WHAT IS D.U.I IN FLORIDA?

In the State of Florida a person is guilty of D.U.I if the person is driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle AND the person is under the influence of alcoholic beverages to the extent that his/her normal faculties are impaired or has a BAL of .08 or above or is effected by a chemical substance to the extent that his/her normal faculties are impared.

So what the hell does that mean, you ask? It means, do not drink and drive! But if you drink and drive and are stopped you have several decisions to make. As soon as the law enforcement officer observes the odor of the alcoholic beverage (alcohol itself is actually odorless) you are under suspicion. In all likelihood you are going to jail. However, there are ways to help yourself.

First, if the cop ask you whether you have been drinking admit to two beers at the most. Do not say a few and do not say 6 or 8 (I actually had a client say 6 and the jury found him not guilty). If the cop attempts to engage you in a conversation simply tell him you do not wish to have any law enforcement contact and that you wish to leave. Of course, he will not let you leave but now the ground rules are established! At some point in time the L.E.O. will ask you to perform field sobriety exercises. He may even have a dash mounted camera for this purpose. Now these exercises are not normal to begin with and no one performs them during their everyday daily activities! No one! I mentioned decisions before and here is one, if you are very well coordinated and you really haven't had more than 1 or 2 beers then you might wish to do the exercises. However, if you have had more than 2 beers, are not well coordinated at your best, or over 60, or overweight or are injured in someway or have a disability, then do not perform them. This will not make the L.E.O. happy but who cares.

So if you perform the exercises and do not do them well you will be placed under arrest! If you refuse to perform them you will still be placed under arrest! And off to the jailhouse you go! Upon your arrival there will be a wait from a few minutes to perhaps more than 1 hour. Eventually,you will be placed in a room where the L.E.O. will elicit some routine answers from you, such as your name, age, address, height, weight, eye color, hair color, date of birth. If you are in Palm Beach County you are on videotape. The questions may seem benign but when you answer your speech is recorded. So if you sound slurred that is preserved for the trial. If you have to stop and figure out one of the answers then that is preserved for trial. On the other hand if you are not slurred and there is no hesitation in your answers then that will work for you at trial (during closing I will point this out as evidence of non-impairment). Around now is the time to ask for a lawyer! But just so you know, you are not entitled to one at this time and the L.E.O. will make a lame, often very lame attempt to explain this to you. But you asked and it is on the tape ( I will make use of this in closing argument).

The L.E.O. will now ask for a sample of breath and it is decision time again. In my opinion it is important that you not dwell on the request simply tell him yes or no. If you ruminate over the request the jury may see you as confused or the jury may see you as a thoughtful human being (wow, this can go either way). Frankly you should have been thinking of this moment as you sat in the back of the cruiser! OK, if you had two beers or less and you weigh 180 lbs or more and several hours has elapsed since you last drink you are probably safe to blow. I say probably because there are no guarantees here! If you had more than two beers simply refuse to blow. If you refuse to blow the L.E.O. will read implied consent to you which states that if you refuse to give the breath samples your license will be suspended for 12 months and in the case of a prior refusal 18 months. So what, if you blow and you blow over .08 you have just given the Assistant State Attorney powerful ammunition to use against you!

So now it has been written up as a refusal and the L.E.O. now reads Miranda to you. I know, you thought he had to read Miranda to you well before this, right? But the Florida Supreme Court states differently. In any event DO NOT ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. TELL THE L.E.O. you wish to speak to a lawyer!

Next time, I will write on what happens if you give a sample of breath!

Please feel to call me at 561-616-8700 to chat about your D.U.I arrest or just to chat about life, the universe and everything else. My e-mail address is DUITIM@floridaduilawyer.com. My website is www.floridaduilawyer.com.

Copyright 2008