dui in fl

[jay305]

What is the name of your state?florida I was driving in Collier county I fell asleep and went off the road,popping both tires on the passenger side of the car .while i was waiting for a tow,2 collier deputies came along and said they smelled alcohol they arrested me for dui. I didn't blow and spent 9hrs in jail.My lawyer says they want to bargin down to wreckless driving. Do I have a good chance if I fight this?

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by jay305

What is the name of your state?florida I was driving in Collier county I fell asleep and went off the road,popping both tires on the passenger side of the car .while i was waiting for a tow,2 collier deputies came along and said they smelled alcohol they arrested me for dui. I didn't blow and spent 9hrs in jail.My lawyer says they want to bargin down to wreckless driving. Do I have a good chance if I fight this?

If you failed to blow or give blood, they may not have a solid case for DUI, but it might be able to be used against you as consciousness of guilt. At best, you would be guilty of failing to control your vehicle and will likely lose your license for failing to blow.

What does your lawyer say about the chances of fighting it?

- Carl

[jay305]

he thinks we have a good case because a dui investigation was never started only an accident investigation.I have a cdl in Illinois and I'm not familiar with fl laws.I need to be sure I can win this if it goes to court.

[Curt581]

Originally Posted by jay305

he thinks we have a good case because a dui investigation was never started only an accident investigation.I have a cdl in Illinois and I'm not familiar with fl laws.I need to be sure I can win this if it goes to court.

So you're saying you can't be found guilty of DUI because they didn't investigate the incident as a DUI case, they only investigated it as an accident?

What exactly does that mean?

Maybe Florida police agencies are different from every other agency in the country... but everywhere else, any late night accident is investigated with at least the possibility of alcohol being a factor.

If your attorney told you the DA offered to plead it to Reckless, that offer is contingent on your pleading guilty. Don't think for one minute you can turn around and try and dispute the Reckless charge.

If you dispute anything, it'll be the original DUI charge. And that will be an uphill battle. The fact that you refused a breath test can, and will, be used against you at trial. It'll be a major strike against you.

You should also be aware that pleading guilty to a Reckless charge will have a very adverse effect on your CDL. Like making insuring you extremely expensive. Your employer won't like that one little bit.

Going to trial and losing a DUI case would be even worse. In many states, a CDL holder can expect up to a one year disqualification. Even afterwards, it may make you totally uninsurable. That means you won't work as a truck driver anywhere for several years to come.

[fagettaboutit]

This is not legal advice. With that said, I would question the DA's willingness to offer reckless over DUI. I've found most won't if they feel they have a solid case for DUI. However, many hired lawyers will try to "cut a deal" on their client's behalf first.

It's a serious gamble. But I would seriously question why they are willing to offer "reckless" over DUI. I would imagine they don't have a BAC sample and therefore make it difficult to prove you were drunk. Yes, unfortunately because you didn't blow suddelnly, as a society, we allow people to be perceived as "guilty", but what evidence do they have other than "you look guilty by not blowing"?

Like Curt581 mentioned, reckless isn't any easier on a CDL license. Both charges are equally serious offenses for your CDL license. It's a rolling of the dice. I wouldn't make this choice without having an extremely highly qualfied DUI lawyer. Unless he/she is qualified, they won't know how to effectively challenge the charge in court. Remember, the burden of proof is put on the prosecution. What proof do they have other than you didn't submit to a breath test?

A little side advice: Spend less time looking for advice in forums and more time researching DUI law. Your lawyer may be brillant, but it's your butt on the line. Educate yourself and pose questions to your lawyer.

Good luck on your choice.