Florida DUI and DWI Legal Questions

you can go back to the court that sentenced you and ask the judge to remove that condition from your sentence. File a motion to modify judgement and sentence, and set a hearing. At the hearing explain to the judge why you cannot comply with the 10 day impound. Your lawyer should have told the judge that you did not own a vehicle at the time of sentencing and asked the judge to waive this requirement. It is at the judges discretion.... Read More

Check the Police Agency policy manual. In Florida there is no requirement police take accident victims to a hospital. If you request EMT's be called they will be; if they appear for the other driver they will always offer to check out the other people involved in the crash. Police will approve transport to a hospital if the EMT's recommend.... Read More

You may need a DUI lawyer, even if not arrested (I'm not sure why they didn't arrest you at the time?) because the State Attorney can still file charges once they receive the police incident report. The ten day notice is for an administrative hearing on the license suspension. You should talk with a lawyer about the ten day hearing and do not drive until you have a proper license. Your license is suspended and if you are caught driving it is a criminal offense and a trip to jail.... Read More

The decision to reduce charges to reckless driving rests with the State Attorney.  If you cooperated and there is a DUI sobriety video that shows you are performing extremely well on the sobriety tests, there is a chance you can get the charge reduced. Your biggest problem is that your BAC is well over the limit of .08.  You could be convicted at trial of DUI with the breath readings, and so the SAO may not have any motivation to reduce the charges, that combined with the fact that the police apparently have it out for you. The SAO will normally consult with the police with considering a reduction of charges.... Read More

There is no direct civil case you can pursue against the officer or police department, nor do you need to to prove the drunk driver was drunk and even seek punitive damages against him. Over 10000 people die from DUI drivers like this every year and hiring an attorney is a good first step to make sure your family receives justice- both in the form of making sure the driver is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and monetary recovery. There are also other potential defendants such as the place where he consumed alcohol and the owner of the vehicle. Punitive damages are also available. I spent 8 years working for insurance companies and two years working for the largest personal injury firm in the country before setting out to give clients personal service and help them fight these fights. Essentially, insurance carriers try to negotiate every dollar they can, because every $100 means millions in the end to the Board of Directors. Attorneys matter. They change their gameplan when a lawyer is involved. For that reason - and the misinformation by TV lawyers and referral services- is why people should consult lawyers who take the time like on sites like this. Because of the economy, more lawyers are jumping into personal injury and wrongful death cases and should stick to what they know. The other side has doctors and millions on their side to say nothing is wrong or fight the claim. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me- jmp@knowthelawyer.com. Check out our website- www.knowthelawwyer.com. We'd love to help you. Our number is 800-6-know-law. ... Read More

You will most likely not be able to get a DUI arrest dismissed, but there are several options for you to consider. First, you can take the case to trial, either with a jury or just a judge (a bench trial).  The State must prove your guilt beyond all reasonable doubt, and you don't have to prove anything or testify.  Second, you can ask the State Attorney to reduce the charges to reckless driving. This normally requires that you have a lawyer review the case and send a written request to the state outlining the reasons why the charge should be reduced. Third you can enter a plea agreement for a minimum mandatory disposition on the DUI charge. As for getting the State Attorney to simply say never mind and drop the charge, this will probably not happen.  The state can prosecute the case without a breath test and without field sobriety tests. They can rely on the police officers observations regarding your condition, if your eyes were red and glassy, your breath smelled of alcohol, you had poor balance, you slurred your speech, etc.  In some cases, a breath test or field sobriety tests could actually help you prove that you were not impaired. In your case, you don't have these pieces of evidence and the state will rely solely on the officers opinion.  You can be convicted based upon the opinion evidence of the officer.... Read More

There is usually an arrest affidavit and a DUI citation issued immediately at the time of arrest and these documents are what you most likely obtained from the clerks office. The actual police report is a typed narrative that is prepared subsequent to the initial arrest  and may be several typed pages long. the police report should not contain significantly different information than the arrest affidavit and citation, just more detail. If three are significant differences it could be in your favor at trial as there may be inconsistencies that raise reasonable doubt.... Read More

The video in the intox room is intended to prove that the breath test was administered according to the established rules and procedures. For example, was there a 20 minute observation period?, were you offered a breath test?, did you refuse the breath test?. Anything you may have said in the form of admissions could be used against you.  Miranda applies to interrogation, questions such as "have you been drinking?", how many drinks have you had?", etc.  The video in the intox room may have admissible evidence recorded.  A lawyer could file a motion to suppress evidence if you were being questioned and not read your Miranda rights. If all that happened is that you were shooting the breeze with the officer, probably not any interrogation taking place and as such no need to read Miranda, and nothing harmful on the video. The case law says that you don't need to be read Miranda before taking a breath test because it is not interrogation,  and your are not entitled to a lawyer when making the decision to take or refuse the breath test.... Read More