Florida Law
Florida Felony & Misdemeanor Criminal Defense
- Felony & Misdemeanor Criminal Defense (Florida)
Penalties
Even if a person is not convicted of DUI, the penalties can be severe. Under Florida law, anyone stopped by a law enforcement officer and given a breath test indicating a blood alcohol level of more than 0.08 percent or anyone who refuses to take a breath, blood or urine test faces, after thirty days of the arrest, an immediate administrative suspension of his or her driver's license for six to eighteen months. A first offender must then wait thirty to ninety days after the effective date of his or her license suspension in order to be eligible for a "business purpose only license." A person may challenge the suspension, but should it not be reversed, the offender must complete an educational program to regain his or her license after the suspension period expires. The increased cost for automobile insurance due to an alcohol-related suspension is often substantial.
A DUI conviction brings additional penalties. A first-time offender faces a fine of $250-500, imprisonment of up to six months, suspension of his or her driver's license (even if the license was already administratively suspended by the arresting police officer), fees and costs (usually around $1,000), the impoundment of his or her vehicle for ten days, probation for up to one year, a minimum of fifty hours of community service and a permanent criminal misdemeanor conviction on his or her record. Moreover, the cost of his or her automobile insurance will likely triple over the next three years and the offender will have to face the social consequences of being a known DUI offender.
The penalties for subsequent DUI convictions are enhanced significantly. For example, a second conviction within five years of the first conviction can mean a fine of $500-1,000, up to nine months in jail with a mandatory minimum of ten days in jail, impoundment of the offender's vehicle for thirty days (if the second conviction is within three years of first conviction), driver's license suspension of at least five years and fees and costs of about $1,500not including the cost of insurance, which will be extremely high. A fourth DUI conviction is a felony, regardless of the time period, and the offender's license is permanently revoked. If there is any property damage, personal injury or death involved in a DUI incident, a person faces up to fifteen years in prison, depending on the circumstances.
Implied Consent and the Right to Refuse Testing
Florida law provides that any driver operating a motor
vehicle within the state who is lawfully arrested for
DUI must consent to a chemical or physical test for
the purpose of detecting alcohol or any other prohibited
substance. The test may take the form of breath, blood
or urine analysis. If a person refuses to take a test,
his or her license will be administratively suspended
for one year. If a person takes a test and is determined
to have driven or been in control of a vehicle with
a blood alcohol level of more than 0.08 percent, his
or her license will be administratively suspended for
six to eighteen months, depending on the circumstances.
Remember that an administrative suspension of a driver's
license is separate from, and often in addition to,
the penalties of a DUI conviction.
Trial
A DUI trial can be as complex as any criminal case.
Defense and prosecuting attorneys frequently argue
over constitutional issues such as unreasonable search
and seizure, probable cause for arrest, double jeopardy
and a defendant's right to a speedy trial. Scientific
experts in the fields of serology, physics and chemistry
are often asked to testify. One to several dozen witnesses
may be asked to take the witness stand and the trial
itself may last four to five days. Given the seriousness
of the crime and the severity of the punishment under
Florida law, it is important for attorneys on both
sides to be adequately prepared to argue their cases.
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