When you get arrested for DUI, usually, you have two matters, the crime charged ( DUI) and the administrative suspension of your license by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Here are Five Things you need to know.

1.) You have ten days from your stop to request a Formal Review to contest the administrative action, the latter of the above two consequences mentioned above.

2.) You can prevail at this Formal review, and although it is a good indicator for future success at the DUI trial, it is not binding on it.

3.) Your license is immediately suspended at the time of your stop by DMV if you blow over a .08 (for six months), or if you refuse to blow(for one year).

4.) If you plead guilty to or are found guilty of DUI, the Judge has NO DISCRETION (or very little) as to the sentence, most of which is mandated by the Florida Legislature.

5.) The Formal review is an opportunity, perhaps the only one, for your lawyer to question the arresting officers under oath as to why they pulled you over and why they arrested you.

If you don't act in a timely manner you may not be able to bring the best case to the table. Follow these tips if you have been pulled over for DUI in Florida. They may just help you avoid a drunk driving charge.

Being pulled over by a police officer is a terrifying experience. Even if you’ve done nothing wrong, it is still nerve wrecking. 

Here are a few quick pieces of advice to follow if you are ever pulled over for drunk driving in Florida:

• Keep quiet. Remember – you have the right to remain silent! You’ve no doubt heard it before in TV shows and movies, but it’s absolutely true. All citizens have the right to remain silent so they do not accidentally incriminate themselves. Do not answer any questions about how much you’ve had to drink or where you’ve been. These questions are used to find probable cause that you’ve been drinking and driving.
• Cooperate. Even though you have the right to keep your mouth shut, you shouldn’t go completely mute. You are compelled to give the officer the necessary means to identify you. Give them your driver’s license and vehicle insurance. Politely respond to the officer’s questions. If he asks you how much you’ve had to drink, politely respond with: “I’m sorry officer, but I’m not going to answer that.”
• Call a Florida DUI Lawyer. Your greatest chance of beating a DUI charge in Florida is hiring a criminal defense attorney who specializes in driving while intoxicated cases. If an officer places you under arrest for DUI, tell them you demand to speak to your defense attorney.

Follow these tips if you have been pulled over for DUI in Florida. They may just help you avoid a drunk driving charge. 

On Saturday the George Zimmerman trial officially ended with a verdict of “not guilty.” Since then, there has been a lot of noise from every corner or the media regarding the verdict.

The verdict in the George Zimmerman trial signifies neither a travesty of justice nor a waste of taxpayer money. It was simply, as occurs across this nation every day in various courtrooms, the jury finding reasonable doubt in the state’s case.   Period.

As a citizen and a Floridian, I was admittedly disheartened that an all white jury acquitted a white man in the killing of an unarmed black youth. I am bothered by the fact that the jury was selected from a very conservative rural white slice of Florida. However, as an attorney, officer of the court, and a lawyer educated and experienced in American jurisprudence, I certainly accept the jury's finding. Sometimes there is simply more to the evidence than its aroma and that would appear to be what happened in the rendition of this particular verdict.

Both Al Sharpton and Sean Hannity need to pipe down and as President Obama decreed, all Americans white and black, liberal and conservative, rich and poor, old and young need to continually observe the racial divide in our society as evidenced

by the many emotions elicited by this trial. We must resolve to do better, march forward and reach out. For Pete's sake we need to replace hating and baiting with teaching and reaching.

My mother Helen Hobson, now 92 who was widowed in 1971 and subsequently raised nine children by herself, used to tell me that a smile is the same in any language.

Now let’s get back to the important stuff like Pakistan.

In February of 2010, I tried the most exciting case of my 20 year career as a criminal defense attorney. Who ever said you don't learn anything in victory? Of course you do and it is distinctly sweeter-tasting than defeat.

The Case

The trial, a DUI with a breath test result of .084, (.004 over the legal limit of .08), lasted for two days, scaling the depths of tortuous tedium along the jagged pangs of constant worry to the surreal plateau of triumph, a destiny which was never assured and always in doubt.

My client had a prior DUI, which precluded the state from offering us a reckless driving plea, which often happens in a case with such low blows.

The Arguments

I was able to get the state's breath test machine expert to concede a 2 point margin of error in the machine and the state never really sought to rebut it.

I also argued to the jury that it was their job, not the role of the arresting officer, to grade my client's performance on the roadside sobriety tests such as the heel to toe and the one legged stand. It is always important to remind the jury that you do not necessarily need to be able to walk heel to toe in order to drive a car and there is usually plenty of evidence of non-impairment during these tests.

It is equally important to remind a jury that things such as fatigue (especially in an arrest done at three in the morning) may account for factors that the arresting officer just robotically checks off as a sure-fire sign of impairment.

My client testified and performed the tests flawlessly despite admitting that he actually had three beers, not the one he had insisted upon to the arresting officer.

The Result

It took the jury four hours, an unusually long period of time for deliberations in a misdemeanor case, to arrive at a verdict. They had a question at hour 2, were deadlocked at hour 3, and finally rendered a verdict of Not Guilty by the end of hour number 4.

Florida DUIs are difficult cases to win. The public seems inclined to believe in breath test results as well as the problem of drunk driving and their role as jurors to do something about it. In this case, a confluence of favorable factors, some planned, some variable, stuck and justice prevailed.

 

If you entered a plea and were sentenced to any of the following offenses, even if the court withheld adjudication, you are not eligible to have your Florida record sealed:

• Sexual misconduct with a developmentally disabled or mentally ill person
• Luring or enticing a child
• Sexual Battery
• Procuring s person under age 18 for prostitution
• Lewd or lascivious act committed on or in the presence of child under 16
• Voyeurism
• Scheme to Defraud
• Lewd or Lascivious act committed on or in presence of elderly or disabled person
• Sexual performance by a child
• Offenses by public employees or officials
• Delivery of obscene material to a minor
• Computer pornography
• Selling or buying of minors for purposes of pornography
• Trafficking in a controlled substance; including trafficking in cannabis
• Sexual misconduct with mentally deficient of mentally ill

Additionally, the following enumerated offenses are not eligible to be sealed after a plea is entered:

• Any act of domestic violence
• Aggravated assault or battery
• Stalking or aggravated stalking
• Illegal use of explosives
• Child abuse or aggravated child abuse
• Abuse of an elderly or disabled adult (aggravated)
• Aircraft piracy
• Kidnapping
• Homicide
• Manslaughter
• Robbery
• Carjacking
• Lewd, lascivious assault in the presence of a child under 16 years
• Sexual activity with a minor over 12 or older but less than 18 by person in familial or custodial authority
• Burglary of a dwelling
• Home invasion robbery
• Act of terrorism
• Manufacturing any substance in violation of Chapter 893
• Attempting or conspiring to commit any above crimes

However, if your case was dismissed prior to trial, you may still be eligible to have your record expunged even if the offense is on this list.