Drunk Driving Defense Attorney, Tampa bay
Legal Defense in Tampa: DUI/DWI Information:
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Field Sobriety Tests
The police in 95% of the cases use Field Sobriety Tests as the primary indicator of impairment to determine whether or not a person will be arrested for DUI. However, there are a number of factors that can lead to a mistaken interpretation of your impairment, such as:
Being nervous, scared, tired or distracted during testing.
Physical disabilities which prohibit one from performing the tests to the satisfaction of the arresting officer.
One's own natural lack of coordination and balance in everyday activities.
The environment in which the tests were conducted:
Were the tests performed on a flat level surface?
How close to the roadway and traffic were you?
What was the lighting condition or lack there of?
Were the Field Sobriety Tests merely told to you or demonstrated correctly?
The Police Encounter
Did the officer have a valid reason to stop your vehicle?
Were your Miranda warnings read to you prior to any questioning?
Were any statements made by you misinterpreted or misunderstood by the police?
Is your recollection of what happened consistent with the officers version and those of any passengers or witnesses?
Effect on Drivers License
Administrative Suspensions
The Department of Highway and Safety Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) will instantaneously suspend your drivers license once your are lawfully arrested for DUI and either blow over the legal limit (.08) or refuse to provide a blood, breath or urine test upon request by a law enforcement officer. The ONLY way to avoid this suspension is to request a review of the suspension within 10 days from the date of your arrest. If you do nothing, your license will be suspended as follows:
1st Refusal: One Year Suspension
2nd Refusal: Eighteen Month Suspension
1st Blow Over the Legal Limit: Six Month Suspension
2nd Blow Over the Legal Limit: One Year Suspension
You can challenge this suspension by requesting a formal review hearing within 10 days of your arrest. During this 10 day period your DUI ticket is a driving permit if it is marked yes in the "eligible for permit" box of the ticket. If you do not make the formal hearing request within the 10 day time frame, then you waive your right to challenge your suspension and a "hard suspension" of your license will begin. If the formal review is requested, the DMV will send a temporary driving permit out to our office that allows you to drive in limited circumstances until seven days after the hearing is heard and final order rendered.
DMV Hearings
At the formal review hearing, a hearing officer at the DMV will decide if the police have provided them with enough information to suspend your license. If they decide in your favor then your suspension will be taken off of your record and there will be no more hardship driving. However, if the hearing officer does not find in your favor, then you will begin a "hard suspension" effective when the temporary driving permit expires. The "hard suspension" is either for a 30-day, 90-day or 18-month period of time i.e., this is the time where DMV will not allow one to drive under any circumstance.
DMV Penalties
After your DMV Hearing, your license suspension will either be invalidated or it will be sustained, depending on the facts and circumstances of your DMV Hearing. If your license suspension is invalidated, then you will be eligible to have your license reissued upon receiving the hearing officers ruling. If your license was suspended because you blew over a .08 and the suspension is sustained, then you will have 30 days of no driving, after which you may apply for a hardship permit. If your license was suspended because you refused to take a Breathalyzer, and the license suspension is sustained, then you will have 90 days of no driving, after which you may apply for a hardship permit.
Court Suspensions
In addition to the suspension that you will receive from the DHSMV, if convicted of a DUI, you also will have your license suspended. Depending on if it is your first, second, third, or subsequent conviction, you may be eligible to receive a hardship drivers license during the course of the suspension. -->>Go to Next Page for 'Drunk Driving Convictions' and more -->>
Law Office of
Matt A.V Mitcham
412 E. Madison St.
Suite 1111
Tampa, Florida, 33602
Phone:
(813) 226.3109