31 October 2009 0 Comments

What to do after getting arrested for dui

Been Arrested for Dui What to Do – Miami Dui Lawyer

Being pulled over for dui is a serious matter; it’s a situation that could be horrifying especially if you were not aware you were intoxicated. Many times people will feel fine after a single drink but their blood alcohol level is above the legal limit 0.8 for the state of Florida, usually the cops won’t care if you only had 1 drink or if you feel alright, if you’re blood alcohol level is above the legal limit you will be facing a Dui charge.

A dui charge can have severe consequences and at times you won’t even be interrogated or questioned during the time of your arrest, this doesn’t mean you won’t be charged with dui. After you’re arrest usually within a few days you’ll be summoned to hearing to see if you’re license will be suspended and for how long during this hearing is where you’ll be questioned.


It’s always a good idea to write down the facts about the arrest and any questions that were asked or any actions you were asked to take during the arrest all this information will be useful when you’re speaking with your Miami dui lawyer.

Whenever you’re being asked questions or being interrogated you have a right to ask to speak to a Miami dui lawyer before answering any questions. Before you’re summoned to the hearing about your dui charge, you should speak with a dui lawyer and make sure you come up with a strong defense for your case. You and your Miami dui attorney will look through all the evidence and see if there are any problems with the arrest, any problems with the breathalyzer test or results, if you were prevented from any of your legal rights. Any of these will have an impact on your case, of course these are just some examples that a dui lawyer will start with, and each case will have a different strategy for helping the client get the charges cleared or having a reduced sentence.

It’s always a good idea to not drink and drive but if you have been unknowingly arrested for impaired driving, you need to make sure you keep a record of everything that took place and contact a Miami dui lawyer as soon as you can with the information you collected.

A third of dui charges can carry sentences of 5 years of more, so it’s important that you seek the help of a professional Miami dui attorney.

 

4 October 2010 0 Comments

Help for Chronic DUI Offenders

The most common accident that is a great cause of injury and death is motor vehicular accidents.  In this kind of accident, it’s most usually the case that there is a person who is driving under the influence and therefore has impaired judgment and motor skills for a safer drive on the road.  In order to deter first time offenders from becoming repeat offenders and to deter people from even thinking about driving under the influence, strict and harsh penalties are imposed on those found guilty of DUI.  From the time that you’re accused of a DUI, you need to have a Miami DUI attorney to help you through the whole process and avoiding given a harsh punishment.

The penalties and punishments for DUI are as follows:  fines, house arrest, community service, suspension of driver’s license, revocation of driver’s license, impoundment of vehicle, rehabilitation and imprisonment.  When you have a good Miami DUI attorney, if you’re convicted of DUI, he or she can work towards you getting a penalty less harsh.  Now, on the side of rehabilitation, one question arises.  Is rehab actually effective for chronic DUI offenders?  The simple answer is yes.

In speaking to your Miami DUI attorney, you’ll find out that part of the punishment for being convicted of DUI is being subject to compulsory attendance to AA meetings and being at rehabilitation.  At rehab, a treatment program is begun which is designed to treat the chronic DUI offenders.  When an analysis of the program was done, it was seen to provide for moderate to even substantial treatment effects for those who had follow-ups of a one year to four year duration.  Further, when the same kind of treatment program is used and there’s a ten year followup period, the outcome is seen to be more stable and have a stronger effect in actually treating people who chronically go against the law with regard to DUI.

With the knowledge now that the penalties like rehabilitation work, when you’re found guilty of DUI and you’re given this punishment, it would be easy for you to get through the long days of rehabilitation and followup.  You know that there’s a goal to be reached with the treatment program and it would be easier to stick to it.  However, it’s actually easier not to drive under the influence in the first place.  But in case you’re accused of that crime, you can look to your Miami DUI attorney.

6 September 2010 0 Comments

What Miami Is Doing To Prevent More DUI Cases

One of the crimes which are considered by all states to be deserving of the most serious punishment is driving under the influence.  Of all the states in America, it is in Miami where DUI laws are the toughest.  While being charged with the crime of DUI can already have bad effects on your life, without a DUI attorney Miami, you could lose much much more.  Each and every week, with the death toll being so high in vehicular accidents and the like due to DUI, punishments for being convicted of DUI are getting harsher and harsher.  It is so much so that it can be taken into consideration that the state is making an example of you to deter would be DUI violators.

With a qualified person working on your case, you don’t have to suffer severe punishments for DUI and even not at all if proven innocent.  The slightest mistake or missed detail can mean incarceration, loss of license, community service, etc. for you.  If you’re convicted of DUI, a DUI attorney Miami can help get you a shorter jail time or just the suspension of your license.  Not only does DUI law and punishment affect your driving life, it can also affect your job and your ability to move about freely.

You have to factor in that because of rampant DUI violations, during the hearing of your case, many judges and prosecutors have heard the same reasons and defense a million times.  The case load for DUI is also weighs pretty heavily on the courts and prosecutors.  You have a bigger chance of being heard if you have a DUI attorney Miami representing you in your case.  Besides this, your innocence or guilt in a DUI case is proven through the navigation of your civil license and the driving aspects in the case.  You can bet that there are a lot of people in the DHSMV.  If you’re charged with DUI driving, your lawyer would know what to do with regard to license suspension issues and how to navigate a crowded system.

DUI law entails that processes and charges be taxing on time and quality of life.  The working knowledge that your DUI attorney Miami has on implied consent law, the administrative license suspension hearing process and laws regarding ignition interlock devices in Florida, etc. can be utilized to assist you in retaining your quality of life and rights.

23 August 2010 0 Comments

DUI Charges For Those Under The Legal Age Of Drinking, What Are The Penalties

Under the laws of the Florida state, it’s illegal for any person who is under the age of 21 to drink. Therefore, being convicted of driving under the influence at this age involves very harsh consequences in that judges as well as other authority figures like prosecutors and police officers don’t look kindly on minors who commit these violations. For minors who drive and are found with a blood alcohol content of .02 or higher, they’re already charged with underage DUI. The main reason why law enforcers like police officers, judges and prosecutors make it tough for people accused of underage DUI is that they want to deter any possible future delinquent behaviors. By giving severe punishments and stiff fines for those convicted of underage DUI, the offenders are less likely to commit DUI and other crimes in the future.

With harsh penalties for underage drinking and underage DUI, the situation becomes worse with how being convicted of a DUI under the age of 21 affects a person’s entire life. Anyone under the age of 21 found consuming alcohol and worse, driving under the influence of alcohol is subject to criminal penalties if they’re discovered. If for example, the person arrested for DUI is under the age of 18, appearance before juvenile court is mandated. If found guilty of the charges of underage DUI, penalties include jail time, high fines, license suspension, ignition interlock installation on your vehicle and even lifelong consequences of having a criminal record on your chances for education and employment.

In the state of Florida, many juveniles face criminal charges and underage DUI charges. Anybody under the age of 21 found convicted of underage DUI is considered delinquent. Even if a young offender is referred to in an entirely different word, it still means criminal in the eyes of the law. With a BAC of .02 or higher, underage people found drinking while driving qualifies for immediate suspension of driver’s license. This entails putting a request for a formal review hearing at the Florida Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles Bureau of Administrative Reviews.

A temporary license will be valid for up to 42 days and the hearing can be set 30 days from the request for a review hearing. Without this request from an accused person for underage DUI when his license is suspended, the license can be suspended for up to a year and six months.

16 August 2010 0 Comments

Penalties For SCRAM Violations

SCRAM is the acronym for secure continuous remote alcohol monitor.  It’s a fairly new gadget used in DUI cases and is a big part of the condition for bonds in the state of Florida.  If you’re facing charges of driving under the influence, while you’ve paid for the bail bond and you’re awaiting trail, one of the conditions for your release is that you have to wear a SCRAM.  This ankle bracelet ensures that you abstain from consuming alcohol while awaiting your DUI trial.  This monitors your blood alcohol levels transdermally meaning that every 30 minutes, it takes a sample of your sweat to check for alcohol.  Every sample taken sends a signal to headquarters and the people here issues a report to the judges involved in your case.

The fact that you have to wear a SCRAM is already part of your punishment because the device costs almost $400 each and every month to wear.  While you have the SCRAM on and it’s set off for any kind of alcohol that you consumed; your bond will be revoked.  This gives the court the impression that you’re a big risk to be in the streets and so basically, a warrant of arrest is issued and you lose your freedom even when you’re not convicted of the DUI yet.

Drinking while on the SCRAM is one of the violations that can mean harsher penalties for you and also this can have a more negative effect on your life.  As previously mentioned, the penalty for violating the SCRAM is that you lose your ability to be free for the time that you’re awaiting DUI proceedings to begin.  A less strict penalty but still something that’s going to be hard on your pocket is a higher amount to pay for posting bail (if an amount is even set for posting bail).  As part of these, you might be looking at house arrest and even lock down at a residential rehabilitation center.

Another violation is the refusal to wear the SCRAM.  This also results in penalties of a warrant of arrest being issued against you and if is an amount for posting bail, you can be sure it’s going to be an expensive one.  With a big device on your ankle, it’s hard not to be marked as drunk driver.  By making you as an example, you’re already being punished with a lower quality of life.

9 August 2010 0 Comments

DUI Cases Involving Accidents Penalties and Fines

For the number of injuries and deaths that occur due to driving under the influence, many states in the United States have enforced the strictest of penalties and punishments for anyone found guilty of DUI.  The stiffest of penalties for DUI are implemented in the state of Florida.  If you’re convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, Florida DUI laws can make your life really difficult in the sense that the law will make an example of you to deter any would be DUI offenders.

If you’re involved in an accident because of DUI and the police suspect you’re driving under the influence, they will have to ask you to submit blood, urine, and breath samples for tests.  In refusing to submit, your license will be suspended for one full year.  The police can also forcibly draw blood from you if the accident you were involved in caused serious injury to others or if someone died in the accident.  When you’re arrested for DUI and the evidence clearly shows that you are intoxicated, you will lose your right to drive and your car will be impounded.  You can choose to get in touch with a DUI attorney because you will not be released until you’re no longer under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you’re no longer impaired, eight hours have passed since the time you were arrested and that your BAC is now below 0.05.

Conviction of DUI with accidents involved will weigh heavily on your case.  The judge might also give a harsher ruling depending on the way he sees you as a threat to be driving on the road.  If you’ve had a previous history with DUI and being convicted of a DUI, penalties, fines and jail time might also be harsher.

DUI misdemeanor conviction is a DUI case which involves accidents that involve property damage or personal injury.  Not more than $1000 fine will be imposed and one year prison time.  When DUI is tagged as felony conviction, this means that you’re either a repeat offender or that the accident involved serious bodily injury.  This is punishable with a fine not more than $5000 and/or imprisonment of five years.  When there’s vehicular homicide or manslaughter involved in the DUI case, either you stay on the scene or leave the scene, the fine can go up to $10000 and you could be looking at 15 to 30 years of incarceration.