Orlando Felony dui Defense Attorney

Driving Under the Influence is a serious 3rd degree felony when the felony charge is based on prior offenses. These charges can have immediate and long-term consequences for your freedom, your criminal record, future employment, driver’s license, and even where you can live. The decisions you make in the first 10 days after your arrest can significantly impact the outcome of your case.

Hardship license or Formal Review hearing?

If you have ever been arrested for DUI in the past, regardless of whether you were found guilty or if that arrest occurred in Florida or another state, you likely need to apply for a formal review hearing because most people with a prior DUI arrest are ineligible for a hardship license.

What is a formal review hearing?

A formal review hearing is held by the Bureau of Administrative Review within the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. A hearing officer will consider sworn testimony of the officers, review the police reports, and rule on arguments and motions made by a qualified DUI defense attorney. These hearings are typically conducted over the phone and are the only choice if you have ever been arrested for DUI, did not have a valid FL license at the time of your arrest, or have a Commercial Driver’s License which you wish to keep. If you apply for a hardship license, your Commercial Driver’s License may be suspended.

Felony DUI Law in Florida

To convict someone of Felony Driving Under the Influence under Florida law (Florida Statute 316.193), the State must prove that they were

1. Driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle;
2. That at the time, they were under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or chemical substances to the extent that their normal abilities were impaired; and
3. That they have either:
   • previously been convicted twice for DUI and that the most recent conviction is within 10 years of the current case, or
   • that they have previously been convicted of DUI on 3 separate occasions.

breath/blood/urine tests

When a person is arrested for a Felony DUI, law enforcement officers may seek a search warrant for the person’s blood to test for the presence of drugs or alcohol. To obtain a warrant, the officer must submit an affidavit under penalty of perjury to a Judge. If the Judge finds that the facts alleged in the affidavit amount to Probable Cause, they will sign a search warrant, which allows officers to forcibly take blood from the person to test for the presence of drugs or alcohol. An experienced DUI defense attorney may be able to challenge the evidence gained as a result of an unlawful warrant.

Officers may also request that a person arrested for DUI submit to a chemical test of their breath, blood, or urine to detect the presence of drugs or alcohol. The decision to refuse or comply with this request can have immediate and long-term consequences for a person’s criminal case, driver’s license, and their future. While many drivers assume that refusing these tests will help them by denying the State access to damaging evidence, a refusal is now punishable as a separate criminal charge under Florida law in addition to the administrative driver’s license suspension of 12 months for a first refusal and 18 months for a subsequent refusal.

penalties for felony DUI

3rd DUI within 10 years of any prior DUI – Florida Statute 316.193(2)(b)(1)

• Mandatory Felony ConvictionUp to a $5,000 fine
• Up to 5 years in prison
• Up to 5 years of reporting probation
• 10 year minimum driver’s license suspension
• Level 2 DUI school and any recommended treatment
• Victim Impact Panel
• 90 day vehicle impoundment
• Minimum 2 year ignition interlock device requirement

4th or subsequent dui – florida statute 316.193(2)(b)(3)

• Mandatory Felony Conviction
• Minimum $4,000 fine
• Up to 5 years in prison
• Up to 5 years reporting probation
• Permanent driver’s license revocation
• Level 2 DUI school and any recommended treatment
• Victim Impact Panel
• 90 day vehicle impoundment
• Minimum 2 year ignition interlock requirement.

defenses to felony dui charges in Florida

Defenses to Felony DUI are multi-layered and require an experienced and knowledgeable DUI defense attorney. A good defense to Felony DUI will challenge every element of the State’s case, including the traffic stop, the DUI investigation, the arrest, and any post arrest testing or evidence gained by way of subpoena or search warrant.

Traffic Stop

Police officers in Florida must have probable cause to believe that you committed a civil traffic violation or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in order to lawfully initiate a traffic stop. In reality, many traffic stops are based on a “hunch” that the driver is impaired. An experienced DUI defense attorney like Ben Baxter can find flaws in the officer’s actions and use that to ask the Court to exclude evidence gained as a result of an illegal traffic stop.

dui investigation

When officers ask you to exit your vehicle for a DUI investigation, they must have “reasonable suspicion” that you are driving under the influence. Typically, officers will say that they smelled alcohol on your breath and that you had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes to justify detaining you for a DUI investigation. DUI defense lawyer Ben Baxter will analyze every report and scrutinize every minute of video footage to scrutinize the officers’ claims to develop arguments that officers complied with Florida law when they conducted their investigation and whether or not they exaggerated, manufactured, or embellished details of their report which are not supported by the video evidence.

Arrest

Florida law enforcement officers must have “probable cause to arrest you for DUI. That means that they must either have a wheel witness in a crash case or must personally witness every element of the offense when there is no crash. Officers are trained using the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) manual. This describes how Field Sobriety Exercises should be administered and what officers should be looking for when a person is performing the exercises. Florida DUI defense attorney Ben Baxter uses this manual against them to argue that the signs of impairment that the officers observed were in fact, the result of their own failure to properly administer the exercises.

admissibility of Chemical testing

Florida’s implied consent law establishes strict procedures that law enforcement officers must follow when requesting and administering a breath, blood, or urine test to a person arrested for DUI. These rules are not optional, and when an officer fails to follow them properly, the results of these tests may be challenged or even excluded from evidence. In many DUI cases, the legality of chemical test results can be one of the most important factors in determining whether the State can successfully prosecute the case. An experienced DUI defense attorney can scrutinize the State’s evidence for errors involving implied consent warnings, test administration, observation periods, machine maintenance, chain of custody, officer certification, or other procedural compliance issues that can create a powerful defense tool which may lead to the reduction or even the dismissal of DUI charges.

Admissibility of Evidence Gained by Warrant and Subpoena

In Felony DUI cases, these chemical testing issues are compounded by the addition of search warrants and subpoenas. In Florida, Judges, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors must follow certain rules in the application, signing, and execution of search warrants and subpoenas. Officers and prosecutors will often obtain a variety of material using these instruments. Officers will often use search warrants to obtain blood evidence from the suspect and seize other physical evidence from the suspect’s vehicle. Prosecutors will typically use subpoenas to obtain medical records, statements made to third parties, credit card records to show purchases of alcohol, and other tangible evidence they can use to prove their case. An experienced DUI defense attorney can identify an officer or prosecutor’s failure to follow these rules, which may result in the exclusion of evidence or the reduction or dismissal of DUI charges.

Admissibility of Prior Convictions

In Florida, many felony DUI cases hinge on the admissibility of your prior convictions for DUI. The State must either prove that you were convicted of DUI twice, with one of the convictions occurring within 10 years of the current case, or that you have been convicted of three prior DUIs. The prosecutor can do this with a certified copy of your FLHSMV driving record or with certified copies of the convictions.

An experienced DUI defense attorney can evaluate these records to develop legal strategies that may successfully exclude them from evidence in your DUI case.

a Former Prosecutor On your Side

Former prosecutor and DUI defense attorney Ben Baxter understands these cases from both sides of the courtroom. During his career as a prosecutor, Ben helped train law enforcement officers how to properly conduct DUI investigations, giving him firsthand insight into how breath test evidence is supposed to be obtained and where officers often make the most critical mistakes. Now he uses that knowledge to aggressively challenge DUI prosecutions. Ben also has advanced training in reviewing breathalyzer maintenance and calibration records, allowing him to carefully evaluate whether the breath testing instrument was functioning properly or whether machine defects, maintenance failures, or operator mistakes have compromised the machine or the results.

Trial

When you are facing Felony DUI charges, the stakes are high. You need an advocate who has the experience, skill, and willingness to take the case all the way. DUI Defense lawyer Ben Baxter has taken 40 criminal cases to verdict at trial, winning 36 of them. He is not afraid to take your case to trial, and he knows which arguments are most persuasive when your fate is in the hands of a Jury. Ben’s training as a prosecutor and over 10 years of experience litigating criminal cases are why he’s the right attorney to take your case all the way. He will use the State’s own tools against them during trial to convince the Jury that the only proper verdict is one of “Not Guilty.”

Felony DUI cases involve more than the results of field sobriety exercises or a breath/blood/urine test. Even in cases where a person is over the legal limit, issues with the traffic stop, the DUI investigation, and breath/blood/urine test procedures can be essential to building a strong defense.

Central Florida Justice can Help

Central Florida Justice founder Ben Baxter is a former prosecutor and an experienced Orlando DUI defense lawyer. He understands how Felony DUI cases are investigated and prosecuted because he spent years prosecuting DUI cases on behalf of the State Attorney’s Office. Now he uses that experience to defend his clients’ rights and fight for the best possible outcome in their case. He knows how to scrutinize breath test results, field sobriety tests, and other procedural issues that could be critical in defending your rights and protecting your driver’s license.

Ben also understands that the attorney-client relationship must be built on a foundation of trust and empathy. Every Central Florida Justice client has the ability to contact their attorney directly by phone, text, or email. And every client has access to the Central Florida Justice client portal, which provides instant access to evidence in their case, notes from the attorney, court dates, and more.

If you or a loved one is facing a Felony DUI charge in Orlando or the Central Florida area, including Osceola, Lake, Polk, Seminole, or Brevard Counties, contact Central Florida Justice today for a free consultation or call/text (407) 561-1776 to speak directly with DUI defense attorney Ben Baxter.