Orlando Drunk Driving Defense
Driving drunk is one of the most damaging and most expensive
criminal charges you can face. The stigma of being labeled as a
drunk driver is crippling to careers and the cost in insurance and
embarrassment is incalculable. Many arrests for DUI have defenses so
it is always advisable to discuss any DUI arrest with a
Florida Criminal Defense Attorney.
We provide free consultations (call
us) regarding a DUI arrest that occurs in our area of practice.
We have fought DUI accusations for over 10 years. We know what to
look for, what to do, and what to attack. We fight everything from
the reason for the stop, the method of instruction on the field sobriety tests, the
reliability of the breath test,
and all the officer's observations. We will explain ALL your options
along the way
including what you can expect from the court without hiring an attorney
to representing you.
DUI Punishment Can Be Severe
You've been out late. It's a Friday night, now, early Saturday morning. You haven't had a drink for 3 hours because you knew you had to drive. Your very cautious. Maybe too cautious. All of a sudden blue and red lights begin flashing behind you. It is the police. Your heart jumps and thoughts begin to race through your mind. Your nervous. The Officer asks for your license and registration - you fumble through your wallet to get those as quickly as you can. He asks you how much have your drank - he doesn't ask you when you drank or what you drank, just IF you drank. You're honest and say "three beers about thr..." He cuts you off and you find yourself doing field sobriety exercises on the side of the road. The next morning as you are being released from jail you notice that he is using everything you said and did against you in a case charging you with driving drunk.
That is how DUI cases typically start. How they end can be much worse. In 2008, in Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties 5,493 people were arrested for DUI. Only 867 of them resulted in dismissals or pleas to lesser offenses. That is 16%. This is according to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles statistics.
The Florida legislature has mandated that anyone who is found guilty of DUI must be required to do several things. These include a mandated DUI Counter-Attack Class, attend a Victim Awareness Panel, complete a minimum of 50 hours of community service, have their drivers license suspended by the court, and have the vehicle impounded for at least 10 days. (For more information on DUI penalties go to our DUI Penalties page).
Moreover, being found guilty can also have adverse impact on your employment. Firefighters must maintain a valid drivers license, school board employees face automatic termination for a DUI, and pilots also have their pilot's license suspended pending review. Loss of your driving privilege alone could cost you your job simply because you cannot get to work. Anyway you look at it a DUI's impact is always negative.
How We Defend Our Clients
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We approach the defense of DUI charges by looking at how the police build their case. Law enforcement training on DUIs focuses on the "three phases" of drunk driving - driving pattern, personal contact, and field sobriety testing/performance. The Driving Pattern is an excellent area to derail a DUI prosecution. If the police stopped the vehicle without sufficient probable cause we can end a DUI case before the State ever has a chance to begin a trial. The issue comes down to the reason for the stop. This is usually formalized with a citation for a moving traffic violation - sometimes there is no ticket but a reason listed in the arrest affidavit. Personal Contact occurs after the police stop the driver. This is the observations of the driver by the police officer. These observations include any odor of alcohol consumption on the breath, evidence of blood shot eyes, movements such as walking, whether the driver fumbles through his wallet for his license and registration, etc. This is much harder to attack. This area usually requires a look at what the police leave out in their observations in an effort to show what the driver did right or behavior he did not do. Field Sobriety Exercises are another whole area to attack. These are tests determined through scientific studies to produce certain results that correspond to blood alcohol levels. These are often done incorrectly and therefore their results should be invalidated. For more information on DUI evidence please refer to our DUI Evidence webpage.
It is important to act quickly after you have been arrested for driving drunk in order to address the administrative suspension. Our law firm will challenge your suspension, challenge the evidence, and fight against the prosecution every step of the way. Call us today - Time is of the essence for every DUI case. |
What the State is going to say about you in a DUI Case
The prosecutor in your drunk driving case must prove that you drove or were in actual physical control of a vehicle. This usually means that the car was operable and you had the ability to drive it.
While driving or in actual physical control of the vehicle you were under the influence of alcoholic, a chemical substance, or a controlled substance to the extent that your normal faculties were impaired or you had a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, or a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.
Sounds pretty straight forward but it is not. Was the initial stop legal? What are normal faculties? How normal is it for a person to stand with their head back or one leg lifted off the ground counting for thirty seconds? There are many legitimate issues with DUI charge - we challenge all of them.
Drunk Driving Enhancements
If this is not your first DUI you need to call an attorney immediately. Drunk driving charges get progressively more harsh with the punishments. A third DUI can be enhanced to a felony giving authority to the court to incarcerate you up to five years in prison. Driving drunk is not taken lightly by the criminal justice system.
Free Consultations - Call Today (407) 841-5555
Our consultations are always free so contact us to set one up. We sit down and go through your case and answer any questions you have. Bring with you a copy of your police report and your citation if you have them.
We have represented clients in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Polk, Brevard and Volusia Counties. We travel to Orlando, Sanford, Kissimmee, Viera, Deland, Tavares and Bartow. In the years that we have been defending clients charged with DUI we are always amazed at the creative ways in which law enforcement crafts their reports. So don't despair by what the report states. We will review it during your office conference.
Remember, you have the right to due process, representation, and a trial. Don't feel that you have to accept their accusations without a fight.
Call us today for a consultation - (407) 841-5555.
