When the state of Florida levels criminal charges against you, the consequences can be devastating: to the point they may never stop haunting your ability to work in your chosen field, to rent a home, or even to establish new relationships with others. This may be true even if you do not go to jail. If you’re convicted and incarcerated, the stakes are much higher. Life can turn sour on a dime. A mistake or misstep, something you may wish you hadn’t done a second later, can have the potential of derailing the rest of your life. You may even be falsely accused of something you would never dream of doing. You should begin fighting from the first moment you realize you have a problem.
You need an experienced advocate on your side, an attorney who is intimately familiar with the ins and outs of the criminal justice system in the Orlando area. The attorneys at Katz & Phillips have worked on the other side of the fence as prosecuting attorneys. We know how the state will try to convict you and what tactics they’ll use. We’ve done it ourselves, and we can use that knowledge to guide you through your problem to the best possible result.
At Katz & Phillips, we know your life is at stake and we will give you our all. Your first consultation with us is free of charge, so speak with one of our attorneys to find out firsthand how the law firm of Katz & Phillips will fight for your rights.
A criminal investigation can proceed with lightning speed. Today, you may think you face a potential problem next week. Tomorrow, you could wake up with law enforcement at your door. The sooner the attorneys of Katz & Phillips get on your case, the better we can work for you. In some cases, we can prevent law enforcement from showing up at all. A thorough analysis of your case is paramount. From our first consultation, our attorneys will begin gauging possible defenses and strategies. When you retain us, we’ll launch a thorough investigation into your situation, looking for ways to get you out of it.
The attorneys at Katz & Phillips tackle all kinds of criminal cases. We’re not squeamish or put off by any charge you may be facing. We’ll do our level best to mitigate the damage to your life. You may have heard of us as a premier DUI firm, but our experience doesn’t end there. Our law firm handles all of the following types of criminal proceedings:
Don’t assume you’re up against something you can’t beat. Our experienced attorneys can make all the difference. Call our law firm so we can meet with you and begin unraveling the factors of your case to come up with a defense suited for you. For example, if you’re stopped for driving under the influence (DUI) in the Orlando area, several pivotal factors can come into play even before you notice flashing patrol lights behind you. Are you a smoker? That last cigarette you had before you were stopped could potentially cause you to blow over the limit on the Intoxilyzer 8000, the breath test machine used in Florida. The same holds true if you wear dentures. Dental work can trap alcohol for in your mouth for a considerable time and result in a falsely high reading. When you consult with our law firm, we’ll go over every detail of your arrest and the hours preceding it. We’ll look for possible defenses. We can use small details you probably would never consider to poke holes in the state’s case against you.
If your problem is more serious than a DUI offense, we’re just as familiar with the technicalities that can make all the difference in the world between a conviction and jail time and your freedom to move on with your life. You have constitutional rights the state can’t take away. We’re here to protect them. Call Katz & Phillips today. We’ll schedule you an immediate appointment and get to work so your charges won’t ruin the rest of your life.
We are also proud to serve the residents of Orange County, Seminole County (including Altamonte Springs, Longwood, and Sanford), Lake County (including residents of Tavares), and Osceola County (including Kissimmee).
After an arrest for DUI, you may not know where to turn next. Turn to the expert DUI defense lawyers at Katz & Phillips, P.A. In Florida, there are only four (4) Board Certified DUI Defense Specialists*. Two of them are partners at Katz & Phillips, P.A. Put their years of knowledge and experience to work for you.
In most cases, the officer who arrests you will take and suspend your driver’s license. You must act immediately as you only have ten (10) days to protect your driving privileges. Many attorneys will automatically tell you to just waive your right to fight the suspension of your driver’s license. The only person they are helping is themselves.
Call Katz & Phillips, P.A. today and speak directly to one of our attorneys on the phone. You can also schedule a Zoom consultation or meet with us face-to-face in our office. We will review the facts of your case with you and help you to understand what your options are. We will also begin to plan the strategy to protect you and your rights immediately.
We will review all the documents you provide. We will discuss all the options available to you and help you determine if waiving your right to a hearing is the best choice for you and your family. If not, we will FIGHT the suspension for you in an administrative formal review hearing.
Our attorneys are looking forward to speaking with you and helping to put your mind at ease.
The old saying, “the sooner, the better,” is true when it comes to getting an experienced DUI defense attorney on your side to fight your case, increasing your odds of preserving your driving privilege and beating the charges against you.
First, you only have ten (10) days to decide whether to waive or fight the administrative suspension of your driver’s license. This is not a one-size-fits-all decision. Our expert DUI defense attorneys will make sure you have all the facts and understand the consequences of whichever choice you make. It’s your life, and you have to make the decision that will help you and your family the most.
The attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. all take great pride in our white-glove service. We will handle all aspects of your case for you. We like to tell people to continue to live your life, we will do the worrying for you. Our fully inclusive DUI defense includes:
As a firm, we very rarely will recommend to a client to plea to a DUI charge. We love to go to trial and fight for you and for a “not guilty” verdict. Prosecutors get to know which firms fight and which firms just plea their clients to DUIs. Having a reputation as fighters gets our clients better plea offers, typically to reduced charges.
As a firm, we very rarely will recommend to a client to plea to a DUI charge. We love to go to trial and fight for you and for a “not guilty” verdict. Prosecutors get to know which firms fight and which firms just plea their clients to DUIs. Having a reputation as fighters gets our clients better plea offers, typically to reduced charges.
Though our offices are located in Central Florida, we work throughout the state on criminal cases and on DUI defense. Most of our cases are in Orange, Seminole, Lake, Volusia, Osceola, Polk, and Brevard counties, but we are willing to travel for those who want the experts on their side throughout the state. From Miami to the Pan Handle we put our experience and expertise to work for your best interests.
All of the attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. are active members of the National College for DUI Defense. The only national association of DUI lawyers authorized to bestow Board Certification in the area of DUI Defense. The National College for DUI Defense holds four seminars each year and a dozen webinars for its over 2,500 members at various locations throughout the U.S. The attorneys of Katz & Phillips, P.A. not only attend these seminars, but also teach at them. Chuck Hughes, Ryan Katz, and David Katz have all spoken at an NCDD seminar or webinar in 2022 or 2023.
David and James have also authored nine books on DUI Defense, including manuals used to teach other attorneys to defend their clients. They have both been featured speakers at national DUI Defense seminars where they have helped other attorneys learn to defend their clients in DUI Cases.
Additionally, David was the Seminole County State Attorney’s Office DUI and Intoxilyzer attorney while working as a prosecutor. He received special training directly from the President of CMI, Toby Hall, on the workings of the Intoxilyzer 8000, so he could fight to keep the breath tests admissible in Seminole County
In the last 15 years, the lawyers of Katz & Phillips, P.A. have taken many DUI cases to trial resulting in not guilty verdicts for the firm’s clients. These verdicts are set up by the pre-trial motion practice used by the attorneys at the firm, working ahead of time to weaken the state’s case against you.
Further, James Phillips and David Katz are two of only four board-certified DUI defense experts in Florida. Last year, David achieved recognition as a Board-Certified Senior DUI Defense Specialist after 10 years of being recognized as a DUI Defense Specialist. David and James have both been faculty members of the National College for DUI Defense in addition to other firm members Chuck Hughes and Ryan Katz, both currently faculty members of the NCDD.
David now uses that knowledge and experience to help keep the breath test results from being admitted as evidence in your DUI trial. After all, it does not matter what your breath test result is, if the state cannot tell the jury about it.
David has participated in breath test result suppression hearings resulting in the inadmissibility of breath test results for years in courtrooms in Orange, Seminole, and Lake Counties. In fact, because of the work David and James did, for years, if you hired Katz & Phillips, P.A. in Lake County, and your case was in front of one of the two misdemeanor judges, your breath tests results did not come into evidence, but if you hired any other defense lawyer they did.
Put our expertise and experience to work for you fighting your DUI case. We will make sure you are informed every step of the way as we fight to help you achieve the best possible outcome.
Our attorneys are looking forward to speaking with you and helping to put your mind at ease.
Most DUIs in Florida are misdemeanors. A DUI will be a misdemeanor when it is a: First, second, or third^ offense with:
Although still a misdemeanor, there are enhanced penalties for the following:
DUIs are charged as felonies if it is:
Although most DUIs are misdemeanors as previously discussed, Florida law treats DUIs differently than other misdemeanor crimes. First, with most other crimes (misdemeanor or felony) you can bond out of jail immediately. If you are arrested for a DUI however, you must stay in jail until your breath test result is under .05 or 8 hours have elapsed since arrest.
Third, the judge must sentence you immediately upon conviction. In almost all other cases, sentencing can be put off. In a DUI case, the judge cannot defer or delay sentencing, but must pronounce and implement the sentence immediately.
Fifth, DUI carries with it a certain social stigma that other crimes do not. There are no organizations out there campaigning for tougher jaywalking penalties, or increased fines for disorderly conduct. However, there are several well-funded national organizations that spend 100% of their time and effort to increase penalties for DUI, such as Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD).
Second, unlike almost any other misdemeanor, a DUI carries with it a mandatory conviction. In most cases, both felony and misdemeanor in Florida, the trial judge will have the option of finding a defendant guilty or withholding adjudication of guilt. Not so with DUIs. A person charged with DUI who pleas to the charge or is convicted at trial MUST be adjudicated guilty. That means for the rest of your life you will have a permanent criminal record that you cannot seal or expunge.
Fourth, DUIs carry a long list of minimum mandatory penalties, including but not limited to driver’s license suspension, community service, DUI school, substance abuse evaluation, fines and more. Most crimes do not carry mandatory sentences, leaving judges with a wide range of discretion.
By fighting to make your case go away completely, or at the least get your DUI reduced to a reckless of careless driving charge, our team of experienced, expert DUI attorneys can help you avoid mandatory sanctions and a permanent criminal record.
Call today to speak with one of our expert DUI attorneys and let us start preparing your defense to fight the DUI charges.
You have only 10 days to decide.
During the first 10 days after arrest, the ticket you received for DUI is your driver’s license as long as the officer marked the “yes” box indicating that you are eligible for a permit. Using this driving permit, you can drive for any reason at all or no reason whatsoever, without any restrictions during the first 10 days after your arrest (the date on the ticket).
Many law firms have a one-size-fits-all answer to the question of whether or not you should request an administrative formal review hearing to save your driver’s privilege. At Katz & Phillips, P.A. we recognize that your situation is unique to you. We listen to what is important to you and inform you of all your options, including the consequences of your choice. We do our best to help you make the decision that is right for you and your family.
If you waive your right to a formal review hearing, you will usually be given a hardship license that allows you to drive for 4 reasons during the course of your suspension. Those four reasons are:
If you choose to fight the suspension, then you will request a formal review hearing. Of course, the expert DUI defense lawyers at Katz & Phillips, P.A. will do this for you. We will also appear at your hearing to fight for your driver’s license. Importantly, we do not charge you more if you choose to fight to save your driver’s license. We love to fight for you and would never charge an additional fee to help with this part of your case.
During that time, your formal review hearing will be held. When you call the expert DUI attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. we will explain the formal review process, our opinion on your chance of winning the formal review hearing and the consequences if you lose.
During this 10-day period, you have a choice to make with 3 options:
1. Waive your right to a formal review hearing.
2. Demand a Formal Review Hearing.
3. Do nothing and give up.
Call us today to discuss whether demanding a formal review hearing or waiving your right to one is the best choice for you and your family.
For some people who cannot afford the risk of being unable to drive to and from work or to get to school, the right decision may be to waive the hearing. For others, the right decision may be to fight for their full driving privilege.
When the attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. demand a hearing for you, you will be issued a 42 day-permit to drive, which is valid for four reasons:
Only when you have full information regarding the administrative process you face can you be sure that the decision you make is the right one for you and your family. At Katz & Phillips, P.A. we are here to guide you every step of the way.
Remember that you only have 10 days to decide what the best way to protect your driving privileges is, so call the Expert DUI Defense Attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. today. 321-332-6864.
Some firms have a one size fits all answer to whether or not you should request a formal review hearing AND have the same one-size fits all plan to try to win your hearing
This is not the case at Katz & Phillips, P.A. Our expert DUI attorneys work as a team to review the facts of each and every DUI case and plan a strategy to put you in the best position to win your formal review hearing.
On EVERY case, at least two attorneys will review the evidence that will be used at your Formal Review Hearing and discuss and decide upon strategy.
Only you can call witnesses to attend your formal review hearing. The hearing officer is limited to hearing from only the witnesses you subpoena to testify. In many cases an experienced expert DUI attorney can find holes in the case packet which if argued correctly can result in the return of your full driving privilege.
However, these holes can be fixed if your attorney calls the wrong witnesses, causing you to lose a hearing you could have won if the witness was not present.
The expert DUI defense attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. don’t stop at reviewing the case packet. When possible, we also get the discovery (evidence used in your courtroom prosecution) from the state attorney’s office, including but not limited to any videos taken at roadside, in the police car, at the breath test center, and at the jail. Although we do not have to enter any evidence into the record at the formal review hearing, our individualized case strategy allows our attorneys to enter any evidence we can gather into the record at your hearing to help show your license should not be suspended.
The fight to save your driving privilege begins with the case packet. For every hearing, we purchase your case packet in advance so our expert DUI attorneys can review the evidence the hearing officer will base their decision on.
The case packet contains every piece of evidence the arresting officer submits to the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles for use in your hearing. After combing through this evidence, we decide on a case-by-case basis which witnesses, if any to call.
Other attorneys use the formal review hearing as an opportunity to depose all the witnesses listed in the case packet.
While there is some logic to this, doing so, can result in losing the formal review hearing when a carefully planned case by case strategy may result in saving your driving privilege.
Call today to speak with one of our expert DUI attorneys and let us start preparing your defense to fight the DUI charges
An expert DUI defense attorney like those at Katz & Phillips, P.A. will make all applicable arguments to invalidate the suspension of your driving privilege at your formal review hearing. Although statistically, chances of winning a formal review hearing are not high, a hearing officer is required to invalidate the suspension of your driving privilege and reinstate you normal unrestricted license if any of the following occur:
Sometimes, your attorney will make all the right arguments and the law will be on your side, but the hearing officer still upholds the suspension. If this happens, you will need to decide whether or not you want to pursue an appeal of the decision in the circuit court. Our Expert DUI attorneys will make every argument to win the hearing that applies to your case and will advise you if there is a basis for appeal should you lose.
30 days – if you took the breath test.
90 days – if you refused the breath test.
If you get caught driving during this suspension you will go directly to jail and although you might be granted bond on your new “driving without a license” charge, the court may revoke your bond on the DUI charge causing you to remain in jail until the DUI case resolves.
If you win the hearing, your suspension is invalidated, you can get your regular driver’s license back (pending the outcome of the court case), and the administrative suspension is removed from your driver’s record.
However, if the hearing officer upholds the suspension, you will have a period of no driving whatsoever before you are eligible for a hardship license. This “hard suspension period” varies in length depending on whether or not you took the breath test or refused to do so. The hard suspension periods are:
Call the expert DUI defense attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. today to discuss whether or not it is in your best interest based on the facts of your case and your personal situation to fight the administrative suspension or waive your right to it.
Your driver’s license will be suspended every time you are arrested for DUI (with some limited exceptions). The length of the suspension varies depending on how many prior DUIs you have and on prior refusals to take a breath, blood, or urine test. If you waived your right to a formal review hearing, there is no period during which you are unable to drive, but the length of time you will have to drive on a hardship license is the same as if you had a formal review hearing and lost. The suspension periods are:
First DUI Offense
HOWEVER, on a first offense only, if you waived your right to a formal review hearing, there will be no hard suspension and you will be eligible to drive with a hardship license the entire suspension)
Second DUI Offense
Third or Subsequent DUI Offense
Discuss your case with the expert DUI defense attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. today to help save your driving privilege and protect your rights in the courtroom. 321-332-6864.
Although your court case may be more important to you than the administrative suspension of your driver’s license, it takes far longer and had no 10-day deadline, therefore we have left it to the end. Most of those arrested for DUI are unfamiliar with the legal process. Your case will take the following steps as it works its way through the Florida legal system.
An officer who observes an unusual driving pattern or arrives at the scene of an accident may eventually determine that the driver is under the influence of alcohol. In Florida, an officer can request you to perform field sobriety exercises at the side of the road but cannot compel you to complete them. After the officer has concluded his or her roadside investigation, they will decide whether or not to arrest the driver.
If an arrest is made, the driver must remain in jail until their breath test result is under .05 or 8 hours have elapsed since arrest. Only then can bond be posted, and the driver released.
Arraignment is held as an opportunity to hear the charges against you and enter a plea. For those who bonded out prior to First Appearance, this will be their first opportunity to ask for a public defender if they qualify. For those who have already hired a private attorney, their attendance will almost certainly be excused by their lawyer.
In almost every criminal case where a private lawyer is hired, the lawyer files a notice to the court and state attorney telling them the Defendant has hired them as their lawyer. Additionally, a written plea of “not guilty” is filed along with a waiver of appearance at arraignment.
At Katz & Phillips, P.A. we do not automatically waive your appearance at arraignment. In some cases, after review of the case with the client at our initial consultation, we have found that appearing in person at arraignment will result in benefits to the client in resolving the case. Again, we have no one-size fits all strategy here.
In addition to the dates above, your attorney may file “motions” in your case. These motions are typically designed to either suppress pieces of evidence against you, or make the state do something they have not, for instance produce the training manuals of the officers or the testing data for certifying the breath test machine you were tested on.
At Katz & Phillips, P.A. our motion practice is another thing that sets us apart from other DUI Defense attorneys.
We remember that the state has the burden of proving you guilty with admissible evidence. Therefore, we test the admissibility of every piece of evidence against you from the initial observations of your driving pattern, to the stop of you car, to the officer’s observations of you when they approach.
Further, if you perform field sobriety exercises, we test the legality of the officer requiring you to perform them, the manner in which you were instructed to perform the exercises and the officer’s interpretation of the results.
Finally, if you are required to perform a breath, blood, or urine test or refuse to do so, we test the legality and admissibility of the test.
Frequently, the officers do not perform their investigations as required by law. In many cases they do not meet the necessary legal standard of reasonable suspicion to perform an investigation, or probable cause to make an arrest.
If your attorney does not fight and make the state prove each element of the case against and test the evidence, they are giving up an important opportunity to get evidence suppressed and weaken the state’s case prior to trial.
Frequently, the inexperienced state attorney does not know the correct questions to ask or understand the issue in the case well enough to know the proper arguments to make.
Hiring an experienced DUI Defense attorney like the Board-Certified DUI Defense Experts at Katz & Phillips, P.A. can really make a difference to the results in your case. Our experience, knowledge and drive to win make a huge difference in defending against DUI charges.
You must find a lawyer willing to take your case to trial if necessary. Prosecutors learn very quickly which lawyers never go to trial, but plea their clients to DUIs. All of the attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. love to try cases. Prosecutors know that if we do not get what we want, we will fight them every step of the way and are unlikely to recommend to a client to plea to a DUI (in some rare instances it may be in your best interest to accept a DUI plea and we will advise you if we believe that is the case).
The expert DUI defense attorneys at Katz & Phillips P.A. have tried cases throughout the state of Florida and never back down from the challenge of taking a case to trial.
Pre-Trial Conference dates go by many names throughout the state. In Lake County for instance, your case will have the following dates: PNC – Plea Negotiation Conference, Sentencing, Pre-Trial Conference, Trial.
In most other counties, the terms PTC – Pre-Trial Conference and Case Management Conference are used.
Plea-negotiation conference is an opportunity for your lawyer and the prosecutor to discuss the facts of the case and attempt to come to a resolution. Since it is in court, the judge may get involved and make suggestions to the parties or push one side or the other to the deal.
Sentencing – In front of some judges this date is optional, and the attorney and defendant need only appear if they are going to be entering a plea. Some judges require all Defendants and their attorneys to appear. Typically, those who do not enter a plea are warned by the court that if they do not resolve their case, the judge can sentence them to any legal sentence after trial.
Pre-trial Conference, Case Management Conference – these are really housekeeping type court dates. One by one, the attorneys approach the podium and inform the court about the status of the case. Your case will either get continued to give the parties more time to prepare or it will get set for trial if it does not resolve.
If you have not bonded out prior to the next morning’s court session, you will br brough before a judge. This is called First Appearance. At First Appearance, the judge will read the charges against you and inquire if you are going to get your own lawyer or if you want a public defender appointed (if you qualify). You can also enter a plea at this stage, the judge can also alter or set bond if no bond was previously set.
First Appearance is also the time the judge will review the arrest paperwork and determine if there is probable cause for the arrest, which allows you to continue to be held in jail. If the judge determines there is no probable cause you must be released.
At First Appearance it is important not to say anything that will incriminate you. The court session is recorded and even the most inexperience prosecutor knows how to get an audio recording of a courtroom confession.
If you appear at First Appearance, you should only say, “not guilty,” and either “I am going to hire my own lawyer,” or “I would like the public defender appointed.” First Appearance is not the time to tell a story or make excuses
Again, there is no simple answer that fits all cases. In many cases the state will offer a deal in which the DUI charge is reduced. In those cases, the terms of the deal may make it a deal that makes sense to accept.
However, you should NEVER consider accepting a plea deal without discussing your case with an attorney. At the very least, your attorney should review all the evidence in the case against you with you before you make a decision.
An expert DUI defense attorney like those at Katz & Phillips, P.A. will almost certainly find something that can help you in the arrest reports and videos. Even if the charges will not go away completely, there are many different reductions to the charge of DUI that can be fought for.
Further in many Florida counties there are DUI diversion programs. Entry into these programs is within the discretion of the State Attorney and is never guaranteed. Having an experienced DUI defense attorney by your side may make the difference between being accepted into a diversion program or being rejected.
When any plea offer is made, even if the only offer is that you must plea guilty as charged and accept the maximum penalties allowed by law, ethically an attorney must let you know about the offer and find out if you want to accept it.
At Katz & Phillips, P.A., we do not leave you alone to make this life altering decision. We will sit down with you and discuss what evidence the state had against you at the beginning of the case when you first came to see us, and what evidence they have left after the suppression hearings we held for you.
Next, we will discuss the likelihood of success at trial with the evidence the state has left. We will give you our honest opinion about your chances of winning at trial and most importantly, based on our years of experience with the judge on your case, we will let you know what we expect the judge to do if you lose at trial.
We will also discuss with you the benefits of the deal you have been offered and answer any questions you may have. It is then your decision whether or not we go to trial. In some cases, the right answer for you and your family is to accept the deal. In many it is to go to trial. We do not try to push you one way or the other but will offer our honest opinion.
The more serious the charge, the harsher the penalties. For every level a DUI is reduced, the penalties and consequences lessen. Further, although DUI carries with it many mandatory penalties and consequences, reduced charges such as reckless driving do not. Though there is no guarantee, in many cases, Felony DUIs can be reduced to misdemeanor charges, allowing the person charged to retain their rights and not be a convicted felon. Enhanced DUI charges may be able to be resolved as simple unenhanced charges. DUIs of all levels can be negotiated to much less harsh charges if your attorney can put holes in the states case. Any DUI charge can result in a lesser offense, or In dismissal or a not-guilty verdict if the facts of the case are right. Although no lawyer or law firm can guarantee a result, entering a plea as charged is often unnecessary in a DUI case.
Speak to the experienced DUI defense experts at Katz & Phillips, P.A. about the benefits of a reduced charge offer and put our experience to work for you.
DUI is the most complex area of misdemeanor law and is more complex than most felony cases. Further, much of DUI prosecution is based on the subjective opinions of Law Enforcement officers are are taught to see a DUI, every time they smell alcohol on someone’s breath or see a car move within its lane. Further, much of the evidence presented in a DUI case is based on roadside agility maneuvers that do more to test a person’s coordination and natural athletic ability than they do to test for impairment. Even the best Field Sobriety Tests individually have false results between 30 – 40% of the time according to law enforcement’s own training manuals and studies.
Additionally, the results of mysterious machines are not reliable. If the breath test machines were accurate, reliable, and worked the way the manufacturers claim, there would be no reason to deny defendant’s and defense attorneys access to the machines for testing.
Breath test manufacturers have fought for years to deny access and avoid scrutiny. Thousands of breath test results have been declared inadmissible due to the manufacturer’s unwillingness to share the secrets of their mythical machines.
With all the uncertainty around the various types of evidence used in DUI cases, there exists lots of potential opportunities for a skilled and knowledgeable DUI defense attorney to help you convince a jury that there is reasonable doubt regarding whether you were actually impaired.
Each and every case gets its own defense at Katz & Phillips, P.A. tailored to the facts of the case and the admissible evidence.
Finally, it is important to know the Judges. It many areas of Florida, the judges simply will not give a first-time offender anything, but the minimum mandatory sentence required by law even if they lose at trial.
If your case is in front of a judge who has been a judge for 20 years and has never given a single defendant more than the minimum penalties for DUI after a trial and the prosecutor is offering a plea deal to the minimum mandatory penalties, why would you accept that instead of taking a shot at winning the trial and having the Judge give you the same penalties if you lost?
Call the Expert DUI Attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. today and learn why you should fight your DUI charges. Sit down with us and discuss your particular facts and the defenses available to you today.
There are two alternative methods the state can use to prove a DUI. The first only applies if you agreed to take the breath test (or blood test) and provided a valid result. If the state can show that your breath or blood alcohol test resulted in a concentration of .08 or greater, then they can achieve a guilty verdict.
Even if you took the breath test and blew over a .08 all hope is not lost. Call today to find out how we can help you.
Alternatively, the state can use the testimony of the officer or other witnesses regarding your driving pattern, physical abilities, and overall appearance and actions to attempt to prove to a jury that you were under the influence of alcohol or specific drugs to the extent that your normal faculties were impaired.
Under Florida law, normal faculties include, but are not limited to the ability to:
Certain enhanced DUI charges require proof of additional elements. For instance, if you are charged with driving with a minor child in the car, the state would have to provide the jury with evidence that there was a minor child in the car with you.
If you were charged with a felony DUI with serious bodily injuries, it would be the state’s burden to prove the person injured had more than minor injuries.
If you refuse to take the test requested of you by a law enforcement officer after you have been arrested, that refusal has multiple consequences.
The first time you refuse testing, the state can use that refusal against you in court. Typically, in their closing argument, the state will argue to the jury that you refused to take the test because you knew you would blow over the legal limit. This argument is called consciousness of guilt.
There are many ways that an experienced DUI Defense attorney can counter that argument.
If you refuse testing and have previously refused to take a breath, blood, or urine test you are actually committing a separate crime. The crime of refusal is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail and up to a $1000 fine.
If you have been arrested for DUI, whether you took a breath blood or urine test or refused, call the Board-Certified DUI Defense Experts at Katz & Phillips, P.A. now and get us fighting on your side. We look forward to speaking with you and helping you fight these DUI charges.
Every DUI case at Katz & Phillips, P.A. has at least two attorneys review it. David Katz or James Phillips, the two founding partners of the firm and 2 of only 4 Board certified DUI defense experts in the state of Florida are personally involved in every case. They personally review the police reports and videos in every single case the firm handles and plan strategy and legal arguments with the other lawyers.
In almost every DUI case we have ever handled, we have identified multiple issues to help our client by listening to the client regarding the arrest incident, reviewing the police reports, watching the roadside and body worn camera footage, and investigating the operational procedures and actual operation of the breath test. We typically file between 8 – 23 different Motions in each DUI case, depending on the facts of the case.
These motions are aimed at limiting the evidence the state can present to a jury in its prosecution against you. We may not win them all, but every victory chips away at the evidence the state can present against you, weakening their case and giving them incentive to make you a better offer
Prosecutors learn very quickly which attorneys fight for their clients and which always plea their clients guilty as charged. Yes, it is true that on very rare occasions a client of Katz & Phillips, P.A. has entered a plea of guilty as charged to a DUI, but there was always a reason it was in the client’s best interest to do so. No Katz & Phillips, P.A. client has ever entered a plea of Guilty to any charge because it was easier for the lawyer or the law firm. We love to fight, we love to go to trial, and we love to win for you.
Often our clients get offered reduced charges because the prosecutors know we will not settle for DUI minimum mandatory penalties. If they do not offer a better deal, they know they will have to fight through hours of hearings on Motions to Suppress, Motions in Limine, Motions to Produce and more.
All of the attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. attend and/or teach at DUI continuing legal education seminars on a regular basis. We work to ensure we are the most knowledge person in the courtroom every time we step into one. We constantly discuss your case among the attorneys in the firm to get varied perspectives and benefit from the experience of all team members and we plan your defense together. We also make sure we are educated on the latest DUI defense trial skills and methods and use them in your best interest.
509 W Colonial Dr. Orlando, FL 32804
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Contact the Law Offices of Katz & Phillips today to speak with one of our attorneys about your case today by filling out the form below, or call us at 321-332-6864.
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