Being charged with driving under the influence (DUI) can be an overwhelming experience, especially if it is your first time. Not only are you potentially facing expensive fines, probation, and a damaged reputation, but your freedom could also be jeopardized. If you were charged with drunk driving for the first time, call a West Palm Beach first-offense DUI lawyer.
You should not have to navigate the legal system without help. A qualified attorney knows how to assess the circumstances of your case to get the best result possible for you.
Penalties for First-Offense DUIs
Being convicted of drunk driving—even if it is your first time—can come with serious penalties that may affect your freedom, finances, and reputation. These penalties can include the suspension of your license, fines, community service, and imprisonment. A knowledgeable West Palm Beach lawyer at Leifert & Leifert could help explain your rights and any possible penalties that you may be facing for a first time DUI offense.
License Suspension and Fines
When someone’s blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08 or higher while driving, they could have their license suspended for six months on a first offense. However, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) can take away a driver’s license for one full year if they choose to refuse a chemical breath test.
Most first offense DUIs carry fines between $500 and $1,000, depending on the circumstances. However, if someone drove with a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher, or if they drove under the influence with someone under the age of 18 in the vehicle, they may face a larger fine of up to $2,000. A lawyer in West Palm Beach could protect your driving privileges if you have been accused of a first time DUI offense.
Community Service and Imprisonment
Florida courts are required to order 50 hours of community service, such as manual labor or clerical work, for a first time DUI. In some cases, a court will not require work and instead impose an additional fine of ten dollars for every hour of required service.
Jail time is not mandatory for a first-offense DUI in West Palm Beach. However, if convicted, the court might sentence someone to up to six months in jail. In some cases, such as having a BAC of .15 or more at the time of the offense, a person could receive a sentence of up to nine months. The sentence could be increased further to the maximum sentence of one-year if the DUI resulted in property damage or injuries to another person.
Getting a Hardship License
If you have your license suspended, much more than your freedom may be threatened. You may no longer be able to drive to work which can threaten your livelihood. Additionally, you may be unable to travel to medical appointments or take your kids to school. Fortunately, some individuals with a first-time DUI conviction can apply for a hardship license with the help of a lawyer in West Palm Beach.
Securing a hardship license could allow you to preserve some form of agency while a sentence is carried out. If you have a six-month suspended license, you must wait 30 days to apply. However, if you are facing a yearlong suspension, you will have to wait 90 days in order to become eligible.
What to do During a DUI Stop
The best defense starts before the arrest. Of course, a person should not drink and drive. If a person drinks, they should have someone else drive. If they had a drink or two, drove, and were pulled over by the Police, maybe they should not do any of the physical sobriety tests. You have the right not to walk the lines, say the alphabet, or touch your finger to your nose, and the right not to take a breath test if asked.
There are implications to refusing these tests, but the best defense starts with the driver before they get arrested. If they are stopped by the Police, that is when the person needs to be the most defensive.
Prosecutor’s Evidence in DUI Cases
One of the advantages a DUI lawyer has is that they get to see the government’s hand. A defense attorney gets to see all the government’s cards before they start building a first-time West Palm Beach DUI defense. Most DUI cases are on DVD or digitally recorded. Oftentimes, the evidence includes:
- A driving pattern
- Roadside sobriety tests
- Transportation to the jail
- Breath testing procedures
- Questioning such as interviews or post-arrest interrogation
How a Defense Lawyer Approaches the Evidence
To start building the defense, we need to evaluate how strong the government’s case is and see the evidence they have against you. We start building our defense based upon what the government is bringing at us.
At Leifert & Leifert, our lawyers look for a couple of different things in the Prosecutor’s case. The first thing we look for is whether or not the Police Officer had the right to have an interaction with you or pull you over. We also question whether or not Law Enforcement had the right to suspect that you were impaired. Did the law enforcement officers smell alcohol? If not, what did they see that gave them the right to legally suspect that you may have been impaired?
Challenging Sobriety Tests
If Police do suspect impairment, then that gives them the right to ask someone to step out of the car and to perform certain sobriety tests. However, an attorney could ask if the law enforcement officer said or did anything inappropriate to get you to perform or attempt to perform a sobriety test. An experienced DUI lawyer would want to know what was said, what was instructed, or if there were any threats or promises made.
Our lawyers would then look to see what the results of the sobriety tests were. Was your balance okay? Were there any clues that gave the Officer the right to arrest you? If there was not enough there, we could challenge the arrest. We could analyze the investigation conducted against you on a step-by-step basis up until you were arrested, looking for violations or improprieties that would help get the case Dismissed or weaken the evidence able to be used against you.
Challenging Breath Tests
If you were arrested, you were probably asked for a breath test. Our lawyers could make sure that proper procedures were followed. There is an observation period to make sure that the individual does not eat, drink, smoke, burp, or regurgitate anything so there is no contamination. We will want to know if you asked any questions about your rights, and if the questions were answered appropriately. Were you intimidated, misled, or misinformed?
Work with a West Palm Beach First-Offense DUI Attorney
Even a first-time DUI offense can lead to serious consequences that not only impact you, but your friends, family, and financial situation. To understand your legal options and possibly fight your charges, enlist the help of a West Palm Beach First-Offense DUI Lawyer. Our team of Leifert & Leifert Attorneys can help to protect your rights and guide you every step of the way. Call us today to for a free initial consultation and case review.
