You have only 10 days. After a DUI arrest, you have just 10 days to request a hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) and fight the automatic suspension of your license. If you let that deadline pass, the suspension takes effect. Call me right away.
What's at stake in a DUI
In Florida, a DUI occurs when you drive with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher, or when your normal faculties are impaired by alcohol or drugs. The penalties climb fast with each case:
- First DUI: a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to 6 months in jail, license suspension of 180 days to 1 year, 50 hours of community service, DUI school, and a possible ignition interlock.
- Aggravated (alcohol of 0.15 or higher, or a minor in the vehicle): higher fines and jail, up to 9 months.
- Second DUI within 5 years: a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail and a 5-year license revocation.
- Third DUI within 10 years: becomes a felony.
- DUI with serious injury: a felony. DUI manslaughter (death): a second-degree felony, 4 to 15 years.
In addition, since October 2025, refusing a breath or urine test can be a crime in itself. And a DUI conviction cannot be sealed or expunged from your record.
How I defend these cases
- The stop. If police had no legal grounds to pull you over, everything that follows can be suppressed.
- Field sobriety tests. Roadside tests are frequently administered poorly and don't always mean what police say they do.
- The breathalyzer. These machines require calibration and maintenance; errors are common and can be challenged.
- The DHSMV hearing. That 10-day deadline is a real opportunity to protect your license and to question the officer under oath.
- "Actual physical control." The State must prove you were driving or could drive; it can't always do that.
Traffic cases I handle
- DUI (first and subsequent)
- DUI with injury and vehicular homicide
- Driving with a suspended or revoked license
- Leaving the scene of an accident
- Reckless driving
- Habitual traffic offender
Frequently asked questions
I was just arrested for DUI. What do I do first?
Act within 10 days. That’s the deadline to request the DHSMV hearing and fight the automatic suspension of your license. Call a lawyer right away so you don’t lose that chance.
Should I have refused the breath test?
Refusing has consequences: automatic license suspension and, since October 2025, a possible criminal charge for the refusal itself. Every case is different; what matters now is defending both the criminal case and your license.
Can a DUI be reduced or dismissed?
It does happen, by attacking the stop, the field sobriety tests, or the breathalyzer. But the law prohibits reducing the charge if your alcohol level was 0.15 or higher, which makes the technical defense even more important.
Will I lose my license?
Not necessarily. There’s an administrative suspension fought before the DHSMV (hence the 10-day deadline) and another that depends on the criminal case. Many people are eligible for a restricted license.