The Florida DWI Guide was created by Victory Law Firm to help residents protect their rights. Contact our lawyers today to schedule a consultation.
Laws You Should Understand
There are a few, different reasons why you might have been charged with DWI and it is not always because of a breath test that you did. Here are some reasons why you might’ve been arrested:
- The officer had reason to believe that you were under the influence of alcohol
- The officer had reason to believe you were under the influence of drugs
- You took a breath or blood test that showed you had a 0.08% or higher BAC
These charges happen for two very different reasons. One of them might be scientific reasons, such as a breath or a blood test, and the other one is suspicion of being drunk. In order for you to be charged based on scientific reasons, you would have either a breath sample or a blood sample for them to be able to see what your blood alcohol level was. If it is over .08%, then you would be over the legal limit of blood alcohol content.
Regardless of how and why you were charged, we want to hear from you right away to see what you can get out of this case and how we can help you end up with the best possible and results. We are here for you. Our Florida DWI lawyers have plenty of experience handling cases in which the people have been charged for both reasons and we’d like to extend our services to you, too.
Understanding BAC Tests
In essence, when you get your license, you are agreeing to subject yourself to field sobriety tests that are designed to show an officer whether or not you were under the influence. Driving is seen as a privilege and not a right, and the law says that your privileges can be taken away when you violate other people’s safety. You have essentially given your consent to have your blood or breath sample be taken. You are likely going to be asked to give a BAC test shortly after you have been arrested.
In most cases, an arresting officer is going to ask you for a breath test on the scene of your arrest to make sure that your BAC is either above or below the levels and that will tell them what they have to do for you. They are legally allowed to gather a blood sample from you as well.
At this point, if you are not submitting a sample for a blood or a breath test, then not only are you likely to end up having a charge for DWI but now you have to face further consequences and charges for refusal of a blood alcohol level test. This can make it harder for us to get you better results in the end and we always advise that people give a blood test and let us handle the case later. We still hope you reach out, however, even if you refuse to do that.
We understand that in the moment you might be fearful that submitting to a blood alcohol test would result in you getting immediately charged with DWI. For example, if you had a drink before you left wherever you were coming from and you know that there’s no way to be drunk but you’re afraid that the test will tell you otherwise, then we understand that you might have feared taking the test and ending up getting punished. If there was a flaw with a breath test, our Florida DWI lawyers are always going to investigate if the officers have proper working breathalyzers.
Penalties if Convicted
If this is your first offense of DWI in the state of Florida and you refused to give a blood or breath test for your BAC, you will face up to six months of confinement. This would be contingent on your blood alcohol content being below 0.15% and you not having been involved in an accident. If your blood alcohol content was higher than .15% you could face up to nine months in jail and that penalty is the same if you had a minor in the car with you. If you were involved in a car crash, then you could face up to a year in jail.
If this would be your second conviction of DWI within five years of having been convicted the first time, then you will face a minimum of 10 days in jail after you are convicted. The judge can decide whether or not you will have to go to a rehab program in replacement of going to jail.
If your second conviction happens past five years from your first one and you refused to give a blood or breath test and later was found at your BAC was under 0.15% and you were not involved in an accident, then you will receive at maximum nine months in jail.
Furthermore, if this is your second DWI arrest more than five years after your first one and you either had a BAC of 0.15% or higher or you had a minor in your car, then the maximum jail sentence is a year.
If this is your third arrest for DWI within 10 years of your two other convictions, then you could be facing a minimum jail sentence of 30 days. If it’s been more than 10 years after your first two DWI convictions, then the maximum is 12 months of jail.
Furthermore, if this is your fourth DWI, it does not matter how long ago the other convictions happened. This will be a felony offense. You could face Florida state prison for up to five years and you’ll forever be a felon.
How a Conviction Impacts Your License
If you are up against penalties for a DWI, not only does it include the penalties of the criminal charge that it would be if you were convicted but you also have to face what the DMV is going to do if you have a conviction. Driving while drunk is a serious crime and the law treats it very seriously because it is dangerous and deadly and they don’t want you to do it again. This kind of violation will affect your record and you likely will have points on your license if you get convicted of this DWI.
If you would like to avoid having points placed on your license that eventually could lead to your license being suspended or revoked, we hope that you make an effort to reach out to our Florida DWI lawyers right away so that your privilege of driving is protected and you don’t have to face consequences from the DMV if you get convicted.
Again, not only would you have to face penalties like so many points on your license that you have it suspended but you could also end up not being able to drive anyway because you’ll be in jail or you won’t be able to afford gas because you’ll have heavy penalties. The sooner you reach out to us, the better. We want to be able to provide you with support that will help you avoid having points on your license.
Frequently Asked DWI Questions
Can I Refuse a Breathalyzer?
If you’ve been pulled over in Orlando, Florida, and you’re being investigated for driving under the influence, or a DUI, what we tell potential clients is, when they ask about the breathalyzer test – this actually comes up more so when we’ve had other clients – they just generally ask me, “If I ever get pulled over and I’m dealing with a DUI or a DUI investigation, should I do the breathalyzer test?” This is a big question that we get all the time from many different people. The question isn’t really do you have to take the breathalyzer test, the question is should you take the breathalyzer test. We would advise that, in that state of Florida, if you’re being investigated for a DUI and you’re presented with a breathalyzer test, you should take the breathalyzer test as it will cause you more harm by refusing to do it than it will by taking it.
For example, if you refuse to take the breathalyzer test in Florida, that has its own sanctions; that’s its own crime in Florida. What that will result in is two major things that will affect you and your case. First and foremost is it will automatically make you ineligible for any type of DUI diversion program. That is huge if you’re talking about you being a first-time DUI defendant. This could be huge. Maybe the case and the facts are stacked against you, and you would have to take a plea which is in your best interest, or you would have to take diversion, but, unfortunately, you would not be able to because of the refusal to take the breathalyzer test. That is something, in particular if you’re a first-time offender for DUI, that is very critical to do the breathalyzer test and deal with those consequences later. That will allow you to engage in the DUI diversion program if you are otherwise qualifying for that program. Number two, if you refuse to do it, then your license becomes suspended automatically for a year. These two negative consequences come directly from refusing to take the breathalyzer test.
If you do take the breathalyzer test, there are different ways that we can attack that. Once you refuse to take it, though, that’s said and done; you can’t go back and take it. If you do take it, the ways that we can attack it are we can take a look at the way that the test was done. There are certain requirements that the state of Florida mandates, in terms of getting a test that is permissible in the courts of law; there’s certain time limits; there’s certain training that has to be done. All of these things we can attack if the test was done. Oftentimes we can find deficiencies in those that will help defeat or get around that test, but if the test is refuse, unfortunately, we can’t use anything like that to help you, and the prosecutors can actually use the fact that you didn’t take the test against you as well.
I would always advise that if you’re presented with a breathalyzer test to go ahead and take that test, as at the end of the day it will do you more benefit than detriment to take that. If you have any other questions about how a breathalyzer test may affect your DUI case, please contact the Victory Law Firm.
How Do I Choose an Attorney to Represent Me in a DUI?
This is an issue that comes up many times when we meet with clients. They ask, “Why should I choose you? Why should I choose your firm?” Having someone protect you and protect your interests, protect your freedom, is very important. We would say that the most critical factor is you need to find someone that you’ve sat down with and spoken to about their experience and their length of time in practicing in this field, how many cases they’ve had, how many times they’ve gone to trial and what their results are.
We’ve been practicing almost 20 years now; a significant portion of it was handling these types of cases. We are very familiar with handling DUI cases in Orlando and Kissimmee, Orange and Osceola Counties. We are familiar with the prosecutors and their prosecution style, the types of courses that they offer, the types of evidence that we need to defend your case and they need to prosecute your case, all the details that go into helping the client achieve the best possible outcome. At the end of the day, any type of criminal case is very important because it could affect your ability to stay free – the freedom to be at your home, the freedom to be at your job, the freedom to come and go as you please. These are all so important and speaking with and hiring an attorney that has that experience is going to be critical, and it’s going to be your best chance at getting the best possible outcome.
If you have any other questions about a DUI in Orlando, Florida, please don’t hesitate to contact the Victory Law Firm.
How Much Does a DUI Cost?
If you get investigated for a charge with a DUI in Orlando, Florida, a common question we get a lot is, “How much is this going to cost me?” We were sitting down with a client the other day who came in for a consult. It was their first-time DUI. We went over the facts of the case, and we explained to them that one of the big things of a DUI case is the cost involved. The state of Florida and governmental agencies try to make this as costly as possible so it’s a detriment for people to commit these types of crimes. We will tell you that it is one of the more costly crimes to commit in Florida. It will cost you in one of several ways.
It will cost you just by court costs and fees, having to bail out of jail. Depending on the severity of the DUI, just the bail alone could cost you several hundred or several thousand dollars. Assuming you have no other option, other than to take a plea, depending on what level of DUI it is – whether it’s a first-time, second-time or third-time – will depend on the cost. Generally, a first-time DUI is going to cost you several thousand dollars just in court costs and fines. The classes that are mandated as part of the sentence have to be paid for. Community service hours can be purchased, depending on the judge that you’re in front of; some judges don’t allow it, and some do. If they do, then that is paid for as a cost. Investigation costs are tacked on to it. There are a whole host of costs that come along with a DUI, should you have to enter a plea and that’s your only choice.
If you defend the case or if you hire an attorney, then that cost will be an addition to you having to hire an attorney. If you hire the attorney for a first-time DUI, the going rate is $3,000 for that type of case. That case doesn’t include paying for any of those costs that we mentioned – the court costs, the fines – so the attorneys’ fees would be an addition to that. As you can see, those costs and the expense of a DUI quickly adds up. Another cost caused during the DUI is by the driver’s license suspension. Many times, people can have the adverse consequence of losing a job or not being able to go to the job as often as possible. This will result in a loss of financial income to the party and can end up costing them in having to pay for ride services such as Uber or Lyft, or anything like that.
Once you add all these costs together, some end up being upwards of three, four, five, up to $10,000 depending on the unique circumstances of a particular DUI. It’s very important to contact an attorney who has handled these types of cases in Orlando, Florida, as they are each very unique and they each carry with themselves their own set of sanctions and specific costs and expenses – court cost fees, amount of community service, the amount of classes and types of classes that you have to take – all which can cost a differing amount of money.
All of this comes into play into having to resolve your DUI case, but it is critical to get an attorney involved in the case. Even though it’s an additional cost, it could help you in possibly getting the case dismissed, minimizing the case, minimizing the effects on your record and/or getting you a better resolution of the case. If you have any other questions about how much a DUI may cost you in Orlando, Florida, please don’t hesitate to contact the Victory Law Firm.
What Happens if I Get Charged with a First-Time DUI Offense?
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.
What Happens if I Get Charged with a Second DUI?
This is a question that we’ve been asked recently. We were representing someone for a first-time DUI and they asked, “What is going to happen if I get charged with another DUI or a third DUI?” We answered his question, and we went over the different sanctions that are possible.
In Florida, DUIs have their own set of sanctions that are assigned to a first-time DUI, a second time, third time and so on. The second-time DUIs are unique because they have two different ones; they have a second DUI within five years of your first DUI, and they also have a second DUI that’s outside of the five years of the first DUI. They have completely different sanctions and possible sentences.
If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having a second DUI within five years, those can be pretty significant. The sanctions there are severe in the sense that it comes with a mandatory ten-day jail sentence. If it’s your second DUI within five years, you’re looking at a ten-day mandatory jail sentence. We say ten-day mandatory because the statute that dictates that in Florida says that if a person is convicted of a second DUI within five years, in the state of Florida, the judge must sentence that person to ten days in jail. There’s really no way around it. They don’t have any discretion to sentence you to five days or three days, or anything less than the ten days, so it’s very important to get an attorney involved if you’re looking at a second-time DUI within five years.
The other increased sanctions are you’re going to be looking at a longer driver’s license suspension. You’re going to be looking at a higher fine. You’re going to be looking at the fact that you have to get an ignition interlock device on your vehicle for at least a year. What that means is that’s another cost and it’s another way that the governmental entity and law enforcement is going to be able to control your ability to live your life, to drive to work and do things of that nature. The ignition interlock is a device you place on your car that you have to blow into to make sure you meet the legal requirement before the car will function. This device is a cost that you have to pay for, for as long as you have it. The cost varies widely between the different entities that offer that, but it is a substantial cost that will add to the cost of the DUI.
If you’re looking at a second-time DUI within the five years, again, the sanctions can be very significant. We would suggest contacting an attorney who can help you through that. They can help minimize that, maybe get it charged as a first-time DUI or maybe get it dismissed all together. There are different ways that an attorney can take a look at that case. They can look at it and make sure that what the prosecuting authority is saying is correct and that they’ve got everything right. The other one is a second-time DUI outside of the five years. This is different than the second DUI within five years as it doesn’t carry a mandatory jail sentence. It does carry some heightened sanctions, such as maybe a longer probation sentence and higher costs, but the important thing is it doesn’t have the mandatory jail sentence.
All of these DUIs and their sanctions are highly detailed. We would suggest that you speak with an attorney that is knowledgeable with these types of cases, handles these cases, and has done them before in Orlando, Osceola, Orange County and Kissimmee, that way they can guide you through the process. It can be a lengthy and somewhat tedious process, so to protect yourself and your freedoms it’s best to contact an attorney that knows how these cases should be handled. If you have any other questions about a second time DUI, please contact the Victory Law Firm.
What Happens if I Get Charged with a Third DUI?
It is very important to speak with an attorney who specializes in handling DUIs throughout Orange, Osceola County, and the Orlando area. A third-time DUI can be very, very, very strict in the sanctions that they impose on you, particularly if it’s a third DUI within ten years. If it’s a third-time DUI within ten years, the most significant sanction that can be given to you that’s different from the others is a mandatory 30-day jail sentence. Again, any DUI law is set by Florida statute, and the statute dictates exactly what sanctions the court may or may not give. When it says, “the court must impose a 30-day sentence for a third-time DUI outside of ten years,” then the court has no choice; they must impose a 30-day jail sentence. That is the most devastating sanction there is, to take away your freedom and be incarcerated.
It’s very important that you get an attorney involved right away to make sure they take a look at your case, make sure the law enforcement did everything properly, make sure that the investigation was done properly, that the stop was done properly, and that everything lines up with the proper procedures and the legal ways of doing things, that way you can have the best defense possible. The other ramifications and sanctions of a third-time DUI will vary depending on if you have a third-time DUI within the ten years. If it’s just outside the ten years, then it’s kind of treated as a first-time DUI but with maybe higher fines and different probationary sentences.
Along with the third-time DUI you’re also going to – specific with a third-time DUI within the ten years – have a more significant driver’s license suspension. You’re going to have a longer vehicle impound, you’re going to have to pay more fines and court costs, and you’re going to have to take more DUI and traffic classes. You’re also going to have to have the ignition interlock on there for at least two years. All of these are significant costs. In terms of paying for the classes, paying for the impound, paying for the immobilization device, all of these costs are in addition to hiring an attorney to represent you in these cases.
It is very important to get an attorney that’s knowledgeable, has handled these types of DUIs, and knows specifically what to look for in helping you defend these cases. Once you start getting up to the third, fourth, fifth DUIs, the sanctions and the sentences become harsher in terms of taking away those freedoms. With incarceration, the second-time DUI comes with a mandatory ten-day jail sentence. With a third-time, it goes up to 30 days. That’s a month in jail. We don’t think anybody wants to be in jail for that period of time, so we think it’s critical to get someone involved to help protect your freedoms, help answer any questions you might have, and look for any possible defenses to help minimize the impact of this type of conviction on your case and on your record.
If you have any other questions about third-time DUIs or any type of DUIs, please contact the Victory Law Firm.
What is an Aggravated DUI?
An aggravated DUI in the state of Florida is basically an enhancement; it’s an enhanced DUI. We’ve had clients that come into our office and they don’t have a regular DUI, but they have what’s called an enhancement to their DUI. Unfortunately, these situations can be very serious. An enhanced or aggravated DUI could be any one of the following.
It could be a DUI where a serious bodily injury was perpetrated or where it resulted in the death of someone else. If you were charged with a DUI and as a result of the DUI you crashed into someone’s car, and someone was severely injured or they passed away, then it is not only a DUI, but you can be charged with an enhancement or an aggravation of the DUI, such as manslaughter, which can bring significant and serious penalties.
Another enhancement could be that you’re pulled over and charged or convicted of a DUI where your blood alcohol concentration was very high. There are different sanctions and different sentences available for someone who is charged with that type of DUI. If you’re over the higher standard amount, if you’re over 2.0 or if you’re over 2.5, once those start getting higher, they start enhancing those DUIs and that can be an aggravation. Also, if you are fleeing or eluding an officer, any type of property damage that you commit – maybe you were charged with a DUI and part of that DUI was having crashed into a building or some other type of property – that can bring on an enhancement or an aggravation as well.
All of these enhancements or aggravations to a DUI are very serious in nature and take what is a normal DUI – which is a unique crime in the sense that it’s a second-degree misdemeanor, but has its own different sanctions and sentences – and enhances it and brings it up to a higher level misdemeanor, and even into the felony range, which requires or could require felony sentences such as prison time upwards of five years.
At the end of the day, any type of DUI aggravation or enhancement is going to be a serious situation where you need to consult with an experienced DUI attorney to help you through this case, help build your defense, help find ways to minimize any of the damage that has been caused, to best help you and secure your freedom or get your freedom back and help lessen the impact of many of these sanctions as you resolve your case. If you have any other questions about DUI enhancements, please call the Victory Law Firm.
What Mistakes Should I Avoid if I Was Charged with a DUI?
Some of the common mistakes that we see when a person is charged with a DUI in Orlando, Florida, is that many times they try to go at it alone. This is a criminal charge. They’re trying to take away your freedoms. You’re fighting against a government organization that has unlimited resources, and they are out to try to prove their case. They’re not there to help you.
Many times, we have clients that come in that maybe have tried to do things themselves. Maybe they’ve tried to represent themselves. Maybe they’ve tried to go with a public defender. Maybe they tried to hire an attorney who hasn’t spent a lot of time in this type of area of law, and that can have adverse consequences on the ability to defend their case. You also need to get someone involved right away. There could be a lot of lost evidence that could be had if you don’t retain someone right away to help you protect your rights.
There could be a lot of different tactics that could be used by an attorney that’s experienced in handling DUIs. If you don’t have an attorney that’s experienced in this area of law, what’s going to happen is – we’ve seen it all too much before – the attorney that they go to that hasn’t handled these types of cases will just defer to the prosecuting authority and just take the first plea, or they will not look into the case and look for any defenses, not look at why they were stopped, not look at if there was probable cause, not looked at all these details to help you as a client keep your freedoms and keep your rights.
The biggest thing that we see is not hiring an experienced attorney in this field and not acting quickly. You must do both to ensure that your rights and your freedoms are protected. If you have any other questions about DUIs in Orlando, Florida, please contact the Victory Law Firm.
Will I Be Sent to Jail for a DUI?
Anytime we have a client who comes in and wants to retain me for a DUI, at the top of their list is the question, “Will I go to jail if I get convicted for a DUI in Orlando, Florida?” The answer is it depends. It depends mostly on the severity of the DUI that’s being charged. Under Florida law there is several types of DUIs and what specifically the sanctions are for each charge.
For example, you have a first-time DUI, a second-time DUI. The second-time DUIs are broken up into two; you have a second-time DUI within five years of the first DUI, and you have a second-time DUI that’s outside of the five years. Then you have your third-time DUIs. There are several types of DUIs that could affect the possibility that you may or may not go to jail.
For a first-time DUI it is unlikely that you are going to go to jail, unless you are placed on probation for the DUI and you commit another DUI while you’re on that probation. Generally speaking, with a first-time DUI, you are not going to find yourself in jail, aside from the initial arrest on the day or night of your arrest for the DUI. In our experience, jail sentences for first-time DUIs almost never happen, and they only happen in situations where a person in placed on probation for that DUI and they’ve somehow violated it.
When you come into a second-time DUI, specifically within five years, then, unfortunately, jail is a 10-day mandatory sentence in Florida, and it just keeps going up from there. A third DUI is a mandatory 30 days in jail. These are mandatory in the sense that the law in Florida says if a person is convicted for the second DUI within five years, they must be sentenced to 10 days in jail; same with a third time DUI. If they’re convicted of the third-time DUI, they must be sentenced to 30 days in jail.
It is very important to get an attorney who is knowledgeable on how to defend DUIs involved in your case right away. They can get you the help that you need. They can help you through the process. They can help find defenses for you and help defend your case in a way that can lessen the impact of these DUIs on your record going forward. For example, there could be an alternative pleas or negotiations to a first-time DUI, maybe to a different type of crime, or you can even get the crime dismissed all together which would then prevent that DUI from being added to a subsequent DUI if you were to somehow get one in the future.
There are different ways an attorney can help you in getting your case resolved and to help better protect you in the future if you find yourself in that situation again. If you have any other questions about DUIs and whether or not you’re looking at jail time for your DUI, please contact the Victory Law Firm.
Will I Lose My License from a DUI?
Oftentimes we sit down with our clients and we have to give them the unfortunate news that this is a possibility. We get asked this question all the time. “I got a DUI. I got convicted for it. Will I lose my license? How long will I lose my license? Will I ever get it back? Is there anything I can do about getting other ways to transport myself around without having this license while I’m dealing with this conviction?”
If you are convicted of a DUI, then under the laws of the state of Florida you will lose your license. It just depends on what DUI it is and what other factors are involved in the DUI. For example, is it an enhancement, or is it not enhanced? Did you blow over a certain blood alcohol concentration level? Were there injuries involved? There are many different things that can go into that, so you really need to get an attorney who has the knowledge of these types of cases to explain to you exactly what affect it will have on your driver’s license.
Generally, if you get convicted of a DWI or DUI in Florida, you will have your license suspended for a period of time. During this period of time, you say, “Hey, I need to work. How am I going to get to and from work?” There are things called business purposes licenses. Basically, your attorney, if they’ve handled these cases, petitions the court to ask the court to get what’s called a business purposes only license. This means that you can have a license to drive to and from your place of work, and to and from other essential places, such as grocery stores and things of that nature, where you’re doing business or where you’re doing things out of need.
An attorney that is experienced with DUIs in Orlando, Florida, knows what needs to be presented to the court and what arguments need to be made to the prosecuting authority to be able to get that business purposes only license, which can be very important in someone being able to continue their life and make the income that they need to be able to sustain their life and their family during the duration of their DUI and license suspension. If you have any other questions about how a DUI may affect your driving privileges, please call the Victory Law Firm.
Call Our Florida DWI Lawyers Today
If you have been charged with a DWI and you are up against serious penalties, we want to hear from you as soon as you can possibly reach out. We are here to set up a consultation for you right away and get you the assistance you need. We understand that this conviction if it were to happen could ruin your life in many ways. We don’t want one mistake to ruin your life forever. Please call our Florida DWI lawyers today to get started on getting better results in your DWI case.