The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports that about 1/3 of DUIs are committed by repeat offenders. The State of Florida takes repeat DUI Offenses seriously. Even more serious are repeat offenses that occur close in time to each other.
Penalties for a multiple DUI offender are much harsher than for a person who gets one DUI in their lifetime. From mandatory jail sentences to ignition interlock devices, the penalties for DUI get harsher with each conviction. That is why having one of our Board-Certified DUI Defense experts on your side is so important.
All of the attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. are National College for DUI Defense members. Further, both David Katz and James Phillips are Board-Certified DUI Defense Specialists. To earn this recognition both had to meet an experience requirement, which included at least 20 DUI trials taken to verdict, and at least 40 adversarial hearings in DUI cases.
Both had to pass an extremely difficult Board-Certification Examination, which has a 20% passage rate among first-time test takers, and present an appellate oral argument based on a brief they wrote before a panel of expert DUI judges.
Further, all our attorneys are required to take continuing legal education courses focused on DUI Defense every year.
Katz & Phillips, P.A. is a law firm based in Orlando, Florida, focused on DUI defense. Our team of Orlando DUI lawyers are experienced and trained to aggressively fight your charges, so you have a better future.
We take the time to investigate every detail of the case to prepare a solid and effective defense strategy to use against the prosecution.
When you hire one of our trained attorneys, we can assure you that we will work tirelessly to get you the best possible outcome, which could include a negotiated reduction in the charges leading to a favorable plea deal or a victory at trial.
Your case is NOT the same as every other DUI case. Our lawyers will sit down with you and discuss the individual facts of YOUR case. We will plan strategies to defend you against your multiple DUI offenses that fit the facts of your case and the needs of you and your family.
Our goal is to make every DUI case go away completely; however, if this not possible, then we will work to find an outcome that is the best possible solution for your case.
First DUI conviction – Adjudication of Guilt, up to 12 months supervised probation, DUI School Level 1, 50 hours of community service, Driver’s license suspension (6 months – 1 year), 10-day vehicle immobilization, a fine of $500 – $1,000, 0 – 180 days in jail, alcohol and substance abuse evaluation and treatment if recommended. Additionally, you will be ordered to pay mandatory court costs, the cost of prosecution, and the cost of investigation.
Second DUI conviction (arrest within 5 years of previous conviction) – Adjudication of Guilt, up to 12 months supervised probation, DUI School Level 2, Driver’s license suspension (5 years), 30-day vehicle immobilization, a fine of $1,000 – $2,000, 10 days – 9 months in jail, alcohol and substance abuse evaluation and treatment if recommended, ignition interlock device (one-year minimum). Additionally, you will be ordered to pay mandatory court costs, the cost of prosecution, and cost of investigation.
Second DUI conviction (arrest outside of 5 years from previous conviction) – Adjudication of Guilt, up to 12 months supervised probation, DUI School Level 2, Driver’s license suspension (6 months – 1 year), 10-day vehicle immobilization, a fine of $1,000 – $2,000, 0 days – 9 months in jail, alcohol and substance abuse evaluation and treatment if recommended, ignition interlock device (one-year minimum). Additionally, you will be ordered to pay mandatory court costs, the cost of prosecution and the cost of investigation.
Third DUI conviction (arrest within 10 years of any previous conviction) – THIS IS A FELONY! Adjudication of Guilt, up to 12 months supervised probation, DUI School Level 2, Driver’s license suspension (10 years), 90-day vehicle immobilization, a fine of $1,000 – $5,000, 30 days – 12 months in jail, alcohol and substance abuse evaluation and treatment if recommended, ignition interlock device (two-year minimum). Additionally, you will be ordered to pay mandatory court costs, cost of prosecution and cost of investigation.
Third DUI conviction (arrest outside of 10 years of any previous conviction) – Adjudication of Guilt, up to 12 months supervised probation, DUI School Level 2, Driver’s license suspension (6 months – 1 year), 10-day vehicle immobilization, a fine of $2,000 – $5,000, 0 days – 12 months in jail, alcohol and substance abuse evaluation and treatment if recommended, ignition interlock device (two-year minimum). Additionally, you will be ordered to pay mandatory court costs, cost of prosecution and cost of investigation.
Fourth or subsequent DUI conviction – THIS IS A FELONY – Adjudication of Guilt, up to 5 years supervised probation, DUI School Level 2, a fine of $2,000 – $5,000, 0 days – 5 years in prison, alcohol and substance abuse evaluation and treatment if recommended, Additionally, you will be ordered to pay mandatory court costs, cost of prosecution and cost of the investigation.
Those arrested for DUI face other problems than the mandatory penalties listed above if convicted. From the loss of a job to social ostracism, family/relationship issues and damaged personal reputation, the issues facing a DUI arrestee are numerous. In addition to the mandatory penalties listed above, other potential penalties imposed by the court could include additional community service, attendance at DUI schools, higher insurance rates, including mandatory insurance riders, and even deportation of non-US citizens.
First time DUI offenders are required to take the level 1 DUI school. This school is 12 hours in length. One of the hours is an alcohol and substance abuse assessment. Based on this assessment counseling will either be required or not required. If required, the counseling becomes mandatory.
Second time and subsequent offenders will be required to take the level 2 DUI School. This is a 21-hour course. It also has an alcohol and substance abuse assessment. You should expect to be recommended for counseling after this assessment. Although many first-time offenders are not required to get counseling, almost all repeat offenders are required to take some level of alcohol and substance abuse counseling.
As with a first offense DUI, a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or subsequent DUI comes with not only a court case, but an immediate administrative suspension of your driving privilege. For the first ten days after arrest, in most cases, you will be able to use the DUI citation as your driver’s license and you will be able to continue to drive for any reason at all or for no reason. However, unlike a first offense, 2nd time, and subsequent offenders do not have the option to waive their formal review hearing and get a hardship license. This means that you have nothing to lose by requesting a formal review hearing. At your formal review hearing, your attorney will have the opportunity to convince the hearing officer to set aside the administrative suspension of your driver’s license. If successful, you will get your driver’s license back and have the same privilege to drive that you had prior to the arrest.
Further, if you are convicted of a DUI in which your license is suspended for 5 years or more, you are ineligible for a hardship license for an entire year beginning the date of conviction. This means you cannot drive for any reason whatsoever and if you get caught driving, it is likely you will go to jail when caught and be required to serve a significant jail sentence.
Under Florida law, even in cases that require mandatory jail time, judges are authorized to allow a day for day swap with inpatient rehabilitation. The court is under no obligation to accept inpatient treatment, but typically, judges will allow it, especially if the State Attorney assigned to the case agrees. In many cases, all of a mandatory jail sentence can be served by inpatient rehab, but at the very least time in jail can be reduced by one day for every day spent in a rehabilitation program.
If you have previously been arrested in Florida for a DUI, but not convicted, the state cannot count that as a prior for purposes of enhancing the charges in a subsequent arrest. So, if you were accepted into a diversion program for your first DUI arrest and successfully completed it, resulting in your charges being dropped, if you are arrested again, then you can only be charged with a first-offense DUI. This is true if you pled your first DUI arrest to a lesser charge like an alcohol-related reckless driving. But be warned that you are not necessarily in the clear from your prior Florida DUI arrest. Both the prosecutor and the judge will know you were previously charged with a DUI and that your charges were either dropped or plea bargained to a lesser offense. Some judges will keep the prior arrest in mind when sentencing for a subsequent arrest and impose more than the minimum penalties listed above.
Additionally, if you have just about any alcohol-related driving offense from out of state, even if it is not a DUI, the State of Florida can and will count that offense as a prior DUI. Florida law allows this even if the prior offense would not be considered a DUI had it occurred in Florida.
A knowledgeable multiple charges DUI defense attorney will know how to handle out-of-state prior alcohol-related charges. We have handled many such cases. Oftentimes, the State cannot meet its burden of showing out-of-state convictions or ensuring that the driver was properly notified of their rights when taking the plea.
The Board Certified DUI Defense Specialists at Katz & Phillips, P.A. know what is required in order for the State to be able to use your prior out-of-state offenses to enhance a DUI in Florida. We will use this knowledge and our decades of experience to benefit you in your defense. Call us today to discuss how we can help you with your multiple-offense DUI arrest in Orlando or throughout the State of Florida.
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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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