Professional Consequences of DUI Teachers
Not only does a DUI conviction result in harsh criminal penalties, but it also may result in negative consequences to one’s professional license. Depending on that
If you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in South Florida, contact us at Michael White, P.A. for a free consultation. As a prosecutor Michael prosecuted hundreds, if not thousands, of DUIs and was nominated for MADD’s DUI Prosecutor of the Year award for his work.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN ARRESTED FOR DUI IN THE PAST 10-DAYS, CLICK HERE NOW
DUI is a serious criminal offense that may carry misdemeanor, or even felony sanctions, depending on, for instance, the number of prior DUI convictions and whether the incident caused death or serious bodily injury. A conviction will affect not only your criminal record, but also your liberty, ability to drive, reputation and financial well-being. Moreover, even if only charged as misdemeanor, the charge carries a mandatory adjudication, which can have significant consequences should you ever be charged with a subsequent offense. Similarly, a DUI conviction can have disastrous professional consequences if you have professional license.
Misdemeanor DUI
In Florida, all DUIs – whether felony or misdemeanor – begin with the notion that Driving Under the Influence is defined as “driving” while a person is impaired beyond his or her normal faculties, or while he or she has a blood or breath alcohol level above 0.08g/dl. (Fla. Stat. 316.193) Thus, the State must prove two elements beyond a reasonable doubt to secure a conviction at trial:
The State can attempt to prove these elements in one of two ways. The easiest one occurs when an accused submits to a lawfully requested breath test and the result is 0.08 or higher.
The second way typically occurs when the accused refuses submit to a lawfully requested breath test. In these instances, the State attempts to prove that the defendant was impaired beyond his normal faculties through evidence, such as the officer’s observations of the defendant. Today, because the police record many of their encounters with suspects, the State frequently seeks to introduce these videos, which often show the defendant performing Field Sobriety Exercises. These videos often can be outcome determinative in a case where a defendant refused a breath test depending on the defendant’s overall appearance. In cases where the defendant’s performance on video looks damaging, we often try to suppress the video. When the performance is favorable to the defendant, we seek reduced charges.
A defendant found guilty of these charges alone – that is, without any enhancements – faces the following mandatory penalties:
A misdemeanor DUI can be enhanced in one of two ways:
In both instances, the penalties increase to:
Click here for a summary of all DUI penalties
Felony DUI
In Florida, there are four ways in which the State could charge Felony DUI:
Click here for a summary of all DUI penalties
Defenses to DUI
DUI is one of the most complicated fields in criminal law. Because of this complexity, it is also one of the most defensible charges. Common defenses often involve the filing of a Motion to Suppress that challenges the basis of the traffic stop or the lack of reasonable suspicion to even conduct a DUI investigation. Similarly, any improper procedures taken by the police during the testing often results in the Court suppressing those results as well. There are nearly countless of other defenses that Michael will discuss with you for free.
Actual Physical Control
In Florida, one can be convicted of DUI, even if they were not driving, so long as the State establishes “actual physical control”. “Actual physical control” occurs when a suspect is not actually driving but has “the capability to operate the vehicle”. Typically, this definition hinges on two questions:
The further either of these are from the car, the less likely the State will establish “actual physical control”.
The most typical cases where the State proceeds on this theory involve the passed-out driver behind the wheel of a running, but not moving, car. Although this seems counter-intuitive because in many of these cases the driver is simply “doing the right thing”, the outcome often is a DUI. These cases often go to trial, as it is hard to convince six Floridians beyond a reasonable doubt that such a factual scenario constitutes “driving”.
If you have been arrested for DUI, but were not “driving”, call Michael for a free consultation.
Normal Faculties
When a trial judge instructs a jury in a DUI trial, he or she says, “Normal Faculties include but are not limited to the ability to see, hear, walk, talk, judge distances, drive an automobile, make judgments, act in emergencies and, in general, to normally perform the many mental and physical acts of our daily lives.” He or she also defines “impaired” as, “Diminished in some capacity.”
Impairment
During an officer’s DUI investigation, an accused is asked to perform Field Sobriety Exercises. If the accused agrees to perform them, the officer asks the accused a series of questions, some of which are designed to establish a “baseline” of the accused’s normal faculties. These questions ask about the accused’s health, particularly the health of their eyes and of their legs. The officer then typically records on video the accused performing the Exercises, which can then be used to help prove that the accused was impaired beyond their normal faculties.
In other words, if an accused indicates through his or her answer to the officer’s questions prior to the Exercises that he or she is in perfectly good health, but on the video an unsteady gait, slurred speech, or any of a host of other signs, the State will use these signs to try to prove that the accused normal faculties were diminished in some capacity.
Controlled Substance
In Florida a Controlled Substance “means any substance named or described in Schedules I-V of s. 893.03. Laws controlling the manufacture, distribution, preparation, dispensing, or administration of such substances are drug abuse laws.” Fla. Stat. § 893.02. Section 893.03 lists all substance that the State bans, such as cocaine and fentanyl, and regulates, such as Xanax and oxycodone. In other words, a controlled substance is substance that is either prohibited or for which a patient needs a prescription.
Chemical Substance
A chemical substance, on the other hand, is a substance that may not be banned, but their ingestion or inhalation are harmful and impair one’s normal faculties, such as nitrous oxide. Fla. Stat. § 877.111.
Not only does a DUI conviction result in harsh criminal penalties, but it also may result in negative consequences to one’s professional license. Depending on that
Not only does a DUI conviction result in harsh criminal penalties, but it also may result in negative consequences to one’s professional license. Depending on that
Not only does a DUI conviction result in harsh criminal penalties, but it also may result in negative consequences to one’s professional license. Depending on that
Not only does a drug crime conviction result in harsh criminal penalties, but it also may result in negative consequences to one’s professional license. Depending on
Not only does a DUI conviction result in harsh criminal penalties but it also may result in negative consequences to one’s professional license. Depending on that individual’s
The Impaired Practitioner program is a program under the purview of Florida’s Florida Department of Health designed to address “Professional Impairment” of practitioners in the care industry.
After several years as a prosecutor and General Counsel for the Broward County Police Benevolence Association (PBA), Michael White started his own practice focused on protecting individuals accused of crimes.
We serve clients throughout the State of Florida, including, but not limited to, all cities in
the following counties: Broward, Indian River, Martin, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and St.Lucie.
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