Operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs in any way is a very serious criminal offense. Even a first-time conviction could lead to penalties that have significant negative effects on every part of your life, and state law expressly allows courts to impose increasingly harsh sanctions on people convicted multiple times for this offense.
When you are arrested for driving under the influence, contacting a Sunrise DUI lawyer from Rossen Law Firm should be your top priority. It is possible to fight back against charges like this with the help of an expert defense attorney, but it is important to act quickly to ensure you have the strongest possible case. Our award-winning team at Rossen Law Firm has your back, and we are ready to get to work building your case.
According to Florida Statutes § 316.193, someone commits the criminal offense of driving under the influence if they drive or have “actual physical control of” a car while having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or more. A police officer can also arrest anyone they believe to be driving while impaired by any type of alcoholic beverage, legally prescribed medication, or illegal controlled substance, with or without an accompanying blood or breath test.
This means you could be pulled over, arrested, charged, and convicted of DUI based entirely on one police officer’s opinion that you were impaired—solely because of how they thought you were driving or behaving after being stopped. In situations where a DUI charge in Sunrise is based on qualitative evidence such as this, our expert attorneys can provide invaluable assistance with disputing the arresting officer’s account and instilling reasonable doubt that a crime occurred.
The base penalties a court can impose on someone convicted of DUI are a fine of between $500 and $1,000, a maximum six-month jail term, the revocation of your driver’s license for between six and 12 months, and possibly six months of having an ignition interlock device (IID) installed in your personal vehicle. First-time offenders may also be subject to one year of probation, mandatory community service requirements, and vehicle impoundment for 10 days.
If your BAC equaled or exceeded 0.15 percent, or if a minor child was in the car at the time of your arrest, the applicable penalties may increase to a fine of between $1,000 and $2,000, a nine-month jail term, and a mandatory IID installation of six months. Finally, as our DUI lawyers in Sunrise can explain, anyone convicted of more than two drunk driving offenses within 10 years would be subject to felony-level repercussions if they are arrested for DUI a third or subsequent time within that period.
DUI charges can throw your whole life off-course at a moment’s notice, regardless of whether you have any other convictions on your record. Understanding and exercising your right to a strong defense is crucial to avoiding the most serious consequences of these charges.
From start to finish of your legal proceedings, the award-winning DUI defense team at Rossen Law Firm will fight for your rights and your liberty. We know bad things occasionally happen to good people, and we are here to make sure you can move on with your life. To discuss your case with an expert Sunrise DUI lawyer, contact our office today and set up your free strategy session.
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