Driving Under the Influence in Pinellas County, FL Pinellas County DUI Lawyer

If you have been arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol ("DUI") or drunk driving in Pinellas County, FL, contact an experienced Criminal Lawyer for Pinellas County, FL to discuss your case today. Call 813-250-0500 for a free consultation to discuss your case directly with an attorney with a proven track record of success in fighting the following types of DUI cases in St. Petersburg and Clearwater in Pinellas County, FL:

• Fighting the first DUI for an individual who has never before been arrested for DUI (and in many cases has absolutely no other criminal record);
• Fighting the DUI "refusal" to submit to breath, blood or urine test in Pinellas County;
• Fighting the high blow over legal limit of .08 or even over .15 on breath test machine called the Intoxilyzer 8000 in Pinellas County; and
• Charges for DUI property damage or felony DUI with serious bodily injury in Pinellas County, FL.

You Only Have Ten (10) Days After Your Arrest to Protect Your Driver's License

After your DUI arrest you only have ten (10) days to request a formal review hearing with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) in Pinellas County, Florida, to protect your driver's license from an administrative suspension. A formal review hearing is an important step in the process of fighting your DUI that allows your Pinellas County DUI attorney to gather important evidence that might otherwise be lost with the passage of time.

The DMV hearing allows your DUI lawyer to question each of the witnesses against you under oath, including the officer that conducted the stop of your vehicle, the DUI enforcement officer that conducted the field sobriety exercises, and the chemical test technician that took your blood, breath or urine sample, if you submitted to a chemical test. If you allegedly refused to take a chemical test of your blood, breath or urine, the arresting officer may be the primary witness against you. In DUI BAC refusal cases it is important that the arresting officer is cross-examined under oath by your Pinellas County DUI attorney.

If you fail to act within ten (10) days of your drunk driving or DUI arrest in Pinellas County, FL, then your driver's license will be revoked for at least six (6) months if you blew over the legal limit, or twelve (12) months if you allegedly refused to take the breath test. A thirty (30) day hard suspension follows the six (6) month suspension which means that you can not drive a vehicle in Florida for thirty (30) days for any reason and you are not eligible for a hardship or business purposes only driver's license.

If you allegedly refused to take the breath test a ninety (90) day hard suspension will result, meaning that you may not driver for any reason during the first ninety (90) days and you are not eligible for a business purpose only or hardship license during that period. One way to avoid suffering the thirty day or ninety day hard suspension and six month or twelve month suspension is to hire a Pinellas County DUI attorney to fight the administrative suspension of your driver license by requesting a formal review hearing during the ten (10) days after your arrest.

Fighting the Criminal DUI Case in Pinellas County, FL

You must not only fight the administrative suspension with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), but you must also fight the criminal case in County Court in Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida, for a misdemeanor DUI arrest. If you were charged with a felony DUI case, then you must fight your Felony DUI case in the Circuit Court in Pinellas County.

Your DUI Attorney for Clearwater, FL can defend your DUI case by aggressively filing and litigating all viable motions, including motions to suppress, motions to exclude, and motions to dismiss the DUI charges against you. Furthermore, hiring an attorney that will be prepared to take your DUI case to trial to fight for a "not guilty" verdict may put you in the best position to avoid a DUI conviction. Many of these DUI cases in Pinellas County are reduced to reckless driving or some other disposition that allows you to avoid a DUI conviction. Contact an attorney to discuss your Pinellas County DUI arrest to find out what DUI defenses might exist under Florida law and the particular facts and circumstances of your DUI case.

Drunk driving or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (DUI) cases are handled differently in Pinellas County, whether your arrest occurred in St. Petersburg or Clearwater, Florida. Call 813-250-0500 today to speak with an Criminal Defense Attorney for Clearwater, Pinellas County, FL.At the Sammis Law Firm, P.A., you can set up a phone or office consultation to speak with a DUI lawyer today about your Pinellas County DUI arrest and prosecution. Obtaining an experienced and aggressive DUI attorney early in the process is one of the most important decisions you will make in fighting your case to avoid driving under the influence or drunk driving (DUI) conviction.

Pinellas County DUI Links

Pinellas County Sheriff's DUI Unit - The majority of arrests in Pinellas County are made by the DUI unit. For instance, In 2007 the Pinellas County Sheriff's DUI Unit posted 888 arrests in 2007 or 67% of the total DUI arrests for the entire agency.

Pinellas County Bureau of Administrative Review - As a division of the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles, you must make a request for a formal review hearing through the Bureau of Administrative Review in at the following location after a DUI arrest in Pinellas County, FL.

4585 140th Avenue

Clearwater, Florida 33762

727-507-4404 or 727-507-4405

Traffic Court in St. Petersburg, FL

South County Traffic Court

St. Petersburg Branch Office

545 First Avenue North

St Petersburg, FL 33701

Telephone: (727) 582-7771

Traffic Court in Clearwater, FL

North County Traffic Court

U.S. 19 North

Clearwater, Florida 33761

Telephone: (727) 464-8710

DUI School for Pinellas County, FL - Suncoast Safety Council - Only licensed DUI school program for anyone who lives, works or goes to school in Pinellas County, FL, even if your DUI arrest occurred elsewhere. Call (727) 373-SAFE (7233) for more information. For DUI school in Pinellas County you can register on-line for classes at one of the following locations:

Clearwater DUI School Office

1145 Court Street

Clearwater, FL 33756

St. Peterburg DUI School Office

455 31st St. North

St. Petersburg, FL 33713

Palm Harbor DUI School

1500 16th Street

Palm Harbor, FL 346

Level I - DUI School in Pinellas County - Anyone who is arrested for DUI may be required to complete the Suncoast Safety Council Level I DUI school in Pinellas County as part of the requirements to obtain or reinstate a driver's license after an administrative suspension even if they ultimately avoid a DUI conviction in court.

• For an individual who has never been arrested for DUI the Level I course will be required. The Level I DUI course requires 12 hours of classroom instruction and a drug and alcohol evaluation and completion of recommended follow up treatment.
• The DUI Level I program can be completed at the Clearwater, Palm Harbor or St. Petersburg location.
• The fee for the Level I DUI school in Pinellas County is $245 which includes the State Assessment fee, the life time Florida driving record, and the Driver Risk Inventory questionnaire.

Level II - DUI School in Pinellas County - The Suncoast Safety Council Level II DUI school in Pinellas County is often refered to as the "Repeat Offender" education course which requires 21 hours of classroom instruction at the Clearwater, Palm Harbor or St. Petersburg location.

• Many people want to know if they are required to take the Level I or Level II D.U.I. course. The simple answer is that if you have ever been arrested for DUI before, then you will probably be required to take the Level II course even if the prior DUI arrest or conviciton does not show up on your life time Florida driving record because you will be required to disclose the fact that the prior DUI arrested occurred.
• In additional to the 21 hours of classroom instruction, the Level II DUI school requires a substance abuse evaluation and completion of any recommended follow up treatment.
• The fee for the Pinllas County Level II DUI course is $375 which includes the state assessment fee, a copy of your life time Florida driving record, and the driver risk inventory questionnaire.

DUI Information Center

Special Defenses for Women Charged with DUI - For women charged with DUI in Pinellas County, Florida, including Clearwater or St. Petersburg, certain defenses may apply to your case.

The 10 Day Rule to Protect Your Driver's License - If you were arrested for drunk driving or DUI in Pinellas County, Florida, find out what you must do within 10 days of your arrest to fight the administrative suspension of your driver's license, and also preserve important evidence that can be used to fight your DUI charges in court.

DUI Cases for "Refusal" - If you were arrested for DUI in Pinellas County after the officer alleged that you refused to submit to a blood, breath or urine test, find out more about this type of Florida DUI charge. After a DUI refusal arrest there is both "good" news and "bad" news.

Felony DUI with Serious Bodily Injury - Felony DUI charges in Pinellas County are treated very seriously. If you wre arrested for DUI with serious bodily injury, or another felony DUI offense, read more information here about your charge.

FR-44 Insurance - FR44 insurance is now required in Pinellas County after a DUI conviction. This special high risk insurance can cause your insurance premiums to skyrocket. Find out more about what you can expect if you are convicted of DUI before you make any other decisions about your case.

Checkpoint or Roadblock DUI Cases - If you were arrested for a Pinellas County DUI case after a checkpoint or roadblock stop, find out how you can fight the legality of the stop under a Fourth Amendment challenge. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office conducts DUI checkpoints about every two months. The checkpoints can effect 1200 vehicles with more than 30 officers at any particular stop. Many of these cases are dismissed after your attorney files and litigates a motion to suppress in court to contest the legality of the stop. Once the motion is filed, the prosecutor has the burden of showing that the stop was legal, which requires disclosing the DUI checkpoint administrative plan as well as calling numerous officers to testify, including the Plan's authors, supervisory officers, and field officers that executed the roadblock.