First Time DWI Offense

Answer:

This is one of the most common questions we get. We sit down with clients all the time who have been charged with a DUI, it’s their first time DUI, and it can be a very stressful situation. They are very worried about what may or may not happen to them, what the consequences are, and what the long-term outcome could be for them in terms of how this case will affect them, how it will affect their license and their ability to travel.

There’s a lot of things that go into a DUI case, but, in particular, a first-time DUI can be frightening, the process can be lengthy, and there are many details to look out for. You really need to sit down with an attorney who’s handled many DUI cases. Each one is different, and you’re dealing with different prosecutors. You’re dealing with many different elements of the case – maybe the reasons why you were stopped, the field sobriety test.

There are many different things that go into it, but generally what you can expect if you get a first-time DUI is you will get pulled over, arrested and, for the most part, in our experience, you will 99 times out of 100 be arrested and taken to jail that night. Once you’re out of jail, bonded out, you come see an attorney, and you have to deal with what comes next. What comes next is preparing the case. You have to gather all the evidence. You have to understand what the consequences could be, what you’re looking at with the potential consequences or sanctions could be.

For a first-time DUI, as with the second, third, fourth, fifth DUIs in the state of Florida, they’re all dictated by Florida law. There are specific statutes that explain exactly what a first-time DUI sentence guideline should be, as well as what a second DUI, a third DUI is. Generally, for a first-time DUI what’s going to happen is you’re going to be having to consider whether you accept any kind of sentence, which could involve a license suspension up to 12 months. It could result in a possible incarceration. The incarceration is not standard for the first-time DUI, but, for example, if you are placed on probation for it and you somehow violate it with a different crime, you could end up incarcerated as part of that.

You will have a driver’s license suspension. You could be looking at a probation for a term not more than nine months. You could be looking at a jail term for a period of time for not more than nine months. You could be looking at a fine, and you could also be looking at a ten-day impoundment for a first-time DUI. An impoundment is simply when you can’t use your vehicle for ten days. You don’t have to take it to the impound lot, but most likely you just have to put a device on it where you can’t use it for ten days. You also have to take the standard DUI classes and some other traffic classes to ensure your compliance. You also have to complete 50 hours of community service.

These are generally the things that you’ll be looking at for a first-time DUI. Many of these things will cost you money, such as taking the classes. Oftentimes you can pay for the community service, which will cost you money. A lot of the tests and exams that they have to do for you will end up costing you money. This will be for an extended period of time if that is the way that you want to go by accepting a plea.

There are different things that we can do in terms of fighting or challenging the case. We can gather all the evidence and start from the beginning, start with why they stopped you. Did they have enough reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop you? Did they conduct all the tests properly? Only an experienced attorney in this field will be able to go through all that and make sure that everything was in compliance. If they find ways to defend the case, they find things that were done improperly, then there are definitely ways to support a good defense for a first-time DUI.

If it is your first DUI and you do the breathalyzer test where they ask you to blow into the device to see if your blood alcohol concentration is above the legal limit, if you do that, then you could be eligible for what’s called a pretrial diversion program for DUI. That’s essentially a good option that many individuals take because what it means is, if you successfully complied with all the terms and conditions, they dismiss the charge of DUI and you can later on get that sealed off of your record. You also have to blow under a certain limit. If you do accept a breathalyzer test, you have to blow under a certain limit, which is 2.0. If you don’t blow under the 2.0, then you won’t be eligible for the diversion program. There are certain things that have to be met in order for you to be eligible for the diversion program, but this is usually a good option for first-time offenders.

Getting an attorney that’s knowledgeable of all the different small details of the statute and the possible sanctions for a first-time DUI is very critical to your defense in the long-term outcome of your DUI case. If you have any other questions about a first-time DUI, please contact the Victory Law Firm.