DEALING WITH YOUR DUI
Whether you’ve been cited for your first, second, or third DUI, dealing with all the hassles created by the arrest is frustrating. The easiest way to get through it is to focus on one step at a time, and try to keep your everyday life moving on track. You have paid your lawyer to worry about the rest! The following are a few steps you must take to get your driver’s license back as quickly as possible:
1. I will file a request for a “formal hearing” for you if you have retained me within ten days of your arrest. The purpose of this is to try to get the automatic suspension of your license set aside. As we have discussed, this is a search for hyper-technical errors in the paperwork filed by the arresting officer on the night of your arrest. Sometimes we are successful; many times the police have done the paperwork properly and the suspension will take effect.
2. Your ticket is your license for 10 days after your arrest. If we file for a formal review hearing, you will be issued a temporary license that is good until ten days after the hearing. At midnight of the 10th day however, until we receive the temporary license, your license is suspended. The temporary license will take you through until the Formal Review Hearing date, plus seven days, and expires at midnight on the “expires on” date on the document. If we do not win the hearing, you will have a 30 day “hard suspension” if you took the breath test, and 90 days if you refused. You will be eligible for a Business Purpose Only license after that “hard suspension” is complete. You are not eligible for a business license if you have a prior DUI conviction.
3. If you took the breath test and blew more than a .08, sign up for the 12-hour driving class, once I have reviewed the paperwork and told you that we will not win at the DMV. Getting this class done quickly is important to moving your case along, impresses the judge that you are “on top of things,” and will help you get off probation earlier. Although two organizations give the class, I recommend : Florida Safety Counsel (Melbourne, 952-5327, Merritt Island 631-2347, cost appx. $225, Level 2, $345). You can also register on-line at www.floridasafety.org , although there is an additional $10-$15 fee for doing so, but it does save you an additional trip to their office. You must pay the registration fee with a credit card when you register on line. They will then email you with the date and time of your "evaluation." When you go to that appointment, you must come an hour early to do “the paperwork,” bring your DUI ticket, the initial arrest report, a photo ID, and the most recent court paperwork that you have– it may be the paperwork from your first appearance at the jail if you made one, or the “Notice of Docket Sounding” that you receive in the mail, once the State has filed an Information. Call us if you have any question about this, as failure to bring all the correct documentation will require you to re-schedule, for a $75 fee. Ouch!
The other option for the DUI class is Counterattack of Brevard (Melbourne, 255-1605, Rockledge, 632-5811, Level 1 & Level 2 cost about the same as Florida Safety Council),
I recommend Florida Safety Council because I know the instructors, and they are both very knowledgeable, caring people. There will be an evaluation done as part of the class at the beginning, where they determine if you need further counseling to address substance abuse issues. (This is definite if you blew over a .15 or have a prior DUI/ substance abuse related offense.) Brace yourself– you may be told you need to go to at least 12 sessions of counseling and possibly some AA meetings on top of that. Depending on your situation, we may be able to shorten some of this. When you take the evaluation, make sure you tell them you want to “think about” which provider to use for the counseling, and I may be able to help direct you to someone who best suits your needs.
You must pay for the class when you sign up. It also takes a few weeks to get into the class, so it’s better to sign up as soon as possible. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will not issue a business license unless you show the receipt for registration in the class. Here’s the catch--once you finish your court case, you must have finished the class to get a business license. That’s why it’s important to sign up right away. While your court case is still moving through the system, you must only be signed up to get a business license. Please note, however, if you have two prior DUI convictions, you are not eligible for a business license, so there is no need to rush to sign up for the class. There is an additional two hour class that you should take which is the Victim Awareness Panel. This is class is also offered by the Florida Safety Counsel.
4. If you refused the breath test, you may want to wait until after the formal hearing to sign up for the class, if I’ve seen the paperwork and believe we can win this hearing. If this is at least your second refusal, you are not eligible for a business license. If we are successful at the hearing and have the suspension set aside, then the need to take the class would depend on the outcome of the court case. Since you refused the breath test, a lot depends on your performance on the video. There may be a good chance of getting the charge reduced to “reckless driving” or going to trial and winning. Remember though, even if we go to trial and win, the DMV will not give your license back (unless we win the formal hearing) until the one-year refusal suspension is complete.
5. A Business Purpose Only license will cost $160. If there’s a DUI conviction, there is a court-imposed suspension, which will cost another $70 to re-process your license. If you wait to get the initial hardship license until after we have completed your court case, you pay a one time fee of $220. (saving $10). Driving for business purposes only, pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 322.271(1)(c)1, includes “any driving necessary to maintain livelihood, including driving to and from work, necessary on-the-job driving, driving for educational purposes, and driving for church and for medical purposes.” Driving for any other purpose is prohibited. Driving to and from court and your attorney’s office is a gray area, but my interpretation is that it’s “maintaining livelihood,” as the Court will put a person in jail who fails to appear, and the right to an attorney is constitutional.
6. The DMV will not issue a business license if you have two DUI convictions. This means that if you have one prior DUI and get convicted this time, you will not get a business license. It is also true if you have just gotten arrested for your third DUI, and have a second DUI pending in court. How soon you are eligible for a business license after a second conviction depends on the length of time between convictions.
7. The DMV often requires that you complete a certain amount of counseling before they will restore your license. The general criteria is a “high breath test or multiple DUIs or substance abuse offenses,” but first time DUIs are often referred as well. You will learn about this when you take the DUI driving class, because they will send you for an “evaluation,” which could result in “NO REFERRAL,” or a recommendation for treatment, as mentioned above. Again, please talk to me before you go to this evaluation. Depending on your situation, we may be able to shorten this process. If this is your 2nd or more DUI, make sure that you speak to us before you commit to going to any of the counseling centers they list. Counterattack (or CFSC) will ask you to select a “provider” from a specific list, but you do not have to do that on the spot– you should tell them you want to explore your options, such as insurance-paid providers, or others of which we may be aware.
Last but not in any way least, you are all wondering about insurance ramifications from a DUI arrest, and possible conviction. I have called my insurance agent, and gotten the following information, which may not apply to every insurance company, but since Allstate is a fairly mainstream agency, this information should be applicable to many situations:
1. There is a 5 year “look back” period for a DUI. It is “surcharge-able for 3 years, which means the insurance company can definitely raise your rates during this 3 yr period. A company can also “non-renew”at their discretion– for any reason, DUI certainly being one of them, for up to the 5 yr period. An example of this is if a person had a DUI 4 ½ yrs ago, the company can choose to “non renew” based on the DUI. If the DUI was 6 yrs ago they cannot, because it’s beyond the 5 yr “look back” period. I have a terrible example of a gentleman who had been with State Farm for 35 years, got into a small accident and was charged with DUI, and State Farm dropped him immediately, despite the fact he had an otherwise perfect record. Insurance looks at the conviction date to make the determinations regarding the “look back” period– not the arrest date.
2. Don’t ask– don’t tell, but never lie! If you confide in your agent that you have received a DUI, he or she is obligated to report it, but then it is still up to the company to raise the rates.
3. If a DUI is dropped completely, there is no rate change. ONLY moving violations generate a rate change, and an accident, of course. A plea to “reckless driving” will also result in a rate raise, but not as much as a DUI.
4. If you did not already have $100,000/ $300,000 coverage, you will receive a notice from Tallahassee stating that you must obtain this coverage, and then submit (or have submitted by your insurance agent) an “FR-44" form. This verifies that you have now obtained that required coverage. This also notifies your insurance company that you have received a DUI, which of course causes them to raise your rates. One client advised me that the cost of his insurance went from $960 every six months, to $2500. OUCH. He was insured by Geico, and drives a Mitsubishi Gallant, which they classified as a “sports car.” He is a single male, 35 years old, and has never had an accident, or many tickets. This is a single example, but may provide some guidance in terms of knowing what to expect. If you already have the $100/$300k coverage, you may not have this problem, as your insurance company will not have the DUI brought to their attention, and you may remain “under the radar.”
This is just a brief summary of a very complicated knot of procedures. Hopefully you can read this over after we have talked about it, and it will be less confusing. An important part of my job is to guide you through this intimidating process with a minimal amount of stress. Knowing what to expect and when to expect it should help.
Hang in there!
Robin Lemonidis