What are the penalties for second offense DUI in Florida? Do I need a lawyer for this?

June

Thank you for asking June.

In Florida, driving under the influence (DUI) is defined as driving a motor vehicle while impaired with a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .08 or higher, a controlled substance or chemical substance. A DUI stays on your driving record for 75 years.

Below are penalties that you may face for second offense in DUI in Florida:

* Fines of $500 to $1,000 and a minimum $1,000 to $2,000 for BAC of .20 or higher, or a minor in the car,

* Jail time of not more than nine months. A BAC of .20 or higher, or operating a vehicle with a minor in the vehicle, will require a jail time of up to 12 months. If it’s your second conviction in five years, a mandatory 10-day jail sentence will be required.

* impoundment of vehicle(if a second conviction in five years) for 30 days.

* suspension of drivers license for six months minimum. If it’s your second conviction in five years, you’ll lose your drivers license for five years (but will be eligible to apply for a hardship license after a year).

Deciding whether or not to hire an attorney in Florida is a personal choice and the answer depends on your personal and financial situation and your ability to handle the process on your own.

Goodluck!

MariCAR

I have a DUI conviction here in Deltona, Florida and I wanna be able to travel to Canada. Will I be able to enter that country, what about other countries? Please tell me the best thing that I should do so that I can travel abroad.

Kaye

Deltona, FL

If you have a DUI conviction in Florida, you are facing problems if you want to travel outside the United States. You could face special fees or be refused admission in Canada if you’ve been convicted for DUI. If it has been less than five years since the termination of your sentence, you should apply and be granted a Temporary Resident Permit before you will be granted entry to Canada. If five years has already passed, you could apply for a Minister’s Approval of Rehabilitation. If and when that is granted, your inadmissibility status as a result of your DUI conviction could be permanently removed.

The best thing for you to do now is to contact a Canadian Visa Office or a lawyer for further information regarding the application process for permission to enter Canada. Even if the laws of most countries concerning criminal convictions and eligibility for admission are not as strict as Canada, you must always take time to research such laws when making plans to travel outside of the United States.

I was charged with DUI in Hialeah, Florida. I was told that I would first have a Formal Review Hearing. Is this different from the actual court trial?

Pacey

Hialeah, FL

Yes, Pacey, the Formal Review Hearing is different from the court trial. Since you were arrested for DUI in Hialeah, Florida and if you refused to take the test or the chemical test result for blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08% or greater, your driver’s license will be suspended for a period of time by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV). By means of Formal Review Hearing, you are going to be entitled to challenge the driver’s license suspension. This Hearing, however, must be requested in writing and delivered to the DMV Office in Hillsborough County with 10 days from the date of your arrest. Your attorney can handle the details involved with scheduling and be able to conduct the hearing even if you don’t attend.

This Hearing can be a valuable tool in the defense of your case and the investigation. It would allow your lawyer to challenge the license suspension and, if successful, obtain your license reinstatement. I would also permit your lawyer to interrogate Law Enforcement Witnesses in order to gain detailed knowledge concerning their actions, observations and opinions.

Therefore, it is necessary for you to come to terms with just how necessary getting a DUI attorney in Fort Lauderdale FL is. All of the books and websites with descriptions of DUI law will never add up to the experience and knowledge that you can take part in from just a half hour with a good DUI attorney. An attorney can bring your case and DUI law together, and show you how they interact.

A DUI attorney in Fort Lauderdale FL can do more than that, too. They can also take care of making calls, mailing paperwork, and little things like that. More than anything else, though, a lawyer can take a realistic look at your case and know what results are possible, and then accomplish those results in your defense in court.

• Hourly rates.

Hourly rates work best for short and simple cases. If this is your first time getting charged with DUI, for example, and there is nothing serious to complicate your case which would cause your Tallahassee FL DUI attorney to have to gather research and witnesses and so on, then it’s possible that an hourly rate would be the best method for you to pay your lawyer. Throw one cog in the wheel, though, and the prices hear could rise by a lot.

• Fixed fee.

A fixed fee means one of two things: in many cases, a lawyer will split the fee into two, with one fixed fee for researching, interviewing, consulting, and so on, and another fixed fee for just the defense. Some lawyers, though, do it differently, in that they charge a single fixed fee across the board for all of their services.