At Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney, one of Miami’s prominent DUI defense firms, our trial lawyer always puts clients first. The Miami DUI lawyer from our office is a former Miami-Dade DUI prosecutor with intimate knowledge of the prosecution’s game plan. A Miami DUI lawyer is the only thing between you and the State Attorney’s Office trying to take away your freedoms.
It makes more sense to hire a lawyer that served as a former DUI prosecutor. You’ll have the best defense against your alleged offense.
Miami DUI Attorney Julian Stroleny is available to meet with you and discuss your legal options, so call today and schedule a free consultation. As a former state prosecutor who has handled numerous DUI cases, he has the experience and skills necessary to get the best possible results in your case. Call Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney. at 786-481-4098 today to help you throughout the legal process.
What Happens When You Get a DUI in Florida?
Getting a DUI in Florida has many consequences. Those consequences will depend on the details of your case and whether or not you have a DUI history.
The graphic below details what will happen at a glance. You’ll be arrested, face fines, have your license suspended, and much more.
Florida DUI Fines
With your first DUI and any consequent DUI charges after that, you will have to pay mandatory fines. The fines are based on your blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of your arrest. If there is a minor in the car with you, your fines will increase. Expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $5,000 or even more.
Chemical Testing
Some people refuse to take a chemical test after they are arrested for DUI. If you refuse and it’s your first offense, your license will be suspended for one year. For a second or third DUI offense, your license will be suspended for 18 months if you already had it suspended for refusing that test.
You likely don’t know that if you’ve already had your license suspended for refusing the post-DUI arrest chemical testing in Florida, it is a misdemeanor to refuse another one.
DUI Jail Time
Florida takes DUI charges very seriously. For a first offense, there is no minimum mandatory jail time, though that doesn’t mean you won’t be locked up. With the help of an experienced DUI lawyer, especially one that has served as a prosecutor, you will have a far better outcome. For a second DUI offense, you will have a minimum of 10 days in jail. Those with a third offense will serve a minimum of 30 days in jail.
How Long Does a DUI Stay on Your Record?
In other states, DUI stays on your record for a minimum of 10 years. However, if you’ve moved to Florida, you should know that if you get DUI charges here and are convicted, they will stay on your record for 75 years. Florida does not permit DUI convictions to be expunged.
You are looking at something that will impact your future and your freedom. For anyone with a commercial driver’s license (CDL), this could spell the end of your truck driving career. Even those who do not need to drive a truck or any company vehicle may lose their job because of a DUI conviction.
Don’t leave anything to chance. Call our experienced Miami DUI lawyer at Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney. to get the legal representation you need.
FAQs
After your arrest, you will have questions and concerns. While there is no substitute for a meeting with an experienced DUI attorney, some of the most common questions are answered below.
If you have any unanswered questions or you are ready to fight the DUI charge you’re facing, call Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney at 786-481-4098 or fill out the free case evaluation, and we will contact you shortly.
I got a DUI while on my vacation in Miami – what do I do?
Miami is an adventurous city known for its nightlife. Situations can get out of hand, and the next thing you know, you’ve been arrested for DUI. Things only get worse when you need to return to your hometown to work on Monday morning. If you have DUI charges and don’t know what to do, contact our Miami DUI lawyer to discuss your options.
For misdemeanor DUIs, we may be able to resolve your DUI without the need for you to appear in court. Contact Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney for help from one of the top DUI firms in Miami. We will find out the details of your case and work to ensure your DUI charges don’t define your future. We keep you informed throughout the entire process, so you’ll never be left to wonder what’s going to happen.
What are Florida’s DUI penalties?
Here are the penalties for DUI convictions in Florida:
First-Time DUI
A first-time DUI will have a fine of $500 to $1,000. You may face up to 6 months in jail. It will be up to 9 months in jail if your BAC is 0.15 or higher or if you had minor children in the car with you at the time.
Additionally, you could spend up to 1 year on probation. There is a mandatory order of 50 hours of community service, and your license will be revoked for 6 months with a BAC of 0.08 or above. If you refuse to submit to a chemical test, your license will be revoked for 1 year. First-time DUI penalties also include a 10-day vehicle impoundment.
Second-Time DUI
A second DUI conviction results in fines that range from $1,000 to $2,000, and you could spend up to 9 months in jail. The sentence increases to 1 year with a BAC of 0.15 or higher or if minor children are in your vehicle at the time.
If this is your second conviction within 5 years of the first one, you will face a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail. Your vehicle will be impounded for 30 days, and your license will be revoked for 6 months, at minimum. If the second DUI occurs within 5 years of your first DUI offense, your license will be revoked for 5 years.
Third-Time DUI
Fines for the third DUI are the same for the second one unless you are convicted within 10 years, which will increase the fines from $2,000 to $5,000. You will serve up to 12 months in jail if the conviction is more than 10 years after your last DUI. A minimum jail sentence of 30 days is imposed if you are convicted within 10 years.
This charge becomes a felony DUI if it’s within 10 years of your prior conviction. Your license will be revoked for 10 years, though you may be able to apply for hardship reinstatement after 2 years. Your vehicle will be impounded for 90 days if the third DUI conviction occurs within 10 years of your first one.
Fourth-Time DUI
You will face a minimum of a $2,000 fine, up to 5 years in prison, and be considered a habitual offender if you receive a fourth DUI conviction. Your driver’s license will be permanently revoked.
Does a DUI count as a felony?
In Florida, a DUI does not qualify as a felony unless you have had multiple DUI arrests in the past or have injured another person. If you have received your third DUI within 10 years or a DUI with injury, it becomes a third-degree felony with fines up to $5,000 and a prison term of up to 5 years.
For DUI manslaughter, it is a second-degree felony with a fine of up to $10,000 and a prison sentence of up to 15 years. If you leave the scene of an accident resulting in a DUI manslaughter, it is a first-degree felony with a fine of up to $10,000 and a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
Can I have my DUI record sealed or expunged?
As mentioned before, Florida will keep a DUI on your record for 75 years. It cannot be sealed or expunged if your case closes with a DUI conviction. To find out more about what happens, contact our Miami DUI lawyer to get the best possible outcome in your case.
Will my license be suspended after my DUI arrest?
Once you are arrested for DUI, your license is suspended. The DUI traffic ticket you receive serves as your temporary, limited-use license for 10 days. Once this is issued, you will have 10 days to request a DMV hearing to contest the circumstances of your arrest and license suspension.
For a standard 0.08 BAC level DUI, there is a 30-day period of what they call a ‘hard time’ before you can qualify for a hardship license. If you refused to take the breathalyzer test, this time period is 90 days.
Without getting a hardship license, your license will be suspended for 6 months when your breathalyzer is 0.08 or above. This time increases to 1 year if you refuse to submit to the chemical test.
Regardless of what happened, contact Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney to discuss your case in confidentiality and determine your options.
What does the standard 0.08 mean?
Florida’s legal BAC limit is 0.08. A breathalyzer test is issued by law enforcement officers to check blood alcohol levels. Officers must be certified to use the Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test machine. However, this standard limit doesn’t consider an individual’s personal tolerance to alcohol. This makes it a poor indicator of whether a driver was impaired.
Do I qualify for the Back on Track Program?
The Back on Track program is a great option for many first-time offenders in Miami-Dade County. It provides the chance to complete a program rather than be prosecuted for your first DUI. If you qualify for this program and successfully complete it, you can have your DUI charge changed to a reckless driving charge.
To qualify, it must be your first arrest for DUI. The following are the other criteria to qualify for the program:
- No car accident or injury to another person
- No minor children were in the car during the incident
- No open alcohol containers in the vehicle
- Your criminal record cannot exceed one prior nonviolent felony or two prior misdemeanor convictions
- You aren’t allowed to have completed more than one misdemeanor diversion program
- You must not have been driving on a suspended license when arrested for their DUI
Disqualifying factors include reckless driving, a high rate of speed during the DUI arrest, having too many previous points on your driving record, or blowing higher than 0.25 into the breathalyzer machine.
Contact Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney today to begin discussing your case with a top Miami DUI attorney.
