Being convicted of a DUI in Florida will put a major black mark on your criminal record for the rest of your life. So, it is strongly advisable that you do not make the following mistakes.
1. Giving Up Too Quickly and Accepting a Guilty Plea
It is perfectly understandable that you want to end this unpleasantness as soon as possible. It is understandable to want to just plea guilty and move on. The problem with this is that a DUI conviction will interfere with you getting on with your life forever. You are rarely going to be able to just get on with your life after a guilty plea to DUI. At the very least, it is prudent to at least pay for an hour of a good DUI attorney’s time to see what he or she may be able to do for you.
2. Hiring A Non-DUI Attorney Friend To Handle Your Case
If you require knee surgery, you would not hire an ophthalmologist to do the work, correct? Just as a good DUI attorney would never represent you in a real estate case, an attorney who is not an expert in DUI cases should not represent you here. Obtain expert DUI counsel.
3. Not Applying For Your Administrative Hearing To Keep Your Driver’s License Within 10 Days
If you do not meet this deadline, you cannot do anything about it. You have missed the hearing and your license is going to be suspended. If you consult a strong DUI attorney, he or she may be able to extend how long you can drive on the temporary permit. You may not have to have your license suspended entirely.
4. Thinking That a .08 Or Higher Breath Test Means You Cannot Fight the DUI
These are the sort of cases that top DUI attorneys win with regularity. It is certainly possible that your attorney can get your charges reduced to reckless driving. This is a significantly less damaging offense to have on your record.
5. Driving On a Suspended License After Your DUI Arrest
Do not ever take a bad situation and make it much worse by driving on a suspended license.
6. Not Realizing That Your Rights Were Violated During Arrest
Police violate the constitutional rights of citizens more than you might think. It is common for a good DUI attorney to get a case thrown out by proving that your constitutional rights were violated.
7. Thinking You Can Represent Yourself At the Trial
This is an exceedingly common mistake that many people make. In an attempt to save money, they go to court without a strong DUI attorney. DUI law is not for the layman. Have a highly experienced DUI attorney handle your case.
8. Thinking An Attorney Will Cost More Than A Guilty Verdict
Your DUI attorney will cost you, but it is merely a one-time cost. A DUI guilty verdict will continue to haunt you for years. You will have difficulty passing background checks, your health, life and automobile insurance will cost more, you will have trouble applying for loans, grad school. And your DUI conviction can never be expunged from your criminal record.
In summary, you are exceedingly likely to make critical errors during your DUI case without strong legal representation.
Many of our clients make the assumption that if you take a breath test on the road and show over the Florida legal limit of 0.08, you will be unable to contest the DUI charges in court. Actually, with strong legal representation, it is possible to have the breath test data excluded at trial. In this case, the prosecution will not be able to inform the jury that the breath test showed that you were over the legal limit.
The simple fact that you registered over 0.08 on the breath test does not mean that you cannot escape a DUI conviction. In some cases, a good attorney can have your charge reduced to reckless driving. This is a highly possible trial outcome if your defense can prove that the police made any type of error with the breath test. Moreover, there are medical factors in particular individuals that can bring into question the admissibility of breath data.
For example, some people’s lung function can be affected by their age or by other factors, which may cause the test to show a false reading. Or, you may have have dental work that can cause your mouth to appear to have alcohol residue during the breath test when it does not.
Also, the state of Florida is now using a new breath test device that is known as the Intoxilyzer 8000. Many effective DUI attorneys in Florida have had significant success in having the results from this device tossed out in court.
Previously, Florida used the Intoxilyzer 5000 to conduct its breath tests. Both the 5000 and 8000 use infrared light absorption analysis to detect the alcohol on your breath. Each machine requires that a sample of your breath be inserted into the sample chamber. The machine will transmit infrared light into this chamber. It is calculating the amount of light being absorbed by ethanol in the sample of your breath.
Both machines need a large enough breath sample to get a proper reading. For the 5000, this was based upon pressure, level slope, and time. For the 8000, it is minimum volume, slope and time.
For the 5000, much of the process of measuring the breath sample was done by the hardware, such as analog comparators, resisters and other hardware components. The 8000 does most of the analysis is done by computer calculations.
Some DUI attorneys have argued in court that the Intoxilyzer 8000 is not an officially approved machine in the state of Florida. Florida law stipulates that the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement should only utilize machines that are listed on the Conforming Products List at the Department of Transportation in Washington DC.
The problem is that the Intoxilyzer machine that is used in Florida is not the same precise one that is listed in the CPL, so the 8000 should not be deemed an approved machine in Florida law.
Lastly, attorneys have argued that the 8000 test results should not be admissible because Florida and the manufacturer will not release the source code of the device. Without that data, it is impossible to verify if the machine is really operating properly.
Remember: An effective DUI attorney may be able to get your DUI charge either thrown out or reduced to a lesser charge, if he or she knows how to properly challenge the results of the Intoxilyzer 8000.
After the city’s 11th murder of 2011, matching its entire total from 2010, three of its most powerful leaders called for a secret meeting with Mayor Bill Foster and Police Chief Chuck Harmon.
City Councilman Karl Nurse, County Commissioner Ken Welch, and State Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, met with Foster and Harmon for an hour Tuesday to discuss the city’s perceived crime problem.
Rouson said either the city’s improving crime stats were wrong or Harmon needed to do a better job of handling the negative perception.
After the meeting, Harmon said crime stats were down virtually across the board with the exception of homicides, which could account for the negative perception of the city.
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In a poll unlikely to surprise many Republican voters, 52 percent of Pinellas Republicans said they would “probably” or “definitely” vote for former longtime Sheriff Everett Rice over Chief Deputy Bob Gualtieri for sheriff in 2012, according to a survey released this week by Rice’s campaign.
The poll showed 9 percent supported Gualtieri’s bid, 35 percent were undecided and 3 percent declined to say which way they were leaning. The poll by Voter Survey Service surveyed 601 likely Republican voters by phone June 6-8. It had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
The poll also showed that Rice leads in name recognition, with 81 percent of voters saying they were “aware” of Rice, who served as sheriff from 1988 to 2004. Sixty percent of respondents said they recognized the name of fellow Republican candidate Gualtieri. Gualtieri became the agency’s general counsel in 2006 and was tapped as chief deputy in 2008, but spent many years with the department in the 1980s and 1990s as a deputy.
The poll skewed older, with 60 percent of those polled over the age 60. Rice is 66; Gualtieri is 49.
If you’ve come here seeking a Pinellas County DUI attorney, call 727-480-9675 now to schedule a free and confidential consultation.
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The Florida Bar announces that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 27 attorneys, disbarring seven and suspending 15. Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Two attorneys were placed on probation; five attorneys were publicly reprimanded. Two attorneys were ordered to pay restitution.
As an official arm of the Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar and its Department of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the 90,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida.
Since Aug. 1, 2007, case files have been posted to attorneys’ individual Florida Bar profiles and may be reviewed at and/or downloaded from The Florida Bar’s website, www.floridabar.org.
Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined.
The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline. Disbarred lawyers may not re-apply for admission for five years. They are required to go through an extensive process that rejects many who apply. It includes a rigorous background check and retaking the bar exam. Historically, fewer than 5 percent of disbarred lawyers seek readmission.
Go here to see which attorneys were disciplined. Or if you’ve been charged with DUI or other crime in Pinellas, Musca Law welcomes you to contact them for a free and confidential consultation. With over 100 years of collective experience, you can be assured our attorneys will handle your case with the utmost professionalism and care. Call 727-480-9675 to schedule your free and confidential consultation with a Pinellas County DUI lawyer at our firm now.
Being arrested can be an unsettling experience, to say the least. It may be embarrassing and also very frightening. You know that you are innocent, but it may seem that no one else believes you. Sometimes even friends and family may turn on us when we are arrested. At Musca Law, we believe that you need an advocate for your rights. When you work with a Pinellas County criminal defense lawyer at our firm, you will have a strong legal professional to build a legal strategy that is tailor-made to fit your unique situation and address your individual concerns.
Pinellas County Office
2240 Bellair Road, Suite 190
Clearwater, FL 33764
Phone: 727-480-9675
Call to schedule your free consultation before it’s too late.
Voters in several Pinellas County municipalities have until Feb. 7 to register for the March elections.
Voting is scheduled for March 8th in Tarpon Springs, Belleair Beach, Gulfport, Kenneth City, Madeira Beach, Seminole, South Pasadena, St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island.
Anyone who has previously registered to vote does not need to re-register. You can register to vote or update your voter information at any Supervisor of Elections office, public library, drivers license office or government office handling social services.
You can register to vote, update your address, name, party or signature, and request mail ballots at any of the following events:
February 2 – Voter Registration and Voting System Demonstration, Seminole Community Library, 9200 113th St. N., Seminole, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
February 3 – Gulfport Candidate Forum – Voter Registration and Voting System Demonstration, City Hall, 2401 53rd St. S., Gulfport, 6:15 – 7 p.m. (Candidate Forum begins at 7 p.m.)
February 4 – Voter Registration and Voting System Demonstration, Gulf Beaches Public Library, 200 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach, 3 – 5 p.m.
February 5 – Voter Registration and Voting System Demonstration, St. Pete Beach Public Library, 365 73rd Ave., St. Pete Beach, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
February 5 – Voter Registration and Voting System Demonstration, Tarpon Springs Public Library, 138 Lemon St., Tarpon Springs, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Looking for a Pinellas County DUI attorney? If so, call 727-480-9675 to schedule your free legal consultation with an attorney at our firm now.
Transportation safety advocates laid out an ambitious agenda Tuesday that included calls for stricter penalties on motorists who hit bicycle and motorcycle riders, refuse to take breathalyzer tests when suspected of driving under the influence, and booster seat requirements for older children.
But the chairman of the Senate committee that those measures would all likely have to go through pumped the brakes on all but one Tuesday, saying that there only seemed to consensus on his panel for a measure that would ban texting while driving for teenagers only.
After lengthy presentations Tuesday from AAA Auto Club South, the Florida Bicycle Association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and ABATE of Florida, Sen. Jack Latvala, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, conducted a very quick survey of the seven-member panel to see whether any members opposed the ideas.
If anyone signaled that they did by simply shaking their head, Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, took it off the table. When he was done, only one proposal – the teenage texting ban – was left.
“I had intended to kind of put out some concepts and kind of try to get a consensus of which of these issues the committee would like to get involved in,” he said.
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Many people in the community have been calling the St. Petersburg Police Department to express their condolences and grief and have requested to know where flowers or other items could be placed in honor of two police officers killed in line of duty Monday morning.
The St. Petersburg Police Department has established an area in the breezeway near the front entrance at 1300 First Ave. N.
Anyone wishing to donate funds to the families may send contributions to Suncoast Law Enforcement Charities Inc., 14141 46th St. N., Suite 1205, Clearwater, Florida 33762. Call 727-532-1722.
RIP – Pinellas County DUI Lawyers
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Here’s a list of closings and schedule changes for various government offices and services because of New Year’s Eve (Friday) and New Year’s Day (Saturday).
Government
- All federal, state and county offices will be closed Friday.
- Clearwater, Dunedin, Oldsmar, Tarpon Springs and Safety Harbor city offices will be closed Friday.
Courts
- Federal, state and county courts will be closed Friday.
Buses
- All PSTA buses will operate on a regular schedule Friday and will switch to the Sunday/holiday service Saturday. For more information, visit psta.net/bus schedules.html
Schools
- All Pinellas County public schools are closed until Monday.
- All St. Petersburg College campuses will be closed until Monday.
Garbage collection
- No changes in residential trash pickup for Clearwater, Dunedin and Tarpon Springs.
- No New Year’s Day pickup in Oldsmar. Next pickup: Wednesday.
- Monday and Thursday pickups in Safety Harbor will be Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday and Friday pickups will be Tuesday and Thursday.
Libraries
Clearwater: All branches will be closed Friday and Saturday.
Dunedin: The library will be closed Friday and Saturday. It will reopen at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Tarpon Springs: The library will be closed Friday through Sunday and will resume regular hours at 10 a.m. Monday.
Oldsmar: The library will be closed Friday through Sunday and will resume regular hours at 9 a.m. Monday.
Safety Harbor: The library will be closed Friday and Saturday and will resume regular hours at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Palm Harbor: The library will be closed Saturday and Sunday and will resume regular hours at 10 a.m. Monday.
Post offices, mail delivery
- Post offices will be open Friday; however, many will shorten retail lobby hours and close at noon. Regular mail delivery will take place; however, collection box pickup times scheduled after noon on these days will be moved to noon.
- All post offices will be closed Saturday.
The Pinellas County DUI lawyers at Musca Law want to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year’s! Remember, if you’ve had to much to drink, you can always call Tow-to-Go.
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