They Arrested Me for DUI: What Do I Do?

Alex had spent the evening celebrating his promotion at work and was driving home from a downtown Orlando bar. Having drunk several beers, he headed home to where he lived in Central Florida. From I-4 he was about to get onto the 408 interchange when a loud siren and flashing lights made him look behind.

An Orange County deputy signaled for him to pull over. The deputy walked to Alex’s car and asked for his registration, driver’s license, and insurance information. He told Alex he was pulling him over for:

• Speeding
• Failing to use a turn signal
• Failing to maintain a single lane

Alex fumbled in the glove box for his insurance information, but when he didn’t immediately find it, the deputy asked him how much alcohol he had drunk and where he was coming from. It was late at night and Alex was anxious because the deputy was being a bit aggressive. He did not want to answer the questions.

Field Sobriety Tests

The deputy then ordered Alex out of the car without giving any reason. He informed Alex that he would now have him do a series of tests called field sobriety tests.

Alex has balance problems because of a bad back. He tried to explain this, but the deputy told him that he suspected Alex of being drunk, and therefore would arrest him for DUI if he did not take the tests.

So late at night, on the side of the busy highway with traffic whizzing by, Alex performed:

• The finger to nose test
• The one-leg stand test
• The Rhomberg alphabet test
• The H-horizontal gaze Nystagmus test

He tried his best, and believed he performed pretty well on all of them, even the one-leg stand, which requires one leg to be up for thirty seconds. He clearly remembered putting his foot down twice, but being able to keep it up while counting to thirty seconds as requested.

Alex Arrested for DUI

The Orange County deputy disagreed and had Alex turn around to face the other direction. He said, “You’re under the arrest for driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage.”

He handcuffed Alex, took his driving license, and propelled him into the back of the police car. He did not read him the Miranda rights and gave him no chance to explain himself. He drove Alex to the Orange County Breath Test Center, and asked him on video to take an Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test.

With Alex seated in front of a camera, the deputy informed him that if he did not take this breath test, he would forfeit his driving license for up to a year. Alex was not sure what to do and asked the deputy for an attorney. The deputy calmly replied that Alex had no right to a lawyer.

Taking the Breath Test

Alex took the breath test, feeling confused and upset. The machine operator asked Alex to blow into the Intoxilyzer 8000 through a tube. Alex blew as well as he could but the deputy was not satisfied and the machine operator yelled at him, “Keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing!”

Breath samples were finally obtained, but they were at 0.15 and 0.14. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08. An hour had passed now, since Alex’s arrest. There’s no telling what the samples would have been had the test been done at the time Alex was driving. He may have blown below the legal limit.

Overnight Jail

Alex was booked into jail and spent the night in a holding cell with dangerous criminals awaiting their bond release. After almost 24 hours, he was released on bond. He was tired, worn out, and afraid about what might happen next. He felt anxious about his family, his career, and his driver’s license.

Seeking Legal Help

Alex got in touch with the drunk driving lawyers at The Umansky Law Firm, and after a long discussion, he hired them. They immediately got started on defending his criminal rights. They prepared pleadings on his behalf, asking for an administrative hearing with the Department of Driver’s License Bureau; and they began to fight the driver’s license (DL) suspension. They obtained an extended 45 day permit to enable Alex to return to work.

The Umansky Law Firm’s Approach

The attorneys fought for Alex’s right to drive.

1. They attended the DL hearing so that Alex did not have to lose work time for it.
2. They filed pleadings to waive Alex’s appearance at the DUI arraignment, so again Alex would not have to lose work time.
3. At the arraignment, they pled Not Guilty on Alex’s behalf and requested a jury trial. This would give Alex the choice of having a jury of his peers (instead of the deputy) decide on his guilt or innocence.
4. They filed motions attacking the deputy’s decisions to (a) stop Alex, and (b) ask him to do field sobriety tests; and attacking the deputy’s questioning without any Miranda warnings.
5. They filed motions designed to prevent Alex’s breath test results being used against him.

While working to resolve the DUI case with the prosecutor, the attorneys also called up hearings in front of the judge on their motions regarding the evidence. They left to Alex the ultimate decision of whether to go to trial or use a plea bargain to resolve the case prior to trial.

If you want a strong, aggressive defense team concerned about your legal rights, please contact the drunk driving lawyers at The Umansky Law Firm about your DUI arrest, or call us at 407.228.3970.