Many people who are convicted of DUI find themselves in the unenviable position of facing DUI charges on multiple occasions.  Generally, the penalties under Florida DUI law increase with each subsequent conviction.  If a person is arrested for a Florida DUI that would constitute a fourth offense based on prior out of state or Florida DUI convictions, a driver may be charged with felony driving under the influence.  However, the fact that a person has been convicted of prior offenses is not enough to sustain felony charges.  The prosecutor must present competent evidence to prove the prior DUI convictions.  Essentially, the prior offenses are an element (fact that must be proven) of the felony DUI charge so their existence must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.  The court in Ward v. State, 807 So. 2d 808 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 4th Dist. 2002) considered this issue and provided an overview of appropriate evidence of prior Florida DUI convictions.

In Ward, the State presented certified copies of defendant’s 1986 and 1995 DUI convictions and testimony from a fingerprint examiner who confirmed the fingerprints matched the defendant’s prints.  The trial court then took judicial notice of a court file in defendant’s 1989 DUI case. The court file contained a booking photograph that resembled defendant as well as a probable cause affidavit which indicated the arrestee shared defendant’s physical description, and other documents which indicated that the arrestee shared defendant’s address.  The State also introduced defendant’s driving record.

On appeal, the defendant argued that his conviction should have been reduced to a misdemeanor because the trial court convicted him without proving he had three prior DUI convictions. The appellate court specifically found that driving records were not sufficiently reliable to prove a defendant’s prior record.  However, the court held that the court file from the prior 1989 conviction provided ample evidence that clearly indicated defendant was the same person who was convicted of DUI in 1989, which constituted a sufficient basis for the fact-finder to determine beyond a reasonable doubt that it was his fourth DUI.

A defendant convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) without property damage or injury to a person is guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor.  Upon a defendant’s fourth or subsequent DUI conviction, however, he or she is guilty of a third-degree felony.  The existence of the three or more prior DUI convictions is an essential element of felony DUI and must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Driving records, as distinguished from proper proof such as admissions, stipulations, or certified copies of convictions, are not sufficiently reliable to prove a defendant’s prior record.

The important point to take away from this analysis is that if you are charged with felony DUI because you have 3 or more prior offenses, the State must provide very specific evidence to prove the prior convictions.  If this evidence is not introduced, the State may fail to meet its burden to establish the existence of the prior convictions.  This may result in the State being unable to obtain a felony conviction.  An experienced Florida DUI defense attorney can analyze the evidence presented by the prosecutor to determine if any prior DUI offenses have been sufficiently established with competent admissible evidence.  If you are charged with a 4^th DUI offense, you face very serious felony charges.  Our experienced Florida DUI defense team always attempts to seek a basis for dismissal or acquittal of the charges or where this in not possible a substantial reduction in charges.  We offer a free initial case evaluation so contact us today to learn how we may be able to help you out of a tough predicament.