How Can I Drive After A DUI Arrest In Florida?

If you want to drive after a DUI arrest in Florida, you must learn quickly how to navigate a complicated administrative process. A lot of the time, this means finding an experienced guide.

In Florida, DUIs are unlike other crimes. There are actually two sides to a DUI arrest. There’s the criminal side, which functions like other crimes between the driver and the state. And there’s an administrative side between the driver and the Department of Motor Vehicles. These two sides of a DUI are totally separate processes. What happens in one has no impact on the other.

This distinction is important because it’s the administrative side of the process that determines whether you continue to drive. That’s between you and the DMV, and that is also the most time-sensitive aspect of the charges.

You Typically Have Just 10 Days To Act

If you get arrested for a DUI, you will almost certainly face an administrative suspension of your license.

If you have a breath test over the legal limit, or if you refuse to take a breath test, urine test or blood test, the DMV will impose an administrative suspension. The amount of time associated with that suspension can vary:

• For a first-time DUI, if you blow over the legal limit, the DMV will impose a six-month administrative suspension. You will not be able to drive at all for 30 days. Then you will be eligible for a hardship license.
• If you refuse to take any kind of sobriety test, the DMV will impose a 12-month suspension. You will not be allowed to drive for any reason for the first 90 days, but you could be eligible for a hardship license afterward.
• For a second or subsequent DUI, the suspension can vary quite a bit.

All this can become very complicated and serious very quickly. As an example, if someone refuses a breath test and that person has a prior breath test refusal, that person is facing an 18-month administrative suspension with no eligibility for a hardship license. That’s just a straight suspension.

However, this example suspension, like any suspension, would not go into effect for 10 days. This is because you have due process rights, which means you are entitled to present your case at a hearing.

Doing Nothing Is A Bad Choice

After a DUI arrest, you have the right to request a hearing, but is it in your best interest to request it? Generally, the answer is yes.

You have 10 days from your arrest to request a hearing, and during that time you actually have three options:

• The first is the worst, and that’s to do nothing. This is the wrong choice nearly 100%of the time. If you do nothing, you will have your license suspended, and you have to deal with the dead period at the beginning of your suspension where you cannot drive at all, not even with a hardship license.
• Your second option is to request your administrative hearing.
• The third option is only available to people after a first-time DUI arrest. If you have never before been arrested for a DUI, you might sign up for a class within 10 days of your arrest. In return, you can waive the administrative hearing and drive with a hardship license without having to wait the whole dead period. Again, this is only for people with first-time DUI arrests. This option does not apply if you have a prior DUI arrest, even if you were not convicted.

If you do nothing, you have your license suspended, and you cannot drive during the dead period. This is obviously a bad option because people need to get around. You might need to work or buy groceries. You might need to drive for medical appointments, to continue your education or to attend religious events. But you can’t do these things if you just let the DMV suspend your license and hit you with a month-long or longer dead period.

A DMV Hearing Is Like A Mini-Trial

If you request a hearing, the hope is that you can uncover some legal basis to undo the suspension. Accordingly, you want an attorney who understands how these hearings work. Your attorney can subpoena witnesses and ask them to testify on your behalf under oath. Attorneys can interrogate these witnesses at a hearing much as they could in a trial, and the witnesses must testify honestly.

Good Representation Is About More Than The Law

However, it is also important to understand that all these administrative hearings in Florida fall under the Bureau of Administrative Reviews, and that makes things complicated. The Bureau used to have an office in every county in Florida, but some years ago, the state reduced the number of offices and got rid of hearing officers. This put a great deal of strain on staffing and has resulted in substantial delays.

The result is that you want to work with someone who knows how to communicate with these Bureau offices and who can advocate for you proactively. You want to work with someone who can anticipate the delays and find ways to avoid them so that you can get your hardship license faster and continue driving as you need.