So there you are out one night with some friends on Clematis Stree in downtown West Palm Beach Florida. You have a few drinks and you feel like you're king of the hill. You decide to drive home, because you feel fine. You could have called a cab, but you didn't! And there you are both hands on the wheel and your shoulders reared back and then you notice the blue lights in the rear view mirror. You pull off the roadway and watch as the officer waddles up to you. He politely asks for your license, registration and proof of insurance and then he asks whether you have been drinking. At this time you realize you may have a problem!
The officer will ask you to step out of the car. Make no mistake about it everything you do is under observation. At some point the officer will ask you to perform the field sobriety exercises. These are so-called divided attention exercises. The reality is they are not the ususal physical activities that you are used to. I have written on them before and the article is on articlesbase should you wish to read it. There is a possibility that as you perform the field sobriety exercises you are being video recorded. Not all the cops have the dash mounted units but a number do. Assuming you do not perform the exercises to the officer's satisfaction you will be placed in handcuffs. Depending on which agency has arrested you, you may go straight to the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office on Gun Club Road or if for example you were arrested by the West Palm Beach Police Department you will go to the city jail first and then go to Gun Club.
Upon arriving at Gun Club you will have a seat while the officer completes his report. You are also undergoing the 20 minute period of observation at this time. Upon the elapse of 20 minutes or so the officer will place you on camera. You will be standing on a "X". The camera is on. The cop will ask so-called basic questions, such as your name, address, age, height, weight, hair color, eye color and your date of birth. Note the date of birth question is meant to see if it matches the age you gave. If you slur while givng the information the slurring will be pointed out to the jury (if you go to trial). After this the officer will ask for a sample of breath. If you refuse, he will read implied consent (details on this are in another article). If you decide to blow the results will be used against you. If over .08 you have just assisted the the Office of the State Attorney. After you refuse or give the sample the officer will then read Miranda to you. I would suggest that you ask for a lawyer.
You will then be led away. You will remain in jail for 8 hours. If you are a resident of Palm Beach County, florida you will be released on your promise to appear (own recognizance). If not a resident you may have a bond of $250.00-$500.00. Upon your release from jail you will be given a notice of arraignment. You must either hire your Florida D.U.I. lawyer or go to the arraignment yourself. If you hire your Florida D.U.I. lawyer he will probably file a number of motions that he feels will help your case. Hopefully, the State may offer a reckless driving.
What kind of sentence can you expect if convicted of D.U.I. The following will occur; fines and court costs in the neighborhood of $1,000.00, 50 hours of community service, victim impact panel, 10 days of immobilzation, 6 months of license suspension, D.U.I. School, reporting probation. Yes, you pay to be on probation, you pay for the D.U.I. School, you pay for the immobilzation and you pay to attend the victim impact panel. Oh, the conviction remains on your record for 75 years.
Oh, remember when I mentioned the cab? Well, the cab would have been less expensive.
If arrested for D.U.I. please feel free to contact me at 561-616-8700 and I will give you a honest evaluation of your case. Should you wish to discuss life, the universe and everything else I will do that to. My website is www.duilawyerofpalmbeach.com
Copyright 2008 by Timothy Foster, All Rights Reserved
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