People call me all the time; they're driving down the road, they get issued a civil traffic infraction, and they want to know what their options are. In Florida, we generally have three options or sometimes just two, depending on your situation.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/TrafficCitations/OnlineTrafficSchool.aspx
The first option is just to pay the ticket. You have 30 days to respond and you send your money to the clerk of the court. I don't advice anybody to do this because by paying this ticket, you're admitting that you're guilty, you're going to receive the points on your driver's license for whatever infraction you received, and your insurance rates are going to be affected.
I encourage people to do one of the two following:
1) If you're eligible to take the traffic school, this is probably the simplest, easiest, and least financial burden that you'll find yourself in when handling a ticket. You go online, you sit in front of the computer for four hours and you take the traffic school, you pay the fine on the ticket but you will not receive the points on your license after you successfully complete the traffic school.
Now, some individuals may not be eligible to take the traffic school. Florida allows you to take it once every 12 months. So, six months ago, you got a ticket, you went online, took the school, you're driving around six months later and you get another ticket, you won't be eligible to take the school but you still have options. There are still ways to keep the points off your license. It WILL require a court appearance.
This is where my firm may help you.
2) If you're not eligible for the traffic school and you're worried about the points, give us a call. What we'll do is file a notice of appearance on your behalf and enter a plea of "not guilty". We'll fight this ticket. We'll go to court with the primary goal of trying to get the ticket dismissed. If we're not able to get it dismissed, we can ask the court to issue a “withhold of adjudication” or essentially, no points on your driver's license. A judge can order a withhold or no points as many times as they want; there's no limit with that like there is with the traffic school.
So just because you took the traffic school six months ago, we can still keep the points off your license. Give us a call. We'll talk about your ticket, we'll discuss what the best option may be for you, and we'll keep those points off your license.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/TrafficCitations/OnlineTrafficSchool.aspx
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
What Happens to My Driver's License if I Refuse to Take the Breath Test?
I get it all the time. What do I do if I get pulled over and I've been drinking? Should I refuse to take the test? Should I take the test? Should I submit to the field sobriety tests?
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/areasofpractice/TampaDUILawyer/BreathBloodUrineTests.aspx
In Florida, you're not required to do anything. The police officer is going to ask you to take the field sobriety test, they're going to ask you to take a breathalyzer, but you are not required to do anything and you do have a constitutional right to refuse those.
If you DO refuse to take the breath test, you WILL be subject to a potential one-year driver's license suspension. You are eligible to challenge that suspension and apply for a hardship license during that period. But, that one-year suspension will go into place, if you refuse to take the breath, test 10 days after your arrest.
Give us a call. We'll take a look at your case, see what we can do for you, get you a hardship license, get you temporary permits, and keep you driving as often as we can.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/areasofpractice/TampaDUILawyer/BreathBloodUrineTests.aspx
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/areasofpractice/TampaDUILawyer/BreathBloodUrineTests.aspx
In Florida, you're not required to do anything. The police officer is going to ask you to take the field sobriety test, they're going to ask you to take a breathalyzer, but you are not required to do anything and you do have a constitutional right to refuse those.
If you DO refuse to take the breath test, you WILL be subject to a potential one-year driver's license suspension. You are eligible to challenge that suspension and apply for a hardship license during that period. But, that one-year suspension will go into place, if you refuse to take the breath, test 10 days after your arrest.
Give us a call. We'll take a look at your case, see what we can do for you, get you a hardship license, get you temporary permits, and keep you driving as often as we can.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/areasofpractice/TampaDUILawyer/BreathBloodUrineTests.aspx
What Does the Prosecutor Have to Prove for a DUI Conviction?
In Florida, a first-time DUI is a misdemeanor crime. There are essentially two elements that a prosecutor must prove when trying to convict you of a DUI. The first is that you were in actual physical control of the vehicle or you were driving the vehicle or have the ability to drive the vehicle. The second is that you were impaired.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/areasofpractice/TampaDUILawyer/ContactwiththeOfficer.aspx
Now the first element is usually somewhat of a formality because most DUI arrests happen by either an officer pulling an individual over because they've committed some type of traffic infraction and then they start a DUI investigation once they make contact with the driver OR they witness the driving pattern of the vehicle and pull it over to check on the driver for safety or to see if they're impaired. Once they've made that initial stop, they generally will approach the vehicle, they'll be able to identify the driver, and place you in actual physical control of the vehicle.
Now there are some circumstances where that first element can be in question in whether you were actually driving or in actual physical control. But in most DUI cases, that first element is relatively easy for a prosecutor to prove because, like I said, most officers are able to place you right there on the scene as the person behind the wheel.
The second element that a prosecutor must prove is that you were impaired. Now, prosecutors will generally rely on two things when trying to prove impairment when they're trying to convict somebody of a DUI. The first is, if you did take a breath test, they're going to look at your breath test reading. If you're above a .08, they're going to argue that you were impaired which is proven by the test results. They'll also rely on the field sobriety test. But neither one of these two situations, the breath test and the field sobriety test, are conclusive proof or slam-dunks for prosecutors when trying to prove that second element of impairment.
There's somewhat of a gray area; each case is different. We need to evaluate your performance on the field sobriety test, we need to take a look at your breathalyzer reading, and if a prosecutor cannot satisfy or cannot prove both those elements, then they cannot convict you of a DUI.
But each case if different. Give us a call; we'll take a look at it. We'd like to start working for you, seeing what issues we can raise when representing you and fighting for you.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/areasofpractice/TampaDUILawyer/ContactwiththeOfficer.aspx
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/areasofpractice/TampaDUILawyer/ContactwiththeOfficer.aspx
Now the first element is usually somewhat of a formality because most DUI arrests happen by either an officer pulling an individual over because they've committed some type of traffic infraction and then they start a DUI investigation once they make contact with the driver OR they witness the driving pattern of the vehicle and pull it over to check on the driver for safety or to see if they're impaired. Once they've made that initial stop, they generally will approach the vehicle, they'll be able to identify the driver, and place you in actual physical control of the vehicle.
Now there are some circumstances where that first element can be in question in whether you were actually driving or in actual physical control. But in most DUI cases, that first element is relatively easy for a prosecutor to prove because, like I said, most officers are able to place you right there on the scene as the person behind the wheel.
The second element that a prosecutor must prove is that you were impaired. Now, prosecutors will generally rely on two things when trying to prove impairment when they're trying to convict somebody of a DUI. The first is, if you did take a breath test, they're going to look at your breath test reading. If you're above a .08, they're going to argue that you were impaired which is proven by the test results. They'll also rely on the field sobriety test. But neither one of these two situations, the breath test and the field sobriety test, are conclusive proof or slam-dunks for prosecutors when trying to prove that second element of impairment.
There's somewhat of a gray area; each case is different. We need to evaluate your performance on the field sobriety test, we need to take a look at your breathalyzer reading, and if a prosecutor cannot satisfy or cannot prove both those elements, then they cannot convict you of a DUI.
But each case if different. Give us a call; we'll take a look at it. We'd like to start working for you, seeing what issues we can raise when representing you and fighting for you.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/areasofpractice/TampaDUILawyer/ContactwiththeOfficer.aspx
What Can I do if I've Received a Notice that my Driver's License is about to be Suspended?
Probably a week does not go by in my practice that I don't receive a phone call from an individual that is somewhat frantic, scared or confused because they've just received a letter from the DSHMV telling them that their license is going to be suspended.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida.aspx
Now these suspensions can range from a wide variety of things from:
Regardless, if you've received that letter or not, I encourage most people to go to the DSHMV website. Check your driver's license; they have a free driver's license check to see if there are any suspensions on it, any pending suspensions that may be going into place. It'll give you peace of mind know that you're driving around with a valid license.
If you do find yourself in an unfortunate situation of a) you've either received that letter or if b) you've gone to the website and you found out that there's a suspension or a pending suspension that may be going into place, there's a number of things that can be done, depending on what issues you have on your license.
If it's a unpaid ticket, we can help you get in contact with the clerk of the court from the county that that ticket is currently unpaid in; we can get you cleared up, get that ticket cleared up, get you some D-6 clearance letters, which is a clearance letter that will go from the clerk of the court to the DHSMV letting them know that you've satisfied the ticket and that suspension will be removed.
If it's child support issues, I've been down to the Department of Revenue on numerous occasions with clients dealing with them, dealing with child support, getting them set up on some payment plans, and allowing them to get clearance letters to continue then to drive to get to work.
If it is insurance issues, we can help you get the right information to get to the DHSMV letting them know what your current insurance situation is.
Regardless of the issue, you want to get your license cleared up; you want to have a valid license in Florida. What needs to be done is we can sit down for a free consultation. We'll pull your driving record, we'll take a look at it, we'll see what issues are on there, and what can be done. If we can avoid those suspensions from going into place, then we'll do that. If the suspension has already gone into place, we'll get it cleared up; we'll get you reinstated. If for some reason we're unable to get you a full driver's license, we'll potentially look into getting you a hardship license, which will allow you to drive for business purposes.
Regardless, we live in a state where you need to drive and you need to have a valid driver's license.
So give us a call for a free consultation; we'll be happy to sit down with you and your driving record and see what we can do to get all your issues cleared up.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida.aspx
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida.aspx
- An unpaid ticket
- Child support issues
- They've been classified as an HTO.
- There's some type of financial judgment that's been levied against them and they're going to suspend their license until it's satisfied.
- They may have issues with insurance on their vehicles and not currently having coverage or did not have coverage at the time of an accident.
Regardless, if you've received that letter or not, I encourage most people to go to the DSHMV website. Check your driver's license; they have a free driver's license check to see if there are any suspensions on it, any pending suspensions that may be going into place. It'll give you peace of mind know that you're driving around with a valid license.
If you do find yourself in an unfortunate situation of a) you've either received that letter or if b) you've gone to the website and you found out that there's a suspension or a pending suspension that may be going into place, there's a number of things that can be done, depending on what issues you have on your license.
If it's a unpaid ticket, we can help you get in contact with the clerk of the court from the county that that ticket is currently unpaid in; we can get you cleared up, get that ticket cleared up, get you some D-6 clearance letters, which is a clearance letter that will go from the clerk of the court to the DHSMV letting them know that you've satisfied the ticket and that suspension will be removed.
If it's child support issues, I've been down to the Department of Revenue on numerous occasions with clients dealing with them, dealing with child support, getting them set up on some payment plans, and allowing them to get clearance letters to continue then to drive to get to work.
If it is insurance issues, we can help you get the right information to get to the DHSMV letting them know what your current insurance situation is.
Regardless of the issue, you want to get your license cleared up; you want to have a valid license in Florida. What needs to be done is we can sit down for a free consultation. We'll pull your driving record, we'll take a look at it, we'll see what issues are on there, and what can be done. If we can avoid those suspensions from going into place, then we'll do that. If the suspension has already gone into place, we'll get it cleared up; we'll get you reinstated. If for some reason we're unable to get you a full driver's license, we'll potentially look into getting you a hardship license, which will allow you to drive for business purposes.
Regardless, we live in a state where you need to drive and you need to have a valid driver's license.
So give us a call for a free consultation; we'll be happy to sit down with you and your driving record and see what we can do to get all your issues cleared up.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida.aspx
I Received a Notice That My Driver's License is about to be Suspended.
Probably a week does not go by that I don't receive a phone call from an individual who's somewhat frantic, scared, and confused because they've received a letter from the DHSMV telling them that their license is about to be suspended.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida.aspx
Now these suspensions can range from a wide variety of things from:
If we're successful in getting these suspensions removed prior to the suspension date, then you will not have to worry about paying any type of reinstatement fees. If we can't get the issues cleared up by the time the suspension does go into place, then we'll do everything we can to get you your license back as quickly as possible.
Once we receive your phone call, we can pull your driving record, see what's on there, and see what the suspensions. We've been extremely successful in avoiding whatever suspensions the DHSMV is trying to put in place from going into effect. We'll clear up your child support issues; we'll get those unpaid tickets taken care of. If you're an HTO, we can get that removed and get you your full driver's license back.
If we're not successful in getting you your full driver's license back, there's always the potential that we may be able to get you a hardship license, which would allow you to continue driving for business purposes.
Regardless, you don't want to have a suspended license in Florida; you need to drive in this state. It's a state that is not easily accessible without being able to drive. There's a vast majority of individuals in this state who are currently driving on a suspended license and they don't even know it.
So I encourage you to go to the DHSMV; they have a free driver's license check. You just simply type in your driver's license number; they'll pull up your record, let you know if there are any issues, see if there are any suspensions on it. If for some reason you find yourself in the unfortunate situation where you've either received this letter from the DHSMV telling you you're ABOUT to be suspended or you go to their website, and when you pull your record up, you see that there's a suspension already in place or one that is pending, feel free to give us a call. We'll sit down with you; we'll take a look at your driving record; we'll see what we can do to get that cleared up and get you your full driver's license back or avoid that suspension from going into place. Give us a call.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida.aspx
Now these suspensions can range from a wide variety of things from:
- An unpaid ticket
- They've been classified as a Habitual Traffic Offender
- They're having issues with child support
- There's some type of financial judgment that's been levied against them and as a result of that judgment, their license is being suspended.
If we're successful in getting these suspensions removed prior to the suspension date, then you will not have to worry about paying any type of reinstatement fees. If we can't get the issues cleared up by the time the suspension does go into place, then we'll do everything we can to get you your license back as quickly as possible.
Once we receive your phone call, we can pull your driving record, see what's on there, and see what the suspensions. We've been extremely successful in avoiding whatever suspensions the DHSMV is trying to put in place from going into effect. We'll clear up your child support issues; we'll get those unpaid tickets taken care of. If you're an HTO, we can get that removed and get you your full driver's license back.
If we're not successful in getting you your full driver's license back, there's always the potential that we may be able to get you a hardship license, which would allow you to continue driving for business purposes.
Regardless, you don't want to have a suspended license in Florida; you need to drive in this state. It's a state that is not easily accessible without being able to drive. There's a vast majority of individuals in this state who are currently driving on a suspended license and they don't even know it.
So I encourage you to go to the DHSMV; they have a free driver's license check. You just simply type in your driver's license number; they'll pull up your record, let you know if there are any issues, see if there are any suspensions on it. If for some reason you find yourself in the unfortunate situation where you've either received this letter from the DHSMV telling you you're ABOUT to be suspended or you go to their website, and when you pull your record up, you see that there's a suspension already in place or one that is pending, feel free to give us a call. We'll sit down with you; we'll take a look at your driving record; we'll see what we can do to get that cleared up and get you your full driver's license back or avoid that suspension from going into place. Give us a call.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida.aspx
What is HTO?
One of the most common questions I get in my practice is. "What is HTO?" HTO stands for "Habitual Traffic Offender" and it's a classification that a Florida driver can receive when they've committed three major traffic infractions within a period of five years.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida/HabitualTrafficOffender.aspx
Now these major traffic infractions can range from anything from a felony related charge, to a felony DUI, a misdemeanor DUI or a driving with a suspended license charge, whether it's with knowledge or without knowledge.
If you rack up three of these in a period of five years, you're going to receive a letter from the DSHMV telling you that your license is being revoked for a period of five years.
During this five-year period, for the first twelve months or one-year of the suspension, you're not eligible to have hardship license or even apply for one. You're not eligible to even ask for one from the DSHMV until AFTER the first 12 months is up.
In addition, during this five years, if you are caught driving without having hardship license, you WILL be arrested and charged with a felony Habitual Traffic Offender, driving on a suspended license charge.
There are a few things that can be done in order to remove this classification from your driving record. We'd have to take a look at your driving record, see what three major traffic infractions are causing you to fall into this classification, and see if there is any way we can possibly have one or all of those removed. This would result in them taking away the HTO status and therefore making you eligible to receive a full driver's license.
Feel free to give us a call. We'll take a look at your driving record and see if there's anything we can do to get you back on the road and get you a full driver's license. http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida/HabitualTrafficOffender.aspx
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida/HabitualTrafficOffender.aspx
Now these major traffic infractions can range from anything from a felony related charge, to a felony DUI, a misdemeanor DUI or a driving with a suspended license charge, whether it's with knowledge or without knowledge.
If you rack up three of these in a period of five years, you're going to receive a letter from the DSHMV telling you that your license is being revoked for a period of five years.
During this five-year period, for the first twelve months or one-year of the suspension, you're not eligible to have hardship license or even apply for one. You're not eligible to even ask for one from the DSHMV until AFTER the first 12 months is up.
In addition, during this five years, if you are caught driving without having hardship license, you WILL be arrested and charged with a felony Habitual Traffic Offender, driving on a suspended license charge.
There are a few things that can be done in order to remove this classification from your driving record. We'd have to take a look at your driving record, see what three major traffic infractions are causing you to fall into this classification, and see if there is any way we can possibly have one or all of those removed. This would result in them taking away the HTO status and therefore making you eligible to receive a full driver's license.
Feel free to give us a call. We'll take a look at your driving record and see if there's anything we can do to get you back on the road and get you a full driver's license. http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida/HabitualTrafficOffender.aspx
What Does HTO Mean?
One of the most common questions I get in my practice is, "What is HTO?" and "What does it mean to have an HTO classification?"
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida/HabitualTrafficOffender.aspx
HTO stands for "Habitual Traffic Offender" and it's a classification that the DHSMV will give Florida drivers when they've committed 3 major traffic infractions in a period of 5 years.
Now these major traffic infractions can be anything from a felony driving related charge to a misdemeanor DUI charge and also driving with a suspended license, whether it's with knowledge or without knowledge.
If you rack up 3 of those within a period of 5 years, you will receive a letter from the DHSMV telling you that your license is being revoked for 5 years.
There are some stiff penalties that you get when you receive this classification.
You're not allowed to receive any type of hardship license until after the first year. So the first year out of those 5 years, you're not allowed to drive at all. In addition, if you are caught driving while you have this HTO status and you don't have a hardship license, it's actually a felony charge and you can have felony charges brought against you.
There are a couple things that need to be done in order to have this classification removed. We'd have to take a look at your driving record and see if we can have one of those 3 major traffic infractions removed from your record, thus removing you from the HTO status, and you will be able to receive a full driver's license. Call us for a free consultation.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida/HabitualTrafficOffender.aspx
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida/HabitualTrafficOffender.aspx
HTO stands for "Habitual Traffic Offender" and it's a classification that the DHSMV will give Florida drivers when they've committed 3 major traffic infractions in a period of 5 years.
Now these major traffic infractions can be anything from a felony driving related charge to a misdemeanor DUI charge and also driving with a suspended license, whether it's with knowledge or without knowledge.
If you rack up 3 of those within a period of 5 years, you will receive a letter from the DHSMV telling you that your license is being revoked for 5 years.
There are some stiff penalties that you get when you receive this classification.
You're not allowed to receive any type of hardship license until after the first year. So the first year out of those 5 years, you're not allowed to drive at all. In addition, if you are caught driving while you have this HTO status and you don't have a hardship license, it's actually a felony charge and you can have felony charges brought against you.
There are a couple things that need to be done in order to have this classification removed. We'd have to take a look at your driving record and see if we can have one of those 3 major traffic infractions removed from your record, thus removing you from the HTO status, and you will be able to receive a full driver's license. Call us for a free consultation.
http://www.tampacriminaldefenders.com/AreasOfPractice/SuspendedLicenseFlorida/HabitualTrafficOffender.aspx
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