Florida law allows the immediate suspension of your driver’s license if you have been arrested for DUI based on either a breath test reading of at least 0.08% BAC or a refusal to submit to the breath test. Your DUI citation serves as your temporary driving permit for the first ten days after your arrest. You must request an administrative review hearing within ten days of your arrest in order to challenge the administrative suspension of your license. Time is of the essence, and you should seek legal advice as soon as possible after your arrest. Our firm can help restore your driving privileges.

Such an admission will be used as evidence against you during the trial of a DUI case. However, it is not against the law to drive after drinking. The state must prove you were driving while your normal faculties were impaired or with a blood alcohol level of at least 0.08%. Therefore, the state cannot prove you are guilty of DUI merely by introducing your statement that you had consumed alcohol before driving.

No, you are not legally required to perform FSEs and there is no penalty for refusing to perform them. We would only recommend that you consider performing them if you are athletic and are certain you are up to the task. The prosecution will attempt to argue that your refusal to perform was due to a consciousness of guilt. However, the state will find it more difficult to prove its case against you without the FSEs. The FSEs are designed for failure, and even an unimpaired person can fail them. If you perform the FSEs, in all likelihood the police officer will say you performed poorly. You should never allow a police officer to bully or coerce you into performing FSEs.

Yes, but if you refuse your driver’s license may be suspended for at least one year. Upon a second refusal, you may be charged with an independent misdemeanor offense. Nonetheless, many people choose to refuse for various legitimate reasons, including not trusting the breath machine and not wanting to arm the state with evidence that may be used against you in a DUI prosecution. If you were arrested for refusing the breath test, we invite you to contact us for a free consultation to discuss our strategies for winning refusal cases.

You are not entitled to an attorney during FSEs or breath testing or when making the decision to submit to these tests. Once you are arrested, you have the right to request an attorney before answering questions related to your arrest. Before being arrested, you are not entitled to an attorney. However, you should be cautious when responding to questioning by law enforcement, and you should refrain from answering questions related to alcohol consumption and other circumstances of the stop and DUI investigation. The officer cannot testify in court that you refused to answer questions, because you have the right to remain silent and to refuse to answer potentially incriminating questions. Never allow a police officer to bully or coerce you into answering questions. The safest response in such situations is that you would like to speak with a lawyer. Alternatively, you may politely decline to answer.

The officer’s failure to read your Miranda rights may lead to the suppression of statements you made after being arrested. Miranda rights only apply when you are being interrogated while in custody. They do not apply during a routine traffic stop, as you are not considered to be in police “custody” under those circumstances. However, the stop may escalate into a custodial arrest, in which case Miranda rights will then apply. We are always looking for ways of challenging illegal stops and other police and prosecutorial misconduct. Our evaluation of your case will include consideration of whether your Miranda rights were respected and observed.

You don’t, and you should not assume the breath results will be sufficient to convict you of DUI. While the State of Florida would like everyone to believe the breath test has an aura of scientific validity, the reality is very different. We are familiar with the strategies for beating the breath machine and will fight for you.

Strangely enough, the answer is yes. You can be convicted of DUI if you blew between 0.05% and 0.08% BAC. However, the state does not get the benefit of a presumption of impairment and must prove your normal faculties were impaired. Believe it or not, some prosecutors will pursue these cases. Don’t take it for granted that you will win. We recommend that you hire a qualified attorney to protect your rights.

Yes. It is highly likely that your insurance company will view you as a higher risk and increase your premiums accordingly. This is yet another hidden cost of a DUI conviction.

Generally, yes. The existence of one or more out-of-state DUI convictions will result in more severe DUI penalties. In some cases, an experienced DUI attorney may be able to move to preclude consideration of an out-of-state conviction, if the conviction was obtained under DUI laws that are not similar to Florida’s DUI laws or if the DUI conviction occurred when you were not represented by an attorney.

If you appear at your arraignment without legal counsel, you will have three possible options: pleading not guilty, requesting a continuance to hire an attorney, or resolving your case by pleading guilty or no contest. We do not recommend the third option. If you hire us before the arraignment date, we will enter our appearance, enter your plea of not guilty and waive formal arraignment; therefore, you would ordinarily not need to appear at arraignment.

It is possible, but it depends on the circumstances. It is generally unlikely that you will go to jail for a first offense DUI in Florida. However, if there are aggravating factors present in your case your sentence may include jail time. Hiring a qualified DUI defense lawyer will increase your chances of avoiding jail time, even if some aggravating factors are present in your case. For second and subsequent DUIs, the DUI penalties may include mandatory jail time.

Unfortunately, a DUI conviction remains on your driving record forever and it cannot be sealed or expunged. The only way to keep a DUI off of your record is to have the charges dismissed or changed to reckless driving.

The most important factors are that you must feel comfortable and trust the attorney who will represent you in your DUI case. While qualifications are important, you should also feel that your attorney is being honest, fair and straightforward about the legal fees being charged and the services to be performed. You should also feel that your attorney will be accessible to you and will provide personal service to you. You should feel that your attorney has a plan for investigating and defending your DUI case, and is not simply going to plead out your case at the earliest opportunity.