Can a Lawyer get you out of a DUI in Florida: Driving under the influence (DUI) is an offense in The State of Florida and can equate to severe penalties that depend upon the factors of the case. A DUI is where a motorist is found driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle. It is classified by the motorist being ‘under the influence’ or with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more. A DUI conviction involves either alcohol or drugs, prescribed or illegal, any of which causes the driver to be too impaired to be in control of a vehicle (A DWI includes only alcohol). In the state of Florida, if a driver is found with impairment of normal faculties, they will also be labeled as under the influence and placed under arrest.
If you or a loved one are found to be driving under the influence and placed under arrest, you will require a specialized DUI attorney because of the potential severity of the penalties you face, of which an attorney can help avoid. It is paramount to act as quickly as possible following the arrest, as there are important deadlines to meet in such a case that an attorney can aid with. At The Ticket Lawyers, we provide the best possible legal support, ensuring a devoted and informative lawyer-client experience. Contact us today on 855-323-8488 if you face a DUI conviction so we can organize a free consultation discussing your options and what we can do for you.
Across America, many states are increasing or aiming to increase the penalty for a DUI offense, so they are now insisting the driver receives some jail time for their offense. In the state of Florida, how a person is penalized for their offense depends on the details of the case, but either way, it is important to enlist a DUI attorney quickly after being arrested for a DUI.
Florida State Statute 316.193 lays out guidelines for DUI charges. If this is your first DUI, then in terms of Florida law, it is likely to be no more than six months of jail time at the very worst. However, even if this is your first offense, if your blood alcohol content was of .15% or higher after a breath test or you had a minor in the vehicle then the conviction could rise to as high as nine months; this is the maximum penalty for a case of this description.
Alternatively, it is sometimes possible to avoid jail time in Florida for a first DUI charge. If this is your first offense, not limited to DUI offenses, and there is no other criminal record, then you may instead pay a fine that can reach $1000, probation for up to one year, a driving license suspension for six months, attendance to drunk driving school, attend a drug and alcohol program, or/and be sentenced to community service. However, if this is not your first offense, and there is a presence of criminal history, then the offender will face harsher punishment. Instead, the fine can reach upwards of $1,000, losing their license for up to six months and/or be sentenced to up to 50 hours of community service.
Even with or without jail time, the system in Florida expresses that you will only have ten days after the arrest to save your driving license. The driving license is immediately suspended after you’ve been arrested. For the next ten days, it is only possible to drive to work or for business purposes. An attorney can provide information on how to get your license back.
Call The Ticket Lawyers today for a free consultation and to receive all the necessary information regarding your DUI charge and for expert aid to help with your case.
A DUI case can be divided into two separate categories in the state of Florida, these being either a misdemeanor or a felony. Whether the case is a misdemeanor charge or a felony will typically affect the length of how long the case will last.
A misdemeanor DUI charge will, on average, take around 3 to 6 months to be resolved. However, this tends to be the length of cases in rural and suburban counties of Florida. If the case is taking place in a more populated area, then DUI cases can last for as long as a year and sometimes longer. Under the speedy trial rule, a case should be resolved within 90 days or less, but unfortunately, such a deadline is hard to meet. The harsh reality is that after being arrested for a DUI when a notice of discovery is filed, most cases do not get all of the information the state is obligated to provide. This problem is often due to law enforcement officers not sending everything to the state attorney’s office, and inconsequent cases are continued. Despite the speedy trial taking 90 days, clients are asked to sign a waiver of speedy trial. This is so that if a continuance is needed to acquire additional information, then the attorney won’t have to have a hearing and go to court. This reduces court time for the client too.
Alternatively, a felony DUI conviction is much more serious, and thus the case process will take longer. In such cases, the speedy trial rule lies at 175 days (6 months roughly). Again this is often not the case, and therefore cases can take 5-7 months to fully resolve in rural and suburban areas. In urban/largely populated counties, this can rise to 2 years.
A DUI never looks good on a person’s record; however, it usually won’t cause you to lose your job as a teacher, especially if it is your first DUI charge. In Florida, a DUI is usually a misdemeanor charge, but if it becomes a felony, then it may become more likely that your job is at risk.
If you possess a teaching job at the time of a DUI conviction, then you may not necessarily be at risk of losing your job unless the employer, or board, discovered this new conviction. However, the DUI charge is not always automatically grounds for termination. It will come down to any rules that were set in advance for teachers by the employers and board. For instance, termination may be a possibility if there were prior sign agreements by yourself when you took the job, which mentions what would occur if a DUI conviction was to occur.
On the other hand, in terms of new employment, it may become more difficult to acquire a new job with a DUI on your record. It does depend heavily on the employer and what rules they have in place in regards to a DUI conviction.
It is best to get ahead of this as soon as you have been arrested for DUI, though, if you are questioning how it will affect your career as an educator. Working with an experienced lawyer from The Ticket Lawyers may be able to get your charges dismissed and prevent any career-affecting conviction.
If you are a Florida resident but have been convicted of a DUI in another state, then in most scenarios, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles can found out about such a conviction. Consequently, Florida will honor the sentence you received in that state as if it was committed within Florida. Even if you are not convicted, but your license was suspended, then Florida will likely suspend your license, too, until the out of state suspension is lifted.
Alternatively, if you are not a Florida resident and have been charged with a DUI, you should hire a Florida DUI attorney as they will best understand the legal system and be able to provide the relevant information, something an out of state laws may not be able to do.
If you or a loved one have been arrested for a DUI contact our firm today to enlist the legal aid of an expert DUI lawyer who will be committed to helping you in your case every step of the way, free consultations to go through your options are available so call us today – 855-323-8488.
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