Initial DUI Case Process
The Fort Lauderdale DUI defense attorneys at Leifert & Leifert know that being arrested for DUI can have serious implications for both your personal and professional lives. One of the most immediate ways in which a DUI arrest will impact your life is that it will affect your driving privileges, which are the subject of the first case that takes place in the process of your DUI case moving through the court system.
First Appearance
The first phase in your DUI case is the Administrative Law case, which is not held before a judge, but rather before a state hearing officer. The only punishment that you can be given during this phase of the case is a driving privilege suspension ordered by the DMV. Following the Administrative Law case, the DUI case progresses to the criminal case phase, which is held in a courtroom before a judge. During this part of the case, not only can your license be suspended (for a second time), but you can also receive punishments such as fines, probation, community service, and even jail time.
Our West Palm Beach defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Leifert & Leifert are dedicated to making sure that you retain your right to drive.
Immediate Penalties
As experienced DUI defense attorneys, we know that Florida law stipulates that, for a first DUI conviction, even a court-ordered license suspension (in the criminal case) carries no mandatory “hard time” period (30 days of license suspension for unlawful blood or breath alcohol level or 90 days of license suspension for refusal to take the test). If you have already completed the “hard” license suspension issued during the Administrative Law case, you will be eligible to have what is known as a Business Purpose Only (BPO) hardship license beginning on the first day of your court-ordered license revocation period. A BPO license can be used for driving to and from work and necessary on-the-job driving, driving to and from school, driving to and from the doctor, and driving to and from a religious activity. Additionally, Florida courts have allowed a BPO license to be used in order for the holder of the BPO license to maintain his or her livelihood, which includes driving to buy food, driving to pay a bill, etc.
