Posts Tagged ‘Florida DUI Penalties’
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
The law treats driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI) differently then other Florida criminal offenses. Because of the high level of pressure to reduce the number of alcohol related accidents, the law has made exceptions to certain fundamental constitutional protections that apply in other context. For example, the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides protection from unreasonable search and seizures. This typically means that the police must have some basis for conducting the stop of a vehicle, which means individualized suspicion based on articulated facts. However, the U.S. Supreme Court approved sobriety checkpoints in Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444 (1990). These checkpoints permit stops of vehicles under specific conditions without any basis for suspicion that a driver has engaged in criminal activity.
Another example of a traditional constitutional protection that DUI concerns have trumped is the right not to be compelled to provide evidence against oneself. Unfortunately, this protection is not guaranteed in DUI cases in Florida and in most other states. The implied consent law in Florida requires that a driver who is arrested for DUI may be asked to submit to chemical testing to determine one’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC). This chemical testing is most often conducted by use of breath testing.
A failure to comply and provide evidence against oneself by submitting to blood alcohol testing is considered a separate offense and can result in more severe punishment including a longer license suspension, a separate misdemeanor offense (for a 2nd refusal offense) and the refusal may be used as evidence of consciousness of guilt at a person’s DUI criminal prosecution.
What many Florida drivers do not realize is that a person can be considered to have refused despite diligent attempts to comply. A breath test in Florida is usually conducted using the Intoxilyzer 8000. The breath testing device cannot register a result unless you produce a large enough sample of alveolar air or deep lung breath. If you do not produce a large enough sample, the device will register a volume not met (VNM) flag. A technician will allow a person two chances to blow into the device. If a sufficient sample is not produced, the technician will record the test as a refusal.
To produce an adequate sample, you must blow into the device for at least one second and produce 1.1 liters of air. The technician and prosecutor will attempt to portray the test as though you failed to cooperate and intentionally did not cooperate with the test. A fair variety of individuals including those with asthma, emphysema, smokers and the elderly may struggle to produce a sufficient volume of air. Our experienced Florida DUI defense attorneys may file a motion to suppress any reference to the “refusal” in such a situation.
If you or a loved on is arrested for DUI, our experienced Florida DUI attorneys may be able to help you avoid the negative consequences of a Florida DUI conviction. We have represented many Florida residents accused of DUI and refusals including those involving VNM results.
Call 1 800-687-2252 to Speak With a Florida DUI lawyer In Your Area.
Hiring a Florida DUI attorney to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Advice Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 for a Florida DUI law firm near you (by appointment only).
Tags: DUI Financial Consequences in Florida, Florida DUI Attorney, Florida DUI Penalties
Posted in Florida DUI Breath Test | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
If you are under the influence of alcohol and seriously injured an auto accident, you may feel like things can not possibly get any worse. Then as you lie on a gurney waiting to be taken to a hospital, you are forced to submit to a blood draw despite your objections knowing that this blood will be used to prove that your blood alcohol level exceeds .08 percent. Many Florida residents have no idea that a person can be physically compelled to submit to a blood test. However, Florida law does permit a forced blood draw in limited circumstances and there is a growing trend in many states to allow this practice on a more widespread basis. If you are arrested for DUI in Florida, you face serious penalties, but our experienced DUI defense attorneys are available to help.
Florida law permits a forced blood draw with certain limitations when a driver is involved in an accident resulting in serious bodily injury or death to another. Florida Statute Section 327.353 permits an officer to use reasonable force to take blood from a driver if the officer has probable cause to believe the driver was intoxicated and caused an accident resulting in serious bodily injury or death. This means that as you lay injured and waiting to be transported to a hospital, you may be subject to the indignity of having someone forcibly extract a blood sample.
There are a number of issues that may arise in terms of a forced blood draw. If we can show that the blood draw was taken improperly or that the test has been compromised, we may be able to have the blood test based on the forced blood draw suppressed. If you do not consent to a breath test, the forced blood test may be the most compelling evidence against you in your DUI case. The suppression of that blood test may result in the dismissal of the charges against you or at the very least a reduction in the charge to a lesser offense.
A few examples of potential issues that may be challenged where you have been forced to submit to a forced blood draw include the following:
- Failure to take an additional sample for testing by the defendant
- Contamination of the sample because of failure to comply with proper procedures
- Non-compliance with all statutory requirements for forced blood draws
- Inability to establish the chain of custody
- Issues associated with lab procedures
These are only a few example of the types of issues our experienced Florida DUI attorneys will examine if you were forced to submit to a blood test following an accident. Our Florida DUI defense lawyers have represented many people just like you who have been arrested for suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol. If you have been charged with a Florida DUI involving injury or death, our experienced Florida DUI lawyers can fight for your freedom.
Call 1 800-687-2252 to Speak With a Florida DUI lawyer In Your Area.
Hiring a Florida DUI attorney to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Advice Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 for a Florida DUI law firm near you (by appointment only).
Tags: Florida DUI Attorney, Florida DUI Penalties
Posted in Florida DUI Blood Tests | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
It is well known that a DUI arrest can lead to a driver’s license suspension and increased insurance costs. There are other financial consequences that the average law-abiding Florida motorist may not know about but should seriously consider if they have been drinking.
Legal costs for first-time offenders can easily reach $5000 or more. In Florida, a third DUI within 10 years is considered a felony, and all subsequent DUIs are also felonies, regardless if it was within 10 years. Retaining an attorney for a felony matter can cost you a minimum of $15,000, and is usually much higher.
A DUI arrest triggers two legal proceedings–criminal and civil. The criminal proceeding is confined to the actual arrest and criminal penalties, such as possible incarceration, probation and its attendant conditions, fines, and alcohol rehab classes. The civil proceeding takes place with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles, which has the power to suspend anyone’s license for an alcohol-related driving offense. Both matters can be defended by an attorney who may charge you not only two separate fees, but possibly an expert’s fee as well if you decide to challenge your arrest before a judge or jury.
If you decide to plead guilty or are found guilty, and your blood alcohol level was less than .20 percent, your fine for a first offense will range from about $250 to $500. You face up to six months in jail, although a first offender with a minimum blood alcohol level and no other aggravating circumstances, such as an injury accident, will usually receive a much lighter sentence. If your blood alcohol level was over .20 percent or above, your fine increases to between $500 and $1000, and your jail time can be up to nine months. Felonies carry a minimum of one year in jail.
After your arrest, your car will be impounded for 10 days. You will have to pay to have it released. During this time, you will have to use alternate transportation. After you complete a DUI education class, you can apply for a hardship reinstatement allowing you to use your car only to drive to and from work. Some people who drive for a living may find themselves out of work if the terms of their employment preclude a DUI conviction or driver’s license suspension.
Many injury victims file personal injury claims against the offender’s insurance, but if the insurance is inadequate or nonexistent, then the offender may be subject to a civil judgment for medical costs, wage losses, property damage, and pain and suffering.
All motorists are required to carry liability insurance. DUI offenders are classified as high risk since repeat offenders cause about 12 percent of fatal accidents. Consequently, their premiums are extremely expensive and an offender can expect to pay a high cost for several years.
Time in court can lead to lost time from work but being incarcerated inevitably leads to loss of employment. If you are arrested for DUI in Florida, the high cost of a conviction outweighs the cost of an aggressive DUI defense. A Florida DUI defense attorney will usually offer a free consultation so it is a good idea to contact an attorney as soon as possible.
Call 1 800-687-2252 to Speak With a Florida DUI lawyer In Your Area.
Hiring a Florida DUI attorney to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Advice Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 for a Florida DUI law firm near you (by appointment only).
Tags: DUI Financial Consequences in Florida, Florida DUI Attorney, Florida DUI Penalties
Posted in Florida DUI Consequences, Florida DUI Penalties | Comments Off
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
Before a recent fatal traffic accident in Florida, one of the passengers sent a text to her sister’s cell phone expressing her concern that the driver had just taken an oxycontin, a powerful narcotic for which the driver had a prescription. Soon thereafter, the passenger was dead from a car accident for which the driver had not yet been charged pending further investigation.
Anyone who operates a motor vehicle on Florida’s highways has a duty of care to their passengers and to other motorists on the roadways, including pedestrians. The reasonableness of their actions is determined by the particular circumstances or conditions that exist at the time of their offense. Your driving conduct would be unreasonable if you were driving at the posted speed limit, but it was snowing heavily or the roadway was covered in dense fog. Driving while impaired by alcohol or any other substance would be considered unreasonable behavior as well as illegal.
Florida does not have a “per se” law that prohibits anyone from driving if they have a detectable amount of an illegal drug or its metabolite in their blood. A motorist can still be arrested if the officer suspects that the driver was under the influence of any drug, but unlike alcohol for which a blood level of 0.08 percent or higher makes it illegal for anyone to drive, there is no corresponding national standard to measure for drug impairment. Some states, however, have passed measures establishing a blood level of 2 nanograms of marijuana to be considered impaired.
If the drug was legally prescribed, a driver can still be arrested and convicted for DUI if the officer considered the driver impaired. A law enforcement officer who stops a motorist for speeding, driving recklessly, or after an accident, can ask that a driver take a breath test followed by a urine or blood test. It is the act of driving that led to the violation or accident that could reasonably be construed as impaired if the officer had a reasonable suspicion that the motorist had taken a drug that caused the impaired behavior, which led to the violation or accident. Objective signs of impairment can include confusion, a dazed look, extreme fatigue, slurred speech, or irrational behavior or responses.
While many drug takers develop tolerances to their medications, other people who are taking prescribed medication for the first time or over a short time may not be accustomed to the effects of the drug, which may cause drowsiness, confusion, or lack of coordination. Driving while under the influence in these situations can subject the motorist to arrest. If you have been arrested for DUI or DWI for drugs, you should contact a Florida criminal defense attorney to determine your rights and potential defense strategies.
Call 1 800-687-2252 to Speak With a Florida DUI lawyer In Your Area.
Hiring a Florida DUI attorney to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Advice Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 for a Florida DUI law firm near you (by appointment only).
Tags: Florida DUI Attorney, Florida DUI Penalties, florida dui statutes
Posted in Drug Related DUI in Florida | Comments Off
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Before a person turns the age of twenty-one, they can go through many new life lessons at a particular time. Colleges, moving out of the nest, or even careers affect the lives of many young adults before they turn twenty-one. However, alcohol affects millions of older teenagers, and young twenty year olds every year. If a driver that has been accused, and or arrested, of driving while under the influence of alcohol or other substances that can cause impairment in coordination, responses, and reflexes is treated differently compared that of those at the age of twenty one or older. Possession of alcohol or any other substances, legal or illegal, is not justified until a citizen reaches the age of twenty-one, which limits charges associated with it varying. Previously, alcohol was legal for consumption at the age of eighteen in all of the U.S. states until a national campaign in the 1980’s led to the age of consumption being bumped up to twenty-one. Even though the age of legal drinking arose, so did the toughening of DUI stature, and laws throughout all parts of the country.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, also known as the DMV, under certain circumstances, administers the submission and suspension of driver’s license. These circumstances include, but are not limited to: the refusal to submit to blood, urine, or breath test, or being accused, and charged of driving while under the influence of alcohol or other substances. A DUI defendant can easily use any refusal for cooperation with field sobriety tests in the court of law, as an evidence of the driver’s knowledge, or guilt of driving while under the influence.
If a driver under the age of twenty-one is arrested for a DUI, they are treated completely differently compared to that of someone of or above the age of twenty-one. If a blood alcohol content (BAC) is read and registered at 0.02 percentage or higher, the driver’s license of the individual will be suspended for six months. If a second subsequent driving event and arrest occurs, the license is then suspended for a year. To discourage the refusal of blood or breath tests, license suspension on the first occasion will last a full year, and on the second occasion eighteen months.
If a driver’s license has been suspended from an individual from the DMV, the citizen has ten days to request an administrative hearing to discuss the foundation of the suspension with the agency. On a usual basis, a police officer will be called to testify for the reason of the traffic stop, the circumstances of the stop, and what lead to the determination of the driver being under the influence of alcohol or other substances behind the will. From these hearings alone, a driver may have their license fully restored to all driving abilities, even if a State Attorney’s Office seeks the proceeding of prosecution of the DUI of the driver in a criminal court.
Call 1 800-687-2252 to Speak With a Florida DUI lawyer In Your Area.
Hiring a Florida DUI lawyer to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Advice Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 for a Florida DUI law firm near you (by appointment only).
Tags: Florida DUI Attorney, Florida DUI Penalties, florida dui statutes
Posted in Florida Underage DUI Charges | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
The Fourth of July is a time to celebrate the unique culture of America founded on principles of individual liberty and protection from the oppressive over-reaching of the government embodied in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. What better way to celebrate this tradition and history than to tear up portions of both documents by implementing “no refusal” checkpoints. No refusal checkpoints magnify the affront to the values embodied by the Fourth Amendment posed by DUI checkpoints that allow intrusion on citizens’ rights to be free of search and seizures not based on a scintilla of evidence of unlawful activity. Florida is one of a number of states utilizing “on-call” judges at holiday DUI checkpoint to issue warrants for forcible blood draws when motorist refuse breath test.
Florida has an implied consent law that provides that a driver gives consent to submit to chemical testing via breath or blood when exercising the privilege to drive on Florida roadways. Florida DUI law generally does not prohibit a driver from refusing a chemical test for blood alcohol concentration (BAC), but does impose consequences. A refusal to submit to breath or blood testing will result in a 12 month license suspension on a first offense and then constitute a misdemeanor and an 18 month suspension for subsequent refusals of BAC chemical testing. Generally, you may choose to accept these penalties without a more intrusive infringement on your Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure of a forcible blood draw for DUI though there is an exception for DUIs that result in an accident involving serious injury or fatality.
We have previously discussed in this blog the notion that DUI checkpoints are a glaring exception to the requirement that police not stop motorists when there is absolutely no evidence that the motorist has done anything illegal. This intrusion on Fourth Amendment protections is based on what the U.S. Supreme Court considers a compelling state interest in preventing drunk driving accidents. However, the rationale that the nation’s highest court used in carving out this exception to search and seizure requirements was largely based on very brief periods of detention and questioning with a cursory view of the inside of one’s vehicle that accompanies such a detention.
The notion of strapping someone down and forcibly taking one’s blood is hardly a brief and minimal intrusion. Sadly, it appears that Florida and other states may be headed down a slippery slope that permits an intrusive search and seizure that is initiated from a vehicle stop where there was not a scintilla of evidence to justify the initial stop. It is all the more ironic that the celebration of the values and protections envisioned by our Founding Fathers and embedded in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence should serve as the basis for such a frontal attack on those same values and principles.
The concept of forced blood draws based on stops without evidence of wrongdoing are even more objectionable because a motorist cannot refuse a breath test without consequences. Since a refusal already results in a driver’s license suspension as well as a misdemeanor charge for drivers with more than one refusal, there is even less justification for allowing officers to further violate the spirit of the Fourth Amendment by permitting forced blood draws at DUI checkpoints.
Our Florida DUI defense attorneys are committed to defending and fighting for the Constitutional protections of our clients. We believe that limits on government abuse of authority are an important check on law enforcement and prevent the types of tyranny that our Founding Fathers were rebelling against and that the Fourth of July celebrates.
If you or someone you love is arrested for DUI during this holiday weekend, we urge you not to wait to call. We are ready to do more than just celebrate the freedoms this holiday honors; we are ready to fight to defend these principles. We offer a free initial consultation so call us today!
Call 1 800-687-2252 to Speak With a Florida DUI lawyer In Your Area.
Hiring a Florida DUI attorney to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Advice Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 for a Florida DUI law firm near you (by appointment only).
Tags: Florida DUI Attorney, Florida DUI Penalties, florida dui statutes
Posted in Florida DUI Blood Tests, Florida DUI Checkpoints | No Comments »
Monday, August 8th, 2011
The federal administrative body that handles all business and incidents associated with motor vehicles as well as other forms of transportation such as air, marine, and railways is known as the National Traffic Safety Board. The Boards duties often involved distribution and announcing advisories related to transportation changes, warnings, and advisories with a primary objective emphasized towards safety. A statement that was issued in November 2010 stated that dealing with “hard core drinking drivers” set up a certain set of examples, or instances, in which, involved specific incidents of heavily dangerous DUI crimes. Realistically, all the examples that the board issued, and stated do not all pertain to all forms of transit and even do not completely hold realistically in the court of law in modern days time.
The statement’s core objective and motivation is to attempt, in the United States, to remove all “habitual drinking and drivers” from America’s roadways to make a safer, smoother mode of transit for all. Some of the facts that were listed seem somewhat grim, particularly: “One-third of all drivers who are convicted and inevitably convicted due to driving while under the influence of alcohol or other impairing drugs usually consist of repeated offenders of driving and driving.” However, this statement is not completely factual in context due to statistics showing that convictions have a true relevancy compared to that of minor arrests. A driver, or any citizen in fact, is innocent until proven guilty by the court of law. The arrests may be included in an attempt to bump numbers and statistics up to show higher levels of DUI incidents by the NTSB, but otherwise offenders that have previously committed this crime can not be fully thought of as reoffenders until a previous or current conviction or such crimes.
Widespread, frequent DUI roadblocks or checkpoints are also a suggestion put out by the NTSB. Even with traditional checkpoints, a driver under the influence cannot be found due to roadblocks really only contributing to their future budget by making any really tickets or citations given due to faulty vehicle equipment, expired or invalid driver’s licenses, expired or invalid insurance, or an expired vehicle inspection sticker. As suggested as a “strong” public safety tool, roadblocks are actually quite ineffective and lead to an ever expanding numerous lists of constitutional constraints.
In addition, the NTSB also suggests that any pleas should be strictly prohibited. In saying that it makes the whole ideas of the NTSB up for discussion, considering a defendant must plea either innocent or guilty in the court of law.
Call 1 800-687-2252 to Speak With a Florida DUI lawyer In Your Area.
Hiring a Florida DUI law firm to aggressively defend you can help you obtain the best possible result in your case. Call our toll-free, Florida DUI Advice Helpline at 1 (800) 687-2252 for a Florida DUI law firm near you (by appointment only).
Tags: Florida DUI, Florida DUI law firm, Florida DUI Penalties
Posted in Florida DUI | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
When it comes down to driving while under the influence, many do not know what all entails from receiving a charge or conviction of such a misdemeanor. Many are in dismay after they actually understand the shocking depth of what the outcome of driving while under the influence truly is within Florida. An individual can expect one of the least extremities of the results is a driver’s license suspense issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) if they have refused to participate in a urine, blood, or breathalyzer test administered by a law enforcement officer.
If an individual submits themselves to the participation of the breathalyzer exam, in which the results show that the blood alcohol level (BAC) is or greater than .08, a license suspense of six months will be giving by the DMV. Now either if your innocent of guilty, you will have a suspended license regardless of the court ruling due to the DMV’s administrative powers, which can be appealed separately ten days within the DUI incident. Many people do not understand how vital time is in this situation, and inevitably must deal with the suspension either way. When and if convicted of a DUI, the real penalties of drinking while under the influence or other substances really comes to play, which are a result of a plea of no contest or guilty.
The proper lawyer will fight and try to bargain the penalties of the conviction, or possible a case dismissal, which then cancel out all the penalties of the conviction associated with driving while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. 180 days within a county jail can possibly be a route of punishment for a first time offender of a DUI, which from there results in possible probation close to 12 months and a hefty fine of $1000. Also DUI school then becomes mandatory, or even rehabilitation services. Besides your motor vehicle being possibly impounded by a county, or state, a driver’s license suspension between six to twelve months will be instated separately from the DMV, which could end up all additively together up to two years. If a BAC of .15 is blown using a breathalyzer will be awarded another hefty fine of $1500 and even nine months within future, as well as an ignition interlock device which has a breathalyzer installed in the vehicle before driving it at all times. Depending on all the convictions that resulted as the driving while under the incident, the driver can easily face more fines to be paid and even a longer stint in jail.
Tags: 1st offense DUI in Florida, Florida DUI Lawyer, Florida DUI Penalties
Posted in Florida DUI Penalties | No Comments »
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