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Florida DUI Driver’s License Suspensions
When you are arrested for DUI in Florida there are two independent legal processes you need to be aware of. The first is the court case which if you are convicted of DUI will result in the Judge suspending your driving privilege for 6 – 12 months for a first offense. The second is less well known, even though most states have a similar process like Florida, which is the administrative suspension of your driver’s license. This article will focus on the administrative consequences of a DUI arrest.
You Only Have 10 Days to Protect Your Driving Privilege
You only have 10 days to protect your driving privilege when you are arrested for DUI. Regardless of whether you have been arrested for DUI before or not, the ticket you receive for DUI usually will allow you to drive for 10 days for any reason whatsoever after your arrest. Below, you will see a sample Florida DUI Uniform Traffic Citation.
Your DUI ticket should look similar to this one. This is your driver’s license to drive for the first 10-days after arrest if and only if the box labeled ELIGIBLE FOR PERMIT is marked yes. This box is located near the bottom of the tickets right above the lowest red writing in the picture.
If you read the red writing below the box indicated, you will see that is says, “Unless ineligible, this citation shall serve as a temporary driver license and will expire at midnight on the 10th day following the date of suspension.” Unfortunately, if the officer marks this “NO,” even if the officer is wrong, you cannot use the citation as a driver’s license unless you get the error fixed and have the officer issue a new citation.
You have a decision to make.
During this 10-day period you can drive for any reason at all or for no reason whatsoever. You are completely unrestricted in the use of this temporary driver license. However, you must decide what the next step you will take is and act on your decision within the first 10-days. You have three choices all of which will be explained below: 1) Request a formal review hearing; 2) Waive your right to a formal review hearing; 3) Do nothing.
1. Request a Formal Review Hearing
HSMV Form 78065 is available online as a pdf. This form must be completed and submitted to the DHSMV with a copy of the notice of suspension (Your DUI citation) and a check for $25.00. The request must be postmarked no more than 10 days from the date of your arrest. At Katz & Phillips, P.A. we can submit the request for you via tracked email so we have proof the request was submitted timely.
Whether this is your first DUI or a subsequent arrest, you always have a right to a formal review hearing. If you win this hearing, your regular driving privilege is restored, however, if you lose, there will be a period of either 30 days (if you took the breath test) or 90 days (if you refused testing) for a first offense where you cannot drive at all, no matter what. We will discuss more about the formal review hearings and the advantages and disadvantages to requesting a formal review hearing later in this article.
2. Waive your Right to a Formal Review Hearing (1st time DUI arrests only)
To waive your right to a formal review hearing, you must submit DHSMV form 72034 in person at the DMV. However, before you are eligible to waive your hearing, you must register for and enroll in DUI school level 1. Then take your proof of enrollment and form 72034 with you to the DMV and waive your right to a hearing. It is important to note that if you have a prior DUI in Florida or any other state, you cannot waive your hearing. This is clearly the choice that the DHSMV wants you to make. Several years ago, there was a DHSMV office for the Bureau of Administrative reviews in every county. Formal review hearings were held in the county where you were arrested, and there was no option to waive the hearing. However, in an effort to save money and cut the budget, the local offices were closed. Hearings were allowed to be conducted telephonically, and a few regional offices were opened. Further, to cut down on the staffing needs, a system was implemented to allow 1st time DUI offenders to waive their right to a formal review hearing. Instead of requesting a hearing as described above, drivers now have the choice to waive their right to an administrative review of their license suspension. The pros and cons of waiving the hearing will be discussed in detail below. However, at this point it is enough to know that if you choose to waive your hearing, the DHSMV will immediately issue you a hardship license that allows you to drive for four purposes for your entire administrative license suspension. If you waive the hearing, you do not risk the 30-day (took the test) or 90-day (refused to take the test) hard suspension period of no driving whatsoever, but you give up the opportunity to get your full driving privilege back during the administrative suspension. The four purposes that the hardship license is valid for is: 1) Your own work; 2) Your own education; 3) Attendance at religious services 4) Your own necessary medical appointments. That is it. If it is not on the list above, no matter what others tell you, including staff of the DHSMV, if you drive using your hardship license for another purpose, you risk being arrested.
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DUI Charges Reduced
The court deemed all other conditions satisfied so M.A. did not have to go on probation at all and walked out of courthouse with a fine and fees to pay, and the case behind her.
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Case Dismissed
J.A.R. had had a previous DUI conviction and was facing mandatory jail time if convicted of this offense. In reviewing the discovery provided by the state, our team found several issues with the police investigation, and realized that our clients’ rights had been violated.
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All Charges Dropped
In reviewing the evidence provided by the State our team realized that T.R.’s rights had been violated when she was immediately illegally arrested by the Trooper. Further, there were many other errors made by the Trooper which would result in the evidence gathered being suppressed.
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All Charges Dropped
In this case, our client, R.H., was out with friends. A family member who was angry with him tracked his location by tracking his cell phone, called the police, told them he was very drunk, and led the police right to his car. The officers stopped his car and eventually arrested him.
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