Almost all DUI cases stem from some sort of innocuous non-criminal, run-of-the-mill and otherwise routine traffic stop, during the course of which the officer will allege that s/he developed reasonable suspicion to further detain you and to conduct a DUI investigation (and this almost 100% of the time stems from the officer “detecting an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the driver’s person”). So, if you’ve been drinking, and if you even remotely smell of booze, then expect to be in some roadside trouble.
After smelling alcohol on a driver, in most circumstances, the officer will offer the driver FST’s (field sobriety tests – or roadside examinations), which are composed of a series of abnormal tests which are allegedly designed to test one’s normal faculties. Once you “fail to perform to standards” (which almost everyone does most all the time) then you will be “offered” a breath test.
This is sometimes done roadside but more often than not it is accomplished back at the police station. In Florida before you blow (or choose to refuse) you will first be read a document called “Implied Consent”. In a nutshell the Implied Consent Law advises you of the consequences of your decision to provide a breath sample or not. If you do, and if you blow over the legal limit (.02 for minors and .08 for adults) then you will be arrested and your license will be suspended (six (6) months for a 1st and a year for a second); if you refuse then you will be arrested and your license will be suspended (a year for a first refusal and eighteen (18) months for a second, plus, a second “subsequent” refusal – meaning if you refused once previously in a separate incident and then again – constitutes it’s own independent crime which, in Florida, is punishable by up to 364 days in jail, again independent of and even if you manage to beat, the underlying DUI).
So? To blow or not to blow? That truly is the question. Sadly, there is no standard answer. There are pros and cons on both sides of the breathalyzer equation. If you blow over you’re arrested and suspended, and if you refuse then you are also going to be arrested and suspended. The most significant differences are a) if you blow then there is a quantifiable BAC (breath alcohol content) which will likely be admitted into evidence against you, b) if you refuse to blow while there will be no quantifiable BAC level the State will be permitted to argue “consciousness of guilt”, i.e. that the reason that you refused to blow was because you knew that if you had then you would have blown over the legal limit) c) the driver license suspension periods are longer for refusal and d) if you have refused previously then the second subsequent refusal law may bite you in the butt. But, not matter how much we “logic” it out here and now the decision will ultimately be yours to make, in the heat of the moment and under the worst possible conditions.
That said, breath or not, DUI’s are defendable, but effectively doing so requires skill, experience and a prcaticioner who knows where to look for the weaknesses, inconsistencies and other avenues of potential reasonable doubt.
You may or may not enjoy viable defenses, and there mayor may not be avenues available to you to avoid prosecution, to stave off prosecution or to flat out beat prosecution… But in any event it all starts and ends with your getting in-person, face-to-face competent advise from a skilled and experienced DUI practicioner.
And, all of that said, when it comes to the subject of DUI’s the best advise that you are ever going to get is this: “Be smart, get a “DD” not a DUI”!
If you have a FL based #CriminalDefense or #DUI question that you would like for Michael A. Haber, Esq. to address and answer then please SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS by email to [email protected], call or text 305-798-2220 or message “Miami.Criminal.Lawyer” on #Facebook or @Sharky910 on #Twitter) and Michael A. Haber, Esq. will try to provide you with a video answer on a new HaberPA Webisode!
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Michael A. Haber, P.A. has provided personalized and boutique legal services to both individuals and entities, primarily in the South Florida area, since 1991. With no history of professional discipline whatsoever, Michael A. Haber, Esq. zealously advocates his client’s interests and custom tailors his services to meet each client’s particular situation, needs and desires.
Whether in State or Federal Courts, Michael A. Haber, P.A. strives to ensure that his client’s rights are respected and that his clients receive top-tier legal representation and counsel.
Toward that end Michael A. Haber, Esq. makes himself directly available to his clients whether in person, over the phone (305-381-8686 – 305-798-2220), by e-mail ([email protected]) on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/haberpa ) or on AOL/IM (Sharky910).
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Please note that no attorney-client relationship with either Michael A. Haber, PA or Michael A. Haber, Esq. exists as a result of your watching this webisode series. Further any and all information which is both contained in and may be construed from this webisode series is generic in nature and should only be considered as informational and not as actual legal advise in any specific case. Should you wish to seek actual legal advise then please feel free to contact Michael A. Haber, Esq. as follows:
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Top notch, very skilled, and highly attentive. Mr. Haber is a fantastic criminal defense attorney. 
- Thanks again. You are second to none when it comes to defending your clients. For that, I thank you
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