DUIs and the Holidays..They Just Don't Mix

Recently, it was reported that former Miss USA Rima Fakih was arrested for a DUI in Michigan. Regardless of whether or not the allegations are true, this should serve as a reminder to everybody who drives that a DUI arrest can happen to you if you have consumed alcohol and chose to drive a car. Let me be clear, it is not illegal to drink and drive. It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, or drugs, to the extent that it impairs your normal faculties to operate a car. In Florida, the legal limit for blood alcohol percentage is .08 percent. This means that a person should be extremely careful if they have consumed alcohol and then choose to drive themselves to another location.

When I was a much younger attorney, I was counseled by a wise judge that in his experience anybody could get charged with a DUI. He went on to explain that alcohol only was a significant problem if a person got a second or third arrest for DUI. In Florida, even one arrest can have a significant impact on a person's livelihood.

First time penalties for a DUI in Florida can include an adjudication of guilt, up to a year of probation, attendance at DUI counterattack school, attendance at victims awareness panels, completion of counseling for alcohol and/or drugs, loss of a drivers license for up to a year, a minimum fine of $500.00, impoundment of your car for ten days and court costs. The cost to a person is not only financial, but often times emotional. This is especially true for people who never envisioned themselves as "bad" people or as criminals. Yet, time after time, good people can and do get arrested for DUI. DUI is not conscious choice that people make similar to choosing to rob a bank. DUI, especially around the holidays, is a crime that happens because of poor planning or a person believing that they are not "drunk" and therefore able to drive a car.

When you get arrested for a DUI, you must seek out competent counsel to represent you because the aforementioned penalties can cause you great heartache as well as financial hardships. I have over fifteen years of representing people, like you, who may have had the misfortune of being arrested for a DUI. Many people wrongly believe that if they get arrested for this crime, then there is no hope of changing their lot in life. This simply is not true. A skilled attorney, such as myself, often times are able to see legal defenses that may not appear to exist to the untrained person. You owe it to yourself to call me at 407-834-5297 or email me at adam.pollack@orl-law.com for a free consultation. Finally, I wish you and your family a warm holiday season.