Expungement of Non-Judicial Criminal History in Florida

Every time you are arrested for a criminal offense in Florida, there is a negative mark appearing on your criminal record. Even if you are not convicted after your arrest, your criminal record can be in danger. Having a mark on your criminal record can lead to problematic situations and limit your future opportunities.

The effects of a negative mark on your criminal record can be experienced when you obtain job opportunities, rent a home or apartment, pursue a degree or professional certification, receive bank loans, and receive student loans. These problems can chance your life and affect your future. Fortunately, there is a way to have these arrests erased from your criminal record in Florida.

In order to expunge a non-judicial criminal history record in Florida, you must be eligible to do so under Florida law.  There are different conditions you need to meet so that your criminal history record can be erased.

1.  You must not have had a prior record sealed or expunged. You will not be able to expunge any Florida criminal history record if you have ever had a criminal history record expunged prior to your application.

2.  You must not be under any form of court supervision, like probation.

3.  You must not have received a guilty verdict. A "criminal offense" may include any traffic law violation or a criminal city or county ordinance violation. You need to take into consideration all of your criminal records - local, state, federal, and military - even a record that does not show in a state or national background check you may have obtained about yourself, or even arrest for which you were not fingerprinted.

4.  You must not have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony.  You will not be eligible to successfully expunge any Florida criminal history record if you have been adjudicated delinquent, as a juvenile, for any felony or for any of the following misdemeanors like arson, assault and battery, petit theft, indecent exposure, and unlawful possession of firearms.

If you meet these basic requirements, then you may be eligible for the expungement of your non-judicial criminal record.  Expungement is a relatively fast process.  After you petition for expungement, the process usually takes about 4 to 6 months for your arrest to be erased from your record if the State of Florida grants your petition. It is important to talk to a Florida criminal defense lawyer about this issue.

Implied Consent Law and DUI in Florida

Implied Consent Law in Florida states that any person who accepts the privilege of driving any motor vehicle within the state is, by so driving such motor vehicle, deemed to have given his or her consent to submit to an approved physical or chemical test. The tests that are usually administered include, but are not limited to, infrared light test of his or her breath for the purpose of gauging the level of alcohol content in his or her blood or breath if the person is arrested legally for any offense committed while the person is in control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

The Florida law also stipulates that if there is a serious bodily injury or death involved in DUI cases, an officer may use reasonable force if needed to require the driver to submit to the administration of the blood test. Even if the driver refuses, reasonable force may still be used to draw blood for a BAC test in these cases.

Police and Implied Consent Law

Police officers in Florida must comply with the Implied Consent Law at all times. The police officer making a DUI arrest must inform you of the rights under the law in relation to your taking a state-administered test of your blood, breath, or urine. The police should also tell you other rights like refusing to take the test. If you refuse a test, your refusal may be presented as evidence against you by the prosecution at trial.

Refusal to state-administered test will have your license immediately taken from you, suspended or revoked for a certain period of time. Take note that you have the right to challenge the suspension or revocation of the license, and you may be able to take back the license even though you did not submit yourself to the test requested.

In case the requesting officer did not read the correct implied consent warning to you, then your DUI defense lawyer can argue that you were denied of reasonable explanation or discussion of the options for you. If you did not understand your legal rights, the administration of the test can be challenged.

In case the condition of your DUI tests is questionable, then your lawyer can exclude unfavorable test results from being introduced at trial. The case of the prosecution may be crippled and your case may be entirely dismissed or made into a lesser offense.

What to Do Next After Failing Field Sobriety Test in Florida

You are probably familiar with the different field sobriety tests after you have been stopped by police authorities because of reckless driving, or in the Sunshine State, reckless boating.  If you cannot do the necessary things to pass a field sobriety test, then you are in serious trouble as you may face potential criminal charges like driving under the influence (DUI), boating under the influence (BUI), or even driving under the influence of drugs. In case you fail such test, then you could be charged with a DUI even if you are sober.

In case you are facing DUI charges because of failing field sobriety test, the most important thing you should do is to stay calm and talk to a DUI defense lawyer. An experienced DUI defense lawyer can help you if you have been accused of DUI. A lawyer can help you fight the charges.

Although field sobriety tests are designed to fail, there are a number of reasons one might fail to perform the functions needed to pass such test. These are called “divided attention exercises”, which are created to test a person’s capability to listen to and follow instructions, and then perform a predetermined task.

There are different tasks involved in the test such as being able to place your finger on your nose, stand on one leg, follow an object with the eyes, or walk in a straight line and turn around. Even though a driver sober, he still could fail the test because of physical or mental disability, stress, fatigue, or even bad weather conditions.

A DUI lawyer can reduce the penalties or even dismiss a charge if you were experiencing any of the above conditions. Additionally, if the police officers who administered the test impaired your ability to take a field sobriety test at the arrest, then your lawyer can challenge it. There are other factors that could have led to your failing the test such as when an officer did not explain, demonstrate, or administer the test properly. As a consequence, the scientific validity of the test is highly fallible.

If you are charged with DUI, you should talk to a criminal defense lawyer as soon as you can. Field sobriety tests can be successfully challenged because of the conditions mentioned above. You should choose a lawyer with vast experience in handling similar cases to yours. Your lawyer can cite these conditions to lessen the penalty or drop the charge against you.

Cycling and Drunk Driving in Florida

If you love to ride your bicycle and you also like to have a drink or two, then you should treat your bicycle as if it was your car when it comes to the law in Florida because you can be charged with DUI for riding your bike.

If you are stopped for drunk driving on a cycle in Florida, you can legally refuse to submit yourself to an alcohol test. Take note that the state could not argue if the defendant refused to take a breath analyzer test. The reason is that the implied consent law is only applicable to motor vehicles and not bicycles.

In so far as recent conviction of DUI cycling, there has been a criminal case in the state when a defendant was stopped for a suspected DUI and then arrested for riding his bicycle while under the influence of alcohol. This was the third conviction for him and his earlier DUI conviction was made within 10 years. A third DUI conviction in Florida, if taken within ten years, results in suspension of the driver’s license for a minimum of 10 years.

In the case presented, the defendant did not contest the DUI charge, but his criminal defense attorney made an appeal for the 10 years suspension of the license of his client. The argument of the lawyer rested on stating that this suspension did not apply to cyclists. The Florida court, however, did rule that the word “driver” as referred to in Florida DUI laws means anyone who is in physical control of any form of vehicle on a road. The term “vehicle” has a broad definition but it generally means that any device that is used by a person as a means of transportation. The definitions cover bicycle rider under Florida DUI laws.

To summarize everything, you can also be considered under the influence while riding a bicycle. There had been a case of bicycle DUI in the state in the 1980s. Since then, there have been DUI cases involving cyclists and many of them resulted in charges and prosecutions.

If you are a cyclist in Florida, you can avoid DUI by not drinking alcohol if you intend to go out for a ride. Florida courts prosecute bicycle DUI like other drivers of motorized vehicle. If you face a bicycle DUI, it is important that you talk to a DUI defense lawyer as soon as possible because this is a serious criminal offense.

DUI Plea Bargains in Florida

Dealing with a DUI charge in Florida is challenging and time consuming if you do not have the right criminal defense lawyer to help you with the complexities of the law. When you are stopped and arrested for DUI, there are different ways to deal with the charge. Take note however that it is very difficult to negotiate with the prosecution on your own without the help of a criminal lawyer. The choices for you are related to court pleas.

There are courts in Florida that allow plea options as a means to solve the backlog of cases to a minimum. This also mean that so some of the plea options will make the state save on the cost of sending an offender to prison by providing alternative penalties. These plea arrangements also make the state collect money from the offender while he or she is placed on probation. Plea bargaining usually takes place for DUI offenders.

A plea bargain is an agreement struck between you and the prosecutor of the case. In this type of agreement, you agree to forego your right to a jury trial in exchange to the prosecutor agreeing to reduce the charges or agreeing to a reduction of penalties that may be given to you. There is a limitation on plea bargains which are the mandatory minimum penalties a judge may impose regardless of what the agreement of the prosecutor and defense lawyer is. Therefore, it is important to have a legal guidance when you want to negotiate for plea bargains.

Plea Bargains and Mandatory Minimum Penalties

The best bargaining chip when you want to seek a plea bargain is to have a strong and experienced DUI lawyer to challenge the case of the state in trial. If your lawyer sees in the evidence a substantial weakness in the case of the state, the lawyer may point this out to the prosecutor and likely receive a favorable condition. For example, if there is a mistake in the administration of the breath analyzer test, this may lead to a plea bargain reducing a DUI charge to reckless driving.

The most favorable way to plea bargain a DUI is reduction of charges. The reason is that the prosecutor does not have much room to deal in a DUI charge because of the mandatory minimum penalties set by law. The key to have a successful plea bargaining for DUI is having the right DUI lawyer by your side.

False DUI Arrest in Florida

DUI is a serious charge in Florida. A DUI conviction can affect you and your family for the rest of your life. There are many occasions, however, when you can be wrongly arrested for DUI or suffer from misconduct at the hands of arresting officers. If this happens to you, you should talk to a criminal defense lawyer who can help you sue a police officer for false arrest or misconduct.

False Arrest

A reasonable grounds should be established when a DUI arrest is made by a police officer. This means that there should be something wrong about the way you drive or some other reason that would lead the officer to believe that you are driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If a police officer stops you without reasonable grounds, then this constitutes misconduct. It is in your best interest to cooperate politely with the officer because aggressive or uncooperative behavior can be reasons for an arrest.

After the police officer stopped and questioned you, you may be asked to go through sobriety tests and maybe asked to blow into a breath analyzer test. It is in your best interest to cooperate with these tests. If you fail either your sobriety test or the breath analyzer test, the arresting officer will take you to a police station for a chemical test. If you believe you do not fail the test and show no evidence of alcohol on the breath analyzer test but the police officer still brings you to the police station, this could constitute a false arrest.

Misconduct

There many cases when police officers act in a manner which is not lawful. This happens especially when you are already in custody for DUI. Your criminal defense lawyer can cite malicious prosecution when a police officer charged you with DUI even if there was no probable cause in the first place to make an arrest.

The use of excessive force in a DUI arrest is also unlawful. Police officers have the right to use reasonable force against you if you resist arrest. However, there are many cases when reasonable force becomes unreasonable force. This may be difficult to prove, but your lawyer can pursue it depending on the evidence you have.

If you believe you were falsely arrested for DUI or there was some evidence of police misconduct while the arrest was made or you have been charged with DUI, you should hire an experienced DUI lawyer who can protect and fight your rights.

How to Prevent DUI with a Safe Party

Summer is just around the corner. Summertime is the time when most of us take advantage of the warm weather and throw a backyard party. And more often than not, a party during summer includes alcohol. Here are important tips on how you can help prevent drinking and driving on Florida highways.

There are about over a million DUI arrests made annually in the United States. There are about 55,000 arrests in 2011 alone in Florida. In the event that you are charged with a DUI, you must talk to a DUI defense lawyer as soon as you can.

Impaired driving and drunk driving may coincide, but they are not necessarily the same thing. A person is considered to be under the influence in Florida, or driving under the influence, when his blood alcohol content (BAC) is at or above the legal limit of 0.08. It should be noted, however, that even with a BAC lower than the legal limit, a person’s coordination, judgment, and reflexes can be impaired and Florida police patrol officers have the right to issue a DUI to a driver whose driving appears to be impaired, regardless of blood alcohol content.

As the host of the backyard party, make sure that your guests do not drink and drive by designating early on who among them will remain sober and function as designated drivers. For sure, there are guests who wish or may not be able to drink and might entertain the idea of volunteering for sober driver duty. Gather car keys at the start of the party and hang on to them if the owners are not sober.

As the host, make sure that the volunteer drivers and other guests have plenty of non-alcoholic beverage options. This way you can at least limit the consumption of alcohol. If you hire a bartender or assign a friend to do the duties of handling drinks to your guest, then make sure that you explain that guests should not be over-served.

The best way to prevent DUI is moderation in drinking. In addition, allow at least one hour of breathing room for all of your guests to unwind. Serve them additional bites to eat or non-alcoholic beverages before they leave your party. The hotness of summer is dehydrating, and this will worsen the condition of intoxicated drivers. Make sure to prevent a DUI arrest for a friend who comes to a party by following these simple tips.

If a friend is arrested for DUI, advise him or her to seek legal advice and guidance from a DUI lawyer.