of an alcohol evaluation and treatment program

Your CDL will not be automatically reinstated once the suspension has expired. You will need to pass the certification exams and pay reinstatement fees. You must also satisfy all requirements imposed by the criminal court before you will be allowed to regain your driving privileges.

Hardship License

In some cases, it is possible for a Florida driver to obtain a hardship license that allows for limited driving for employment, school, or medical purposes. However, a driver with a suspended CDL is ineligible for a hardship license. They must serve the full term of their suspension.

Obtaining a CDL After a DUI

If you are interested in becoming a commercial driver, you may find yourself wondering if a past DUI will be disqualifying. Florida law does allow drivers to apply for and receive a CDL if they have a past DUI conviction. However, the hiring policies of major carriers often make it difficult to find work with a DUI conviction on your record—especially if you’ve only recently had your driving privileges reinstated. Drivers with any recent offense are considered high risk and thus increase a company’s insurance rates.

Building a Defense

With your ability to earn a living at risk, it’s crucial that you consult with top-rated legal experts for drunk driving cases in Fort Lauderdale as soon as you are charged with a DUI. At George Reres Law, some of the defenses we may use to get the charges against you dropped or reduced include:

• No probable cause for the stop
• Illegal seizure
• Forced compliance with voluntary roadside sobriety tests
• Non-compliance with administrative rules
• Unreasonable length of detention
• Violation of your Miranda rights
• Breath test operator was not properly trained, the machine wasn’t maintained, or evidence wasn’t handled correctly

If you wish to appeal the automatic suspension of our CDL after a failed BAC test or test refusal, you only have ten days to request a hearing. Our top-rated legal experts for DUI charges in Fort Lauderdale can help you with this process.

Call us at (954) 523-3811 or fill out our contact form to request a confidential consultation.

For more information on DUI law, please see:

• How to Fight a DUI Without an Attorney
• Penalties for a Florida DUI Conviction

 

Have you or someone you love been arrested for, or charged with, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in the Sunshine State? Don’t underestimate the severity of the situation. While people often think of a DUI as a simple traffic violation, it is a serious crime under Florida law that carries the potential for harsh penalties that escalate with each subsequent conviction.

Sadly, criminal penalties aren’t the only ways a DUI conviction can affect your life. In addition to potential fines, imprisonment, and the revocation of your drivers license, having a DUI conviction on your record can negatively affect your car insurance rates, employment, and educational opportunities, as well as carry long-lasting social stigma.

Don’t risk letting a momentary lapse of judgment or a misunderstanding turn your life upside down. Here’s what you need to know about Florida DUI cases, including why hiring local law professional specializing in DUI is essential to securing the best possible outcome.

How Florida Law Defines DUI

When charging someone with a DUI, the state alleges that they drove—or were in actual physical control—of a vehicle while their normal faculties were impaired. This impairment could be caused by alcohol, but it doesn’t have to be. Under Florida law, you could also face DUI charges for driving (or physically controlling) a vehicle when under the influence of an impairing chemical or controlled substance.

BAC and Legal Impairment

A blood or breath alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent is the legal limit in Florida. However, everyone absorbs and metabolizes alcohol differently, and BAC can be affected by a variety of factors, such as:

• Your rate of alcohol consumption. Consuming multiple alcoholic beverages in a short period of time can negatively impact the body’s ability to metabolize alcohol, resulting in significant impairment.
• Whether—or how much—you’ve eaten. Drinking on an empty stomach or when you haven’t had much to eat allows the body to absorb alcohol much more quickly, which can worsen and speed up the effects of intoxication.
• Your biological sex. Men and women metabolize alcohol at different rates. In general, men metabolize alcohol faster than women, as women have fewer of the enzymes needed to break it down before it reaches the bloodstream.
• Your weight and body fat. Smaller, lighter-weight people tend to have higher BACs than heavier people, even after consuming the same amount of alcohol. Body fat also plays a role, as people with higher body fat percentages maintain higher concentrations of alcohol than those with leaner builds.
• The medications you’re taking. Certain prescription and over-the-counter medications can affect how your body metabolizes and absorbs alcohol.

The effects of alcohol can be varied and unexpected. As a result, it is often difficult for people to accurately determine whether they are legally safe to drive. You could have a BAC of .08 percent or greater and not even feel intoxicated. This makes getting behind the wheel after drinking a risky proposition, regardless of how many alcoholic beverages you’ve had.

Florida DUI Penalties

Punishments for DUI convictions are substantial from the very first offense, and get more and more severe with subsequent convictions. Potential penalties can include fines, imprisonment, impoundment or immobilization of your vehicle, restriction or loss of your drivers license, and mandated participation in drug or alcohol education or treatment programs.

First Conviction

• Fines between $500 and $1,000; if there was a minor in the vehicle or BAC was .15 or higher, fines can range from $1,000 to $2,000.
• Imprisonment for up to six months; the sentence can increase to up to nine months due to a high BAC or having a minor in the vehicle.
• Loss of use of your vehicle for 10 days.
• Revocation of drivers license ranging from 180 days to one year for offenses without bodily injury; minimum of three years loss of license for offenses involving bodily injury.

Second Conviction

• Fines between $1,000 and $2,000; fines can range from $2,000 to $4,000 when there is a child in the vehicle or BAC is at or exceeds .15 percent.
• Imprisonment for up to nine months; or up to one year for incidents involving high BAC or minors in the vehicle.
• License revocation for 180 days to 12 months for offenses without bodily injury.
• When a second DUI conviction occurs within five years, additional penalties include a mandatory minimum of 10 days imprisonment, 48 hours of which must be consecutive, as well as the potential for vehicle impoundment or immobilization for 30 days, and loss of drivers license for five years.

Third Conviction

• Fines between $2,000 and $5,000, or a minimum $4,000 fine when a minor is in the vehicle or BAC is .15 percent or greater.
• Imprisonment for up to 12 months.
• Loss of drivers license for a period of 180 days to one year for offenses without bodily injury; minimum of three years license revocation for offenses involving bodily injury.
• When a third conviction occurs within 10 years of a second DUI conviction, penalties include mandatory imprisonment for at least 30 days, at least 48 hours of which must be served consecutively, loss of vehicle for 90 days, and license revocation for a minimum of 10 years.

Fourth or Subsequent Conviction

• Minimum $2,000 fine; minimum $4,000 fine for incidents involving high BAC or children in the vehicle.
• Imprisonment for up five years.
• Mandatory permanent drivers license revocation.

Other Consequences of Conviction

• A DUI conviction can dramatically increase your car insurance rates—and you may have difficulty finding an insurer willing to cover you.
• If you lose your license and use of your vehicle, you could also lose your job if you aren’t able to get a restricted license.
• DUI convictions can reduce your eligibility for educational opportunities like scholarships and other prestigious programs.
• If convicted of a felony DUI offense (those involving a repeat DUI offender, serious bodily injury, manslaughter, or vehicular homicide), the consequences can continue to follow you long after you’ve completed your sentence.

Benefits of Early Representation

Don’t make the mistake of thinking this whole DUI thing will just blow over. The sooner you contact a defense attorney, the better. Having skilled legal representation in the early stages of a DUI prosecution makes it possible for your attorney to begin vigorously advocating or your behalf before things start to spiral out of control.

Schedule a Consultation

Give yourself the best chance for a positive outcome. Contact George Reres Law today to schedule an appointment for a confidential review of your Florida DUI case.

• How to Fight a DUI Without an Attorney
• What Happens If A Commercial Driver Is Convicted Of A DUI In Florida?