There is an old saying "come to Florida on vacation and leave on probation"! Unfortunately, it happens all to frequently. So let's say you have flown in from frozen Maine for some R&R and after a night of bar hopping on Clematis Street you hop into your rental car for the short drive back to your hotel. Of course, not being familiar with the area you are hesitate about your turns and you attract the attention of an Officer of the West Palm Beach Police Dept. As his overheads come on you get a sinking feeling.
The officer carefully approaches you and asks for your driver's license, proof of registration and insurance card. The officer will engage you in a conversation and of course he will observe the odor of an alcoholic beverage on your breath. "Sir, have you been drinking tonight"? You reply, "I only had 5 beers". The officer will then conduct the field sobriety exercises and then arrest you! While at the station he will ask for a sample of your breath. While not a focus of this article you should refuse to give a sample.
The next day you appear in front of the judge and after a few questions he will probably set bond at $500.00. You post it, run to the airport and hop the first plane back north, promising yourself you will never come back to Palm Beach County. But what about the case? When you were released from jail you were given your D.U.I. citation which contains your arraignment date. Also, you have 10 days from the date of arrest to file a challenge to the administrative suspension. If you don't file a challenge your license will be suspended. But wait, you don't have a Florida license. Doesn't matter as the Bureau of Administrative Review will assign a Florida driver's license number to you. If the suspension is upheld the Bureau will transmit the suspension to Maine and then Maine will probably suspend your license. So what do you do? You better hire a lawyer to handle this for you. Both the administrative hearing and the court case need to be handled.
If the case is one where a Motion to Suppress might resolve the case, you may have to return to Palm Beach County for the Motion. Of course if you win, the State's case is probably gutted depending on what was suppressed. But let's say you don't want to return and you just want it over with. Then a plea in absentia can be accepted by the court. A plea in absentia contains a waiver of rights and the plea from the state attorney's office. The judge accepts it and you are placed on probation and allowed to report by mail. Of course, you still have to complete all the special conditions of probation which are discussed elsewhere on here or you may find then at my blog at http://floridaduidefense.blogspot.com/ or my website at http://www.floridaduilawyer.com/.
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