Florida DUI Sentences And Penalties

Florida DUI Lawyer discusses the penalties for first time DUI or multiple DUI arrests.

The penalties for a DUI in the state of Florida vary depending on the facts of your case. Probation is a one of the penalties for DUI in Florida. If you receive DUI probation, you would be required to report to a probation officer once a month. Those monthly visits to the probation officer are to ensure you are complying with the terms of your probation.

In addition, DUI School is a distinct possibility. This is a 12-hour class for first-time DUI offenders.  There is also a component of DUI School called a psycho-social evaluation. This is done to determine whether or not the state feels you have a problem with alcohol or an alcohol addiction.

County jail is one of the penalties that could be a result of your DUI conviction. That incarceration could last up to six months. You would not necessarily receive that type of sentence on a first-time DUI but that is a possible DUI sentence under Florida Law assuming there is not an enhanced breath test above a 0.15.

In some jurisdictions you could be required to complete a victim impact or victim awareness panel. This is a four-hour class  in which the person speaking has either been a victim of a DUI or has a family member that has been a victim of a drunk driver.

In addition, depending on your breath-test result, you are facing a fine between $500-$1000, a driver’s license revocation of 6 months to a year, an impound or immobilization of 10 days, court costs in most jurisdictions you will be made to pay a cost of prosecution, which is you paying the state for prosecuting you on the DUI charge and depending on the breath test you may have to install a court ordered interlock ignition device. This device requires you blow into it to start your car and then randomly blow into it at other points to ensure you are not driving under the influence.