DUI or Driving Under Influence laws may have different interpretations for different states. Most rules and regulations are similar save a few exceptions. Usually, drinking and driving is a very severe offense in most states and can attract severe charges if an individual is convicted under DUI. Florida has some strict DUI laws and regulations. DUI refers to destabilized driving ability or driving with a high UBAL (unlawful blood alcohol level). Every person operating a motor vehicle gives an implied consent to take a chemical breath test when suspected of drunk driving by a police officer. There could be blood tests and urine tests carried out for ascertaining level of alcohol in blood and urine. Some specific tests are performed if the person is involved in an accident or if suspected of vehicular homicide. An immediate penalty is imposed for a first time conviction on being charged with DUI in the state of Florida. Fines may go up to $500 based on levels detected during analysis. Fines can be extremely hefty if the person’s blood sample indicates an alcohol level of 0.20% or above. DUI laws are increasingly strict and penalties harsher when the accused has been a frequent offender.

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Violating DUI laws in Florida is a serious offense and must be taken really seriously. Penalties and consequences if you are convicted of violating the DUI law could include fines, loss of license, vehicle immobilization, community service, increase of insurance rate, and even imprisonment. Do not take this into passing. It is best to immediately consult with an attorney when you are arrested. You have ten days to make an appeal to prevent your license from being revoked indefinitely or permanently. Are you reluctant to seek immediate legal help because you are afraid of the exorbitant fees? Do not worry. The fees are sometimes minimal, and just goes up depending on how severe your violation is. There fees range from as low as $500 dollars to thousands in cases of repeat offense. Lawyers charge their clients differently. Some lawyers charge by the hour. Some will charge an initial fee to cover all the initial legal steps – reviewing the police report and the file from the district attorney and appearing on your first hearing. If, at that stage, charges are dropped against you, then that is where the fees end as well. Additional hearings would mean additional charges. Other attorneys charge a fee to handle your case all the way to trial. If they are able to negotiate and dismiss the case, you pay them for everything, anyway.

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Highway fatalities have increased manifold as a result of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). Law enforcers in Florida are cracking down on drunk drivers in both county and state. Detection of alcohol at minimum levels may result in chances of a person being stopped, and maybe arrested, for a DUI offense. Stringent measures have been adopted by frequent checks for DUI. On being stopped under suspicion for DUI offense, a person is advised not to argue with the police officer. The officer may ask a person to perform a field sobriety test (FST). Apart from an FST, the officer may also ask the offender to undergo a preliminary breath test (PBT). This test is conducted to give an indication whether blood alcohol level (BAC) is up to 0.20% or more. Unfavorable results may not be permissible in court to establish offense but favorable results are permissible for acquittal. Refusal to take Breathalyzer test at the police station may result in temporary suspension of a person’s driver’s license and notification of refusal to the Court or Jury.

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If you’re facing a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or another controlled substance, you may be asking a common question? Is DUI a felony? This answer is not so simple, since DUI laws vary from one jurisdiction to another. In general, DUI cases are handled in state superior court, and each state has its own laws that govern DUI. In general though, a first time DUI is a misdemeanor, with a few caveats. First, even a first time DUI will usually be raised to a felony if someone was injured as a result of a drunk driver, or if there are grounds for believing that the driver was negligent or reckless in addition to being impaired by alcohol.

In the case of serious injury, a DUI is often charged as a felony called vehicular assault. If someone is killed a result of the drunk driving episode, the at-fault driver will likely be charged with felony vehicular manslaughter, or in some cases vehicular homicide, which carries a higher sentence if the defendant is convicted. Another way that DUI is raised to a felony instead of a misdemeanor is when a driver has multiple DUI convictions. This varies by state, but DUI is commonly raised to a felony on the 4th DUI conviction. However, in some states even a 2nd or 3rd DUI arrest may be charged as a felony. In some cases, blood alcohol level may also impact whether DUI is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. In most states, the legal blood alcohol limit is .08. If blood alcohol level is considerably above the legal limit, the prosecutor may take this into account as evidence of negligence. Presumably someone who is severely impaired as a result of a very high alcohol intake should know that driving in such an impaired state is likely to result in serious harm to others. With all of this information about when DUI becomes a felony, it may be helpful to define exactly what the terms “misdemeanor” and “felony” mean. In general terms, a misdemeanor is a crime punishable by up to one year in county jail. A felony, on the other hand, is punishable by one year or more in state prison.

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DUI laws are defined by each state. These are mostly similar except for a few exceptions. Generally, drinking and driving is a very serious offense in most states and can affect a person considerably if he/she is convicted under DUI. Florida has some very strict DUI /DWI (Driving under influence/driving while intoxicated) laws. DUI implies impaired driving or driving with a high UBAL (unlawful blood alcohol level). Every person driving a motor vehicle gives an “implied consent” to take a chemical breath test when suspected of drunk driving by an official. There could be blood tests and urine tests also for determining the levels of alcohol in blood and urine. Specific tests are conducted if the person is involved in an accident or if suspected of vehicular homicide. Florida DUI law comes under DUI (Driving Under the Influence of Alcoholic Beverages, Chemical Substances or Controlled Substances). s. 316.193, F.S. DUI can be proved as an offense that is proved by impairment of normal faculties or unlawful blood/breath alcohol levels.

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DUI (driving under the influence) is a serious offense in Florida and may be considered as a misdemeanor or traffic crime or even felony in some cases. Getting arrested under DUI may mean a permanent criminal record, fine, community service, loss of license, vehicle immobilization, higher insurance rates and may be even imprisonment. As per the Florida law, every person operating a motor vehicle gives an “implied consent” to take a chemical breath test when suspected of drunk driving by an official. There could be blood tests and urine tests also for determining the levels of alcohol in blood and urine. Refusal to take these tests would result in confiscation of the driving license for a year.

There would be several formalities involved when arrested under DUI. The best option under these circumstances is to consult a good DUI attorney who would be able to provide good defense and prevent or lessen the punishment. DUI attorneys are generally familiar in breath tests, blood analysis, urine analysis and drug recognition evaluation, and would be thus able to look for any loopholes in the test results. They can also defend by analyzing the environment and road conditions at the time and location of the arrests and any other factors that may have affected the sobriety tests at that time. Defense can also be built by analyzing the DUI deposition testimonies of the cops as well as state expert witnesses. Attorneys can effectively review the case for any loopholes, conduct independent analysis of the blood samples, check the calibration and maintenance records of the breath-analyzing machine, suppress evidence and obtain good witnesses to provide the best defense.

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If you find yourself arrested and charged with a DUI, you may wonder if there is anyway to get out of it. It can happen, but there are a few things you should know. Driving under the influence can carry some rather significant penalties, including jail time, steep fines, and losing your driving privileges. If you’re trying to avoid these penalties, then keep reading.

-Discredit the Evidence
This is the fastest way to get a case thrown out of court. Police officers do make mistakes and a good attorney can capitalize on these mistakes. It may be something as minor as not waiting long enough before giving you a breath test or you having something in your mouth during the test. It could also be something as major as a police office that didn’t have probable cause to stop you. Discrediting the evidence against you in a DUI case is the fastest way to get your case dismissed.

-Get a Good Attorney
Now is not the time to try to defend yourself in court. Shell out the cash for a great attorney. Don’t skimp by hiring a cheap one that just got out of law school. An experienced DUI attorney will know how to discredit the evidence, look for flaws in the prosecutor’s case against you, and will be familiar with the local courts, staff, and judges. They also will know how to help you keep your driver’s license. There’s only a short amount of time in which to file the paperwork with the state’s license bureau and if you miss this filing date, you’re not going to be driving for awhile.

-Don’t Miss Court
If you miss a court date, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. Not only will the original case still be there, you’re going to face additional fines and penalties for failing to appear. If you’re trying to beat a DUI, missing court is one of the fastest to ways to ensure it never happens.

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Being pulled over and charged with DUI can be very frightening. You aren’t sure what penalties you will face and you don’t know how this will affect your criminal record, your employment status, and your ability to receive loans or be offered jobs in the future. And, while one DUI can be damaging in these different areas of your life, multiple DUI charges can have even worse ramifications. With each subsequent driving under the influence conviction you receive, your punishment will increase substantially. After you have been charged with DUI four times in a 10 year time period, you will face a felony conviction and with it, up to several years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines. The best way to avoid such harsh penalties is to avoid being charged with DUI at all, or at least being charged more than once. However, we understand that sometimes, mistakes are made and unfortunate circumstances do arise. If you are facing multiple DUI charges, then the help of an experienced and skilled DUI defense attorney can be invaluable.

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The social implications of drinking and driving are not to be taken lightly, this explains why the legal penalties for someone caught driving while intoxicated are severe. In Florida, penalties for DUI (driving under the influence) are different based on whether the offense was committed for the first time, the amount of alcohol found in the blood, and the driver’s willingness to cooperate with the police. If you refuse to take an alcohol test, whether it is a breathalyzer, blood, or urine test, the Department of Highway Motor Vehicles (DMV) may impose upon you a suspension of your license for a certain period of time. For a driver who refuses to take the test for the first time, the DMV may suspend his license for months, while a driver who refuses for the second time and the succeeding instances is deferred of his license. If your license has been suspended for the first time because of a refusal to take the test, you can apply for a hardship license or a business purposes license. It is during this period that your DUI attorney can gather all evidence to prove that the police lacked probable cause to arrest you for DUI.

If you have taken one of the alcohol tests and your blood alcohol content is more than 0.08, the DMV will suspend your driving license. This applies to all drunk driving offenders, whether it is their first time to be arrested for DUI or not. License suspension lasts for up to six months. After a few days of hard suspension, where the driver is prohibited from driving, you can apply for a hardship license or business purposes license to plead the DMV to allow you to drive for business purposes, provided you show proof that you have attended DUI school during the period of hard suspension. Apart from administrative suspensions imposed by the DMV, a person who is convicted of DUI also suffers from statutory penalties that are enforced by the court. A first conviction leads to imprisonment of not more than six months. Imprisonment is not commonly spent in jail, but in an alcohol rehabilitation center or drug abuse treatment facility. A fine is also levied and a license revocation (separate from the administrative suspension that begins 10 days after the arrest) of six months to one year. If the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) and the driver was tested to have a blood-alcohol-concentration of 0.04, he is disqualified from driving a CMV for one year. Persons convicted of DUI are also required to serve mandatory hours of community service or pay a fine for each hour of community service. Probation of up to one year is also necessary. For persons who are tested to have BAC of 0.15 or higher and those who committed DUI with a minor inside the vehicle, enhanced penalties are executed.

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