Review Hearings for Administrative Suspension and Disqualification
Depending on the details of your case, there are options available to you besides jail time, including:
Fines Probation Community service DUI driving school Substance abuse evaluation and counseling Reduction / elimination of charge
As you may know, the State of Florida has greatly enhanced the penalties for DUI in recent years. The first conviction may result in a term of imprisonment or probation, a substantial fine, community service time, and a loss of driving privileges. If the judge decides to give you probation rather than a jail sentence, you must be required to report to a probation officer once a month for a year and pay monthly for the costs of probation. Completion of DUI school and an evaluation for substance abuse is also mandatory. Normally your car insurance rates will increase substantially if you are convicted of DUI. Once the conviction is entered by the court, it is very difficult to successfully challenge that conviction after the fact.
A second conviction for DUI can carry with it a mandatory term of imprisonment for not less than 10 days. Subsequent DUI convictions carry even more severe penalties, including long-term jail sentences and mandatory revocation of driving privileges. A third DUI charge can be a felony under a recent change in the law.
The State of Florida must prove a DUI beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt. The breathalyzer machine might have been in error and the results could be challenged. The circumstances of the arrest might also be subject to legal attack
FHP: 10,732 DUI (Driving Under the Influence) Arrests in Florida in 2008
Network of lawyers who represent persons charged with drunk driving offenses.
Drunk driving, DUI, DWI and Drunk Driving Defense are common words in our every day speech, which should warn us that these time-consuming and expensive offenses are becoming a growing problem in the US. Drunk Driving Lawyers will tell you that the term drunk driving has many official names including, DWI (Driving While Intoxicated), DUII (Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants), OMVI (Operating Motor Vehicle Intoxicated), and OUI (Operation Under the Influence), and other acronyms OWI, DUIL, DWUI
Drunk driving can cause:
Loss or suspension of license
Large fines
Substance-abuse treatment
Jail or prison time
Community service
Restitution
Criminal record
Restrictive probationary license programs, including ignition interlock devices and Cinderella licenses
Fines
