DRUNK DRIVING ATTORNEY
ORLANDO DUI LAWYER
Being arrested for a DUI is a difficult experience that can continue to effect your life in many negative ways for years to come. There are so many decisions that must be made, from whether you challenge the administrative driver's license suspension, to filing motions to suppress evidence against you, and even whether to go to trial. I have the skill and training to advise you on how these decisions may impact your ability to drive, your insurance payments, if you will be forced to have an interlock device installed in your vehicle, if you will be convicted of a crime, or if you will go to jail. Defending a DUI can be one of the most complex types of cases around and I have the experience to be able to identify all of the possible ramifications for you. I understand that a DUI arrest can be devastating for your family, job and finances and I will work day and night to help minimize its impact on your life.
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During my three years as an Assistant State Attorney in Orange County, I was selected to be a DUI Specialist and served in that position for a year. I have been responsible for hundreds of DUI prosecutions and first-chaired multiple DUI trials. Also during my time as a DUI Specialist, I was the only prosecutor in Orange/Osceola Counties to participate in an Advanced DUI Seminar put on by the Florida Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Program, obtaining the most in-depth training on issues pertaining to Breath Testing, Drugged Driving Evaluations, and Forensic Toxicology.
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Many challenges to your ability to drive after a DUI arrest are extremely time sensitive so do not wait to call or email for a consultation at 407-274-7501 or seth@sethhymanlaw.com.
FIRST DUI PENALTIES
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The first and most important question when arrested for a DUI/DWI is "what can happen to me?" Below are the range of penalties:
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Simple DUI/DWI
• 0-180 days in jail
• Up to 12 months supervised probation
• $500-$1,000 fine
• 6-12 months driver's license suspension
• 50 hours of community service
• Level 1 DUI Counterattack School
• Victim's Awareness Panel
• 10 days of immobilization on vehicle
Enhanced DUI/DWI (0.15+ or minor in vehicle)
• Penalties below replace or are in addition to the Simple DUI/DWI penalties above
• 0-270 days in jail (if a crash up to 364 days)
• $1,000-$2,000 fine
• 6 month Interlock minimum
SECOND DUI PENALTIES
For your second DUI/DWI, the most important question is "how many years has there been between your first and second DUI/DWI?" There are greater penalties if it's within 5 years, including a required jail sentence and Interlock device. Below are the range of penalties:
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Within 5 years Simple DUI/DWI
• 10-180 days in jail
• Up to 12 months supervised probation
• $1,000-$2,000 fine
• 5 year driver's license suspension (eligible for a business purpose only driver's license [also known as a hardship license] after 1 year)
• Level 2 DUI Counterattack School
• Victim's Awareness Panel
• 30 days of immobilization on all vehicles
• 1 year Interlock minimum
Enhanced DUI/DWI (0.15+ or minor in vehicle)
• Penalties below replace or are in addition to the Simple DUI/DWI penalties above
• 10-364 days in jail
• $2,000-$4,000 fine
• 2 year Interlock minimum
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Outside of 5 years Simple DUI/DWI
• 0-270 days in jail
• Up to 12 months supervised probation
• $1,000-$2,000 fine
• 6-12 months driver's license suspension
• Level 2 DUI Counterattack School
• Victim's Awareness Panel
• 10 days of immobilization on all vehicles
• 1 year Interlock minimum
Enhanced DUI/DWI (0.15+ or minor in vehicle)
• Penalties below replace or are in addition to the Simple DUI/DWI penalties above
• 0-364 days in jail
• $2,000-$4,000 fine
• 2 year Interlock minimum
THIRD OR MORE DUI PENALTIES
For your third DUI/DWI, the most important question is "how many years has there been between your second and third DUI/DWI?" There are significantly greater penalties if it's within 10 years, including becoming a convicted felon and up to 5 years in state prison. Also, it doesn't matter how much time has passed between your first and second DUI/DWI when evaluating the third. Below are the range of penalties:
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Within 10 years Simple DUI/DWI
• Labeled a convicted felon
• 30 days in jail-5 years in state prison
• Up to 5 years supervised probation
• $2,000-$5,000 fine
• 10 year driver's license suspension (eligible for a business purpose only driver's license [also known as a hardship license] after 2 years)
• Level 2 DUI Counterattack School
• Victim's Awareness Panel
• 90 days of immobilization on all vehicles
• 2 year Interlock minimum
Enhanced DUI/DWI (0.15+ or minor in vehicle)
• Penalties below replace or are in addition to the Simple DUI/DWI penalties above
• $4,000+ fine
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Outside of 10 years Simple DUI/DWI
• NOT labeled a convicted felon
• 0-364 days in jail
• Up to 12 months supervised probation
• $2,000-$5,000 fine
• 6-12 months driver's license suspension
• Level 2 DUI Counterattack School
• Victim's Awareness Panel
• 10 days of immobilization on all vehicles
• 2 year Interlock minimum
Enhanced DUI/DWI (0.15+ or minor in vehicle)
• Penalties below replace or are in addition to the Simple DUI/DWI penalties above
• $4,000+ fine
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Fourth+ DUI/DWI
• All of the penalties of 3rd within 10 years PLUS
• LIFETIME driver's license suspension (eligible for a business purpose only driver's license [also known as a hardship license] after 5 years)
DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSION
The impact of a DUI arrest on your ability to drive can be a mine field of danger to your job, family life, and comfort. When you are arrested for a DUI/DWI, your driver's license will often be immediately administratively suspended by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and may be revoked in the future by a Judge. However, the physical DUI/DWI citation written by the Law Enforcement Officer ("LEO") acts as a temporary driver's license for 10 days. Within those 10 days, you have a few important choices to make relating to applying for a business purpose only driver's license (also called a hardship license or BPO) and challenging the administrative suspension in a hearing. A BPO allows any driving necessary to maintain livelihood, including driving to and from work, necessary on-the-job driving, driving for educational purposes, and driving for church and for medical purposes. Whether to challenge a driver's license suspension has different considerations depending on how many prior DUI arrests and convictions your have in your past.
DO I REFUSE OR BLOW INTO A BREATHALYZER?
There are pros and cons to participating in the many steps of a DUI/DWI investigation and only you can make that decision. The Law Enforcement Officer ("LEO") can pull you over for committing a traffic infraction to write you a traffic ticket, or if they suspect you are ill, injured, or driving while impaired. Everything you say will factor into their evaluation of if they are going to arrest you for a DUI/DWI and it will be used as evidence against you by the State. If you choose to take part in field sobriety exercises, the LEO is looking for many different clues of impairment in each exercise and will use your performance in making a determination about whether to arrest you. If you refuse to give a breath sample after arrest, then your driver's license will be suspended for 12 months for the first refusal or 18 months for the second. Additionally, if you've refused before, a second refusal is a separate misdemeanor crime.