“Driving Under the Influence” or “DUI” as it popularly known is a particularly tricky part of Florida law.  It is an area that is riddled with complexity, technicality and science.  If you are charged with a DUI offense in Florida, you face a number of penalties that have been characterized as some of the toughest in the country.   The silver lining within this maze of legal circumstances is that there are an intense number of technical procedures involved in and around DUI charges.  Due to the fact that police officers are required to meet specific legal requirements while managing a DUI-related stop and possible resulting arrest, the investigating officer has very little room for error while he or she works to prove your offense.   If the investigating officer does not meet the specific requirements, a DUI defense attorney may be able to secure a favorable plea agreement or have your DUI charge dismissed completely.

If you have been charged with a DUI, it is extremely important that you consult with an experienced DUI defense attorney.  The consequences of not doing so could be insurmountable.  The time constraints alone could mean the difference between driving sooner and getting back to your normal life and not being able to drive for a significant period of time.  For instance, you have a period of 10 days from the date of your arrest to file for a hearing where you challenge the “administrative” suspension of your license.  During this hearing, you could possibly secure an additional temporary license.  However, it is in your best interest to seek the help of an experienced DUI defense attorney who will be able to help you through this process.

Our Florida DUI defense attorneys meticulously examine the various stages of the DUI-related stop and arrest proceedings, e.g. lawful interference and field sobriety tests.  Below you will find further explanation on both topics:

• Lawfully delayed by a police officer:

The U.S. Constitution contains The Fourth Amendment which requires police officers to have a factual basis to espouse a stop.  There are a couple of required standards that must be met in order for application The Fourth Amendment: “reasonable suspicion” which is based on facts that can be stated; and “probable cause” which is more than a minute gut-feeling, but less than stated facts.  If you were detained and subsequently charged with a DUI-related offense, then there was some suggestion in your actions that indicate you were indeed “driving under the influence” and breaking the law.

For example, if you were driving without your lights on at night or weaving in and out of traffic, you could be pulled over.  Police use these signs as an indicator for reasonable suspicion.  You may also be legally detained for speeding, but the officer involved may need more proof before he or she can officially begin a DUI investigation, i.e. they may smell alcohol or notice watery, red eyes after they have pulled you over, and these observations will give them the valid footing they need to begin a DUI investigation.

Arresting officers will often testify in court that they observed the offender driving in a way that is coherent with signs of someone driving under the influence.  Their testimony may consist of observances that the offender was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic.  If they begin a DUI investigation will little more than what is stated above, then it can easily be refuted.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does not sanction speeding as a distinguishing tendency of motorists driving under the influence of intoxicating substances as it can easily be stated that a motorist can weave or increase the speed of their vehicle by merely leaning over to change the air settings.

• Field Sobriety Testing:

Field Sobriety Tests are typically composed of 3 tasks that you are requested to perform in front of the arresting officer after you have been lawfully detained.  These tasks along with their accuracy ratings determined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), are listed below:

• The Walk and Turn – 68% accurate
• The One-leg Stand – 65% accurate
• The Horizontal Gaze-Nystagmus Test – 77% accurate

There are several outside factors that can affect the results of these tests that include: nervousness, fatigue, injury, advanced age, impaired hearing, bad weather or unclear instructions.  Also keep in mind that these tests are observed by another human being.

As the previous statistics indicate, field sobriety test are not 100% accurate in determining whether or not a suspected DUI offender was over the legal BAC content of 0.08.  An arresting officer will ask a suspected offender to perform field sobriety tests in order to ascertain whether he or she can sustain the legal grounding for further action, e.g., a breath test or possibly an arrest.  Seeing that these tests are proven to be no more than 77% accurate, the legal basis for obtaining the consent for diagnostic testing may be refuted.   This is another instance where an experienced DUI defense attorney may be able to offer assistance.

As always, if you are involved in a DUI-related arrest in the state of Florida, please do not hesitate to contact an experienced Florida DUI attorney, who may be able to reach a satisfactory plea agreement or get your case dismissed completely.