FAQ’s Regarding Florida DUI Attorneys
If you are reading this webpage, odds are you or someone in your household has been arrested for DUI in Florida. As a result, your mailbox has either been filled or is about to be filled with attorney advertisements. In this section we will be addressing the characteristics that make for a good DUI lawyer. Some questions you may have include the following:
- Why do I need a DUI lawyer?
- What can a DUI lawyer do for me?
- How do you choose a DUI lawyer?
- What makes one DUI lawyer better than the next?
- Why should I hire a private lawyer?
- Can I get a court appointed lawyer?
Why do I need a DUI lawyer?
You need a DUI lawyer because the odds are stacked against you as a defendant in the criminal justice system. While most first time DUI offenders receive probation, Florida law requires a mandatory conviction, mandatory driver’s license suspension, hefty fines, and a plethora of other minimum mandatory requirements.
Because Florida law requires a mandatory conviction, a DUI can never be sealed or expunged from your criminal record. Not only will it remain on your criminal record forever, but it will also remain on your driving record.
For this reason and many others, a person accused of DUI would benefit greatly by hiring a good DUI lawyer because a DUI lawyer can offer counsel and knowledge that he/she would not otherwise have access to.
Put simply, a DUI lawyer can help you navigate the criminal justice system as well as identify and implement defenses that may help you win your case. Representing yourself is not a wise decision and can have very negative outcomes.
What can a DUI lawyer do for me?
Motions to Suppress Evidence:
First, a DUI lawyer will assess whether or not the police lawfully detained you at the beginning of your encounter. While some DUI cases happen due to car accidents, DUI checkpoints, or other situations, most people arrested for DUI were pulled over by a marked patrol car.
If you are a minority, this is an unfortunate reality that you likely deal with on a more than frequent basis. However, contrary to common knowledge, there is no such thing as a “routine traffic stop.”
The United States Constitution protects each and every person in this county from governmental intrusion. This means that the police must articulate a reasonable basis as to why you were detained and an investigation was initiated.
If they can’t a DUI lawyer can file a motion to suppress. Winning this motion would have the effect of excluding any and all evidence obtained as a result of the illegal traffic stop or police detention. This can include observations of blood shot watery eyes, odor of alcohol, performance on field sobriety exercises, breath testing, and more.Such traffic stops are referred to as “investigatory stops.”
There are only three circumstances that comprise a reasonable basis for a police detention. They are:
- The police reasonably suspected you had committed a crime
- The police reasonably suspected you were in the process of committing a crime
- The police reasonably suspected you were about to commit a crime
These suspicions also extend to traffic infractions. For example, if a police officer saw you run a red light, he/she would be permitted to detain you to issue a you citation.
The bottom line is this, for an investigatory stop or other police detention to hold up in court, the police will have to explain themselves.