DUI Tampa

You been arrested for DUI. Booked into the Orient Road jail. Offered the chance to blow into a breath test machine.

Never been through anything like this before. This is the first time that you been arrested for a DUI.

If you been arrested by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office or Tampa Police Department officer for DUI and don’t worry.

An arrest is not the same as a conviction.

In fact, for many first-time offenders it’s reasonable to set a goal of having the charge reduced from a DUI to a lesser charge such as reckless driving even if the state can prove their case.

The state attorney’s office in Tampa Florida has created a DUI diversionary program for first-time DUI offenders that qualify known as the reduced impairing driving recidivism initiative.

According to the state attorney about 20% of DUI cases are eligible for the new diversionary program.

The diversionary program, if you qualify is in effect a guaranteed way to make sure that you keep your record clean. Your Tampa the first offender DUI attorney will negotiate the terms and conditions with the state.

If your attorney can negotiate a withhold of adjudication on a reckless driving charge, then you might be eligible to seal your criminal record. This’ll help you get rid of the mug shot that people see online. It will keep your criminal history clean. Of course, if you are wrongfully arrested in the state cannot prove the charge of DUI then your goal should be better than reduction.

The success of any legal matter depends on the unique circumstances of each case, therefore, we cannot guarantee particular results for future clients.

In these cases, we make the goal an outright dismissal or a victory at trial.

Attorneys For 1^st DUI In Tampa Fl

In every case we recommend demanding a formal review hearing within the first 10 days after your arrest.

We don’t advise seeking an immediate hardship license and waving all your rights until after you spoken to us.

First and foremost, with the right fact pattern you can win your formal review hearing.

A win of your formal review will allow you to drive unrestricted going forward while your case is pending.

Second, in certain cases we want to use the formal review to take additional discovery.

Unfortunately, Tampa Florida does not allow depositions and misdemeanor DUI cases as a matter of course.

However, a formal review hearing can allow your attorney to subpoena the arresting officer to testify.

That means your attorney for your first time DUI in Tampa can gather information much like a deposition from the arresting officer.

Your goal is to win your formal review hearing. If you win the administrative suspension will be completely removed from your record.

Course your next goal is to avoid a DUI conviction in the courtroom.

Benefits Of Hiring A DUI Attorney For A First Time DUI

The right first-time offender DUI attorney can make all the difference in keeping a record clean.

In certain cases, using the states guaranteed reduction program will be beneficial. Of course, the terms and conditions including fines and costs that make up part of the program are negotiated by your attorney.

In other cases, your DUI lawyer will be able to see defenses that are fatal to the state’s case.

In these cases, your DUI attorney can use motion practices to get the case completely dismissed.

If your case is completely dismissed, then you’re eligible to seal and expunge your criminal record.

In other cases, the state attorney just flat wrong. The officer should not have arrested you in the first place. And as these cases where a Tampa DUI lawyer can really shine and keeping your record clean.

Drivers License Suspension After A First DUI

First-time DUI of course have serious court ramifications impacting you and your loved ones.

But even before you go to court you have to deal with the administrative consequences that are triggered by your arrest.

Most cases the arresting officer will take a driver’s license and give you a citation that acts as your notice of suspension.

This notice is your temporary ten-day permit to drive. Without this notice you cannot drive.

If you don’t do anything then:

Minimum Mandatory Penalties For Your First DUI Conviction In Hillsborough County Florida

The unfortunate part about DUI convictions is that there are certain penalties that the court must impose. That’s why the idea of reducing a charge is so enticing. Absent a DUI conviction then there won’t be any requirement for the judge to have to impose certain sanctions. That means all the rest of your sanctions can be negotiated by your attorney.

If you do enter a plea of guilty or no contest to a first-time DUI in Tampa Florida, then you may face:

Our DUI Attorneys For First Time Offender Tampa Cases

We are proud to have some of the most experienced trial hardened DUI attorneys in the Tampa Bay area. Our lead attorney Lee Perlman has tried more DUI trials in the last six years than any other DUI attorney in the Tampa area the beauty of this is he’s able to leverage his experience and reputation with the state attorney’s office to get the best possible deals for his first-time offender clients in other words his past trial experience Actually leads to a less likely chance that his clients end up in trial.

Our main Tampa office is located on Armenia Avenue about five minutes north of 275 and just south of Hillsborough Avenue.  We offer free consultations in our Tampa office as well as our other Tampa Bay locations in St. Petersburg, New Port Richey, and Bradenton.