The first issue that most people are usually concerned with after they are arrested for DUI is the status of their driver's license.  The DUI citation that you were issued serves as a permit to drive for non-recreational purposes for 10 days following the date of the DUI arrest.  Within that 10 day period, you are required to either apply for a hardship license with the DMV or through your attorney, you also have a right to set an administrative review hearing where your attorney can contest the suspension.  If an individual fails to take any action with the DMV following their arrest for DUI in Broward County, the their "hard time" may begin running an the person may not be able to drive even with a hardship license for 30-90 days depending upon whether or not they provided a breath sample after they were arrested for DUI.  As a Broward County DUI attorney, Antonio D. Quinn, Esq. has represented clients at DUI administrative review hearings on many occasions and he is familiar with the local hearing officers and the hearing procedures.  A criminal defense lawyer who does not dedicate a substantial portion of their practice to DUI defense in Broward County is not going to offer an individual the same chance of success at a hearing before the DMV because of the many rules and procedures that an attorney must be familiar with.  Whether or not an individual who has been arrested for DUI should contest the basis of the suspension with the DMV is a question that can only be answered on a case by case basis.  It is enormously important to have an experienced DUI attorney assist you in making the proper choice so that you do not inadvertently give up your rights or improperly admit to the DUI suspension.  If your DUI lawyer is able to obtain a successful result at the administrative review hearing, then you may be spared the expense of having your car insurance increased and you will also have your full driving privilege  restored. 

         The clients of Quinn Law, P.A. who elect to contest the basis of their DUI suspension with the DMV are provided a temporary driving permit which permits for "non-recreational" driving until the administrative review hearing is held. 

Broward County DUI Defense Attorney

          After a person is arrested for DUI in Broward County, the State Attorney's office generally takes several weeks in order too make a formal filing decision.  An aggressive and experienced DUI attorney will often intervene at this stage and begin communicating with the State Attorney's Office in an effort to have the least serious charges filed or to have the case dismissed without the filing of formal charges in some cases.  If formal charges are filed in a person's case, then both the individual who was arrested and their attorney will receive a court notice for an arraignment hearing in the mail.  Once your case goes to court, an experienced Broward County DUI defense lawyer will make most court appearances on your behalf.  DUI attorney Antonio D. Quinn, Esq. generally only requires that his clients appear for court once on the date that the case either resolves through a negotiated resolution or goes to trial. 

      During the time that a DUI case is pending in the court, your attorney will receive discovery from the State which is a collection of documents comprising the State's case against the individual who was arrested.  In almost all DUI cases in Broward, there is a video of the individual performing field sobriety exercises either at the point of arrest on a dash-cam or at the blood alcohol testing (BAT) which people are transported to following an arrest for DUI in Broward County.  If an individual refused to give a breath sample then an experienced Broward DUI defense lawyer will look to the video and any other evidence in order to determine whether or not the arresting officer properly read the individual the "implied consent" warning.  If an individual did provide a breath sample, the an experienced Broward DUI attorney will review the maintenance and testing records for the Intoxilyzer machine which was used to test the individual's breath for possible anomalies or irregularities.  Most people would be surprised to discover how frequently Intoxilyzer 8000 malfunction.  A few courts throughout the country have actually refused to admit breath results into evidence from the Intoxilyzer 8000 machine because the machine does not meet the court's standards of scientific reliability.  Unfortunately, Broward County is not one of the jurisdictions that has made that determination. 

           One of the most important things that a Broward County DUI attorney must do in order to be successful in a case is to thoroughly review the discovery submitted by the State as well as any DUI video which may have been obtained by the police.  The vast majority of DUI cases in Broward County present some issue or defense which can be utilized to obtain a successful result, however it is only an experienced Broward DUI attorney who is going to recognize many of those issues.  The first thing that an experienced Broward County DUI attorney should do when looking at a DUI case is to evaluate the legality of the stop.  If the police did not have a reasonable suspicion to believe that a traffic infraction had been committed prior to the time that they stopped the individual, then all evidence which was obtained during the illegal stop can be kept out of court by an experienced DUI attorney which will often result in a dismissal of the charges. 

          The second thing that must always be evaluated by a Broward County DUI attorney is to evaluate whether or not the arresting officer had a proper legal basis to believe that there was a reasonable suspicion of DUI before the DUI investigation was initiated.  If a DUI investigation is conducted prematurely or before the officer had noted adequate indicators of impairment, then an experienced and aggressive Broward County DUI attorney should be able to have all evidence which was gathered during the illegal DUI investigation excluded from trial.  Prevailing on this argument often means that a DUI case will be dismissed by the State Attorney's Office. 

          Another important component of DUI defense in Broward County is to evaluate the totality of the circumstances surrounding the arrest in order to determine whether or not the officer had probable cause to believe that the individual was impaired prior to the time that they were placed under arrest.  There are very strict legal guidelines in Florida which dictate when there is probable cause to arrest a driver on suspicion of DUI.  If an individual performed well on field sobriety exercises but was arrested anyway, then there likely was no probable cause for the arrest and an experienced Broward DUI attorney should be able to have all evidence which was gathered as a result of the illegal arrest excluded by the court.  This is especially important if the individual refused to give a breath or urine sample following the illegal arrest. 

          The ultimate determination that a Broward County DUI lawyer must make is determining what is the best course of action to pursue in a given case in order to achieve the best result possible under the circumstances.  Success for someone who was arrested for a first time DUI in Broward County is not necessarily evaluated the same as it would be for an individual who was arrested for their 4th DUI following an accident with injuries.  No matter the circumstances of an individual's arrest, an experienced DUI attorney will always obtain for their clients the best result that is possible under the circumstances.  Much of the art of being a successful DUI attorney is being able to properly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their client's DUI case.  A criminal defense attorney who is not seasoned in DUI specific practice is unlikely to be properly qualified to make that determination and as a result they will often guide their clients towards accepting a plea because they are not familiar with the myriad of issues at play in a DUI case. 

The moral of the story is that if you want to achieve the best result possible in your Broward County DUI case, then it is essential that you retain an aggressive and experienced Broward County DUI attorney to handle your case.  Quinn Law, P.A. offers free case evaluations.  You are welcome to contact us for a case evaluation at (954) 463-0440 or toll free at (844) DUI-LAW4 in order to determine if Antonio D Quinn, Esq. can use his knowledge and expertise to achieve a successful result for you.