DWLS / Driving With Suspended License / DUI / Driving Under the Influence / Driver License / Suspension / Penalties / Sentencing / AVVO / Michael A. Haber, Esq. **ARRESTED / **305DUI

Either way, rack up 3, in any combination, and you become a habitual traffic offender (HTO) and then your 4th is a felony (prison time – 5 years – becomes a real possibility).

That said, if you get into the PBCty DUI Diversion program then they may well dismiss the DWLS upon your successful completion.

Similarly, if you plea out your DUI case then your DWLS will probably be dismissed.

If you try your DUI and lose then you will be sentenced for both. 

You must immediately get a DUI lawyer within 10 days of your arrest to file a petition for a formal review of your license suspension to attempt to get that invalidated. otherwise, you are facing a hard license suspension plus the rest of your license suspension for the administrative portion.

On top of that you are facing criminal sanctions and an additional one year revocation for DUI, if convicted. This means up to six months in jail for a simple first offense. 

Florida has 20 different Judicial Circuits, each of which deals with cases in its own manner. Moreover, each of those Judicial Circuits has a given number of criminal court Judges (each of whom is unique), as well as its own State Attorney’s Office (each of which has its own policies and procedures), and a bunch of Assistant State Attorneys (who, although they operate on guidelines as established by their office, are each sentient and independent persons), and each case has its own set of variables (“free radicals” if you will) all of which combine to make it impossible to predict what will happen in a given case.

You may or may not enjoy viable defenses to the charges, affirmative or otherwise, or there may be factual, legal, procedural or substantive mechanisms by which to attack and beat the charges in your unique case, I do not know and the forum to find out is NOT on line; rather it is in the sanctity of attorney’s offices, where your statements are privileged and cannot be used against you.

The best way for you to get competent advise is going to be to consult with an experienced and local criminal defense lawyer who can follow-up on your information with questions of her/his own, as well as review the police reports and whatever evidence that you may provide and then offer an informed opinion.

My advise: Locate an experienced 516 area criminal defense lawyer, make an appointment, show up on time, bring whatever evidence, documents or witnesses that you may have, engage in a meaningful face-to-face consultation and get yourself some advise which is legally sound and has been custom tailored as possible to meet your specific reasonable needs in your unique case.

I hope that I have been helpful in answering your question.