Satisfying Legal Requirements With a Florida DUI ARD Program

Posted on September 3, 2010 by DUI_writer

Getting arrested or convicted of a DUI or drunk driving offense in any state can have serious repercussions when it comes to your driving privileges.  Getting arrested for a DUI requires immediate action on your part to secure a good DUI attorney to help you schedule a hearing with the DMV in an effort to minimize the chances of your driver’s license being revoked.

Once you’ve been arrested or convicted of a DUI, a number of states will require you to carry proof of a high risk insurance policy (an SR-22) in order to have your license reinstated and failure to keep up with the policy could result in your driving privileges being suspended again.  Other states may also require you to attend an Advanced Rehabilitative Disposition Class, ARD, in order to satisfy the legal requirements of getting your license back.

If you’ve been arrested or convicted of a Florida DUI, there are a number of counties that offer ARD programs for first time and multiple offenders that provide the education and treatment that may be required of you in order to reinstate your driving privileges.

DUI laws can vary from state to state and the actions that you must take to be able to get your driving privileges back will differ from state to state as well. If you want to achieve the best possible result from both your criminal and you DMV hearing, you need to enlist the help of a good DUI lawyer.  A good DUI lawyer will be able to explain exactly what you’ll need through the hearing process and be able to inform you of the actions that you’ll have to take following the hearing in order to reinstate your driving privileges. 

Florida DUI laws are getting tougher, just as they are across the rest of the country.  If you’ve been arrested or convicted of a DUI, you’ll need the help of an experienced DUI attorney in order to get through the difficult legal processes that begin immediately following the arrest.

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The Importance of California SR-22 Insurance

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Scott Kemper

When you get arrested or convicted of a DUI in the state of California, your ability to operate a motor vehicle in the state immediately becomes a bit more complex.  The arresting officer is required to immediately suspend or revoke your driver’s license upon arrest, and should the DMV investigation of the event uphold the suspension or revocation of your license, your driving privileges will be put on hold.  It’s important to note that even if your blood alcohol content is below the legal limit, you still may be arrested for DUI if you fail to pass the field sobriety test or if the police officer perceives you to be intoxicated and feels that you shouldn’t be in operation of a motor vehicle.

You’ll need a good DUI attorney on your side to help set up and contest the revocation of your driving privileges as nearly 90% of cases that are not contested with the DMV are upheld and result in loss of driving privileges.

In order to have your driver’s license reinstated in the state of California, you will be required to show proof of SR-22 insurance.  SR-22 insurance is a high risk policy that is required of drivers in California who have been arrested or convicted of a DUI or drunk driving offense.

You SR-22 insurance provider will be required to notify the DMV of a lapse in your coverage for any reason and if a lapse occurs, your license will immediately be suspended again.   If you are late on payments, if you let your insurance lapse or even if you switch from one provider to another during the three years that you’ll be required to show proof of California SR-22 coverage and you policy lapses for as little as one day your license will be suspended.

Not all states require SR-22 coverage for persons who have been arrested for a DUI, but the state of California is very serious in regards to SR-22 laws.  IF you’ve been arrested or convicted of a DUI or drunk driving related offense in California, you need a good DUI lawyer to help you through the process and to ensure that you understand all of the ins and outs involved in the reinstatement of your driving privileges and the laws concerning California SR-22 insurance.

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The Difference Between an SR22 Filing & an FR44 Filing in Florida

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Scott Kemper

I had someone ask me the other day what the difference was between an SR22 filing and an FR44 filing in Florida because they had just recently had their license suspended in Florida for DUI and had also just recently moved to Florida and had never heard the term FR44 filing before.

The reason most people have never heard this phrase before is because there are currently only two states that have implemented the use of the FR44 filing form in place of the more common SR22 filing form for DUI offenders and those states are Florida and Virginia.

The use of the new FR44 form for DUI offenders in Florida went into affect on February 02, 2008. The change to the FR44 filing instead of the more common SR22 filing that DUI offenders are more familiar with was a retroactive change meaning that anyone with a DUI as old as 10/01/07 who was still required to maintain an SR22 filing with the Florida DMV had to basically upgrade their filing to the new FR44 filing.

Unlike the SR22 form where the “S & R” do not stand for anything, the “F & R” in the FR44 form stand for “Financial Responsibility”, which makes sense since the SR22 filing is always referred to as “showing proof of financial responsibility”.

The big difference between the SR22 & the FR44 filing in Florida is in the liability limits of the insurance policy. Under the SR22 filing in Florida the liability limits were as follows:

$10,000/$20,000 bodily injury per occurrence
$10,000 property damage per occurrence

When you are looking at those coverage limits, those are some bare bones limits in my opinion. Just one accident could easily cap anyone of those coverage limits.

Take for instances if you were in an accident and the other vehicle was a brand new Mercedes SL550, which sells new for around $100,000 ouch, you can eat up your $10,000 property damage in the blink of an eye.

Now the FR44 filing requirement for DUI offenders in Florida has increased liability limits and those limits are:

$100,000/$300,000 bodily injury per occurrence
$50,000 property damage per occurrence

So now if you were in that same accident with that price Mercedes SL-550 you stand a better chance of being able to cover the damage limits.

And frankly with the ever increasing costs of vehicles nowadays it just makes sense to carry high liability limits just in case. I know on my auto insurance I carry limits of 100/300/100 so I have $100,000 property damage coverage per occurrence.

I know some people choose to carry the least amount of insurance coverage as possible, but I sleep better at night knowing that if I am in an accident I am going to be covered.

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The Dangers of Cycling in California

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Scott Kemper

As a cyclist myself it’s always a little unnerving when you hear a story about a cyclist being hit by a motor vehicle and even more so when the vehicle’s driver is suspected of DUI as was the case in a reported hit-and-run story posted on the San Diego DUI Lawyer Blog.

I can’t begin to tell you as a cyclist how many close calls I have had with motor vehicles while riding my bike on the road and the problem is magnified when the vehicle’s driver is apparently under the influence of drugs or alcohol as was the case this time.

The victim, a 16 year old boy was struck by the women’s vehicle near Sunset Cliffs in San Diego around 5 p.m.

This just goes to show you that being involved in an accident with another vehicle while that vehicle’s driver is under the influence can happen at anytime day or night.

Thomas Dekker from the t.v. show “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” was also involved in a motor vehicle accident involving a cyclist. NJ.comreported that Dekker was being held on suspicion of DUI after hitting a cyclist Wednesday night in the San Fernando Valley area.

For all the cyclist out there, please keep your wits about you while riding on public streets.

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Chicago Police Officer Faces Charges Following False DUI Arrests

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Scott Kemper

ABC 7 news in Chicago broke this story about a Chicago police officer who is facing a lawsuit brought against him by the innocent victims of his false DUI arrests. You have to watch this video that was obtained from ABC 7 news in chicago. The video is from the in car dash cam from the accused officer’s patrol car.

The video clearly shows how officer Florito has been strong arming supposed DUI suspects and falsely arresting them on DUI charges. The apparent suspect in the video performs the field sobriety tests better than anyone I have every seen and his lawyer confirms that he has never seen a defendant perform the field sobriety test this well in his entire career.

Richard Florito is currently on desk duty pending an internal affairs investigation into the allegations against him. Florito has been averaging 300 DUI arrests per year. Even if you figure the guy works 250 days per year that works out to be an average of 1.2 DUI arrests per shift.

This is a good example of police departments looking the other way and not stepping up and saying, hey I think we have an issue here this officer has been making way more DUI arrests than anyone else. How is that possible?

As a tax payer it infuriates me to no end knowing that this type of behavior is being tolerated in police departments across the country and innocent people are being arrested an probably convicted of crimes that they did not commit.

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California Administrative Hearing After a DUI

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Scott Kemper

In California after a person who has been arrested for DUI, resulting from a BAC of .08% or higher, or refuse to submit to chemical test, will have their driver license confiscated by the arresting officer and issued a 30-day temporary license. You will also receive a formal notice of suspension from the arresting officer, which will require you to schedule a DMV hearing within 10-days, this is your opportunity to show that the suspension or revocation is not justified.

Before this hearing takes place it is a very good idea to retain the services of an experienced criminal law attorney in California. The laws are confusing at times and without proper preparation before the administrative hearing some evidence could get missed that could help you get your driving privileges reinstated. An experienced attorney knows these procedures inside and out.

At the California DMV administrative hearing the hearing officer will review the evidence that is being presented by the arresting officer, swear in the officer, begin to take the officers testimony, and try to determine if the officer had probable cause to suspend or revoke your driving privileges.

The hearing officer will review the evidence that is being presented in your favor by you and your attorney, if you hired one, swear in you and your attorney and any witnesses that were subpoenaed before the hearing to testify on your behalf. This is where an experienced attorney can present rebuttal evidence to get the breath test results excused, and use other strategies effectively to get his clients driving privileges reinstated, if he is successful.

After all the evidence has been presented by both sides, the hearing officer will close the hearing, review the evidence, make a decision, and then send a written formal decision to your attorney, again if you hired one, handling your case. Estimates put this written formal decision to take up to a month or more to reach the defense attorneys office.

If the hearing officer decides in your favor your driving privileges will be reinstated, but if your license was suspended or revoked you will need to wait until this period is over before you can start the process of getting your license back.

Californias DMV puts these suspension periods at a 4-month suspension if you took the breath test on your first offense, a second or subsequent offense within 10 years of the first DUI will result in a 1-year suspension.

If you opted not to take the breath test at the time of the police stop your license will be suspended for 1-year on the first offense, a second offense results in a 2-year revocation, and a third or subsequent offense will result in a 3-year revocation of your driving privileges.

After these suspension or revocation periods, you will need to provide proof of financial responsibility, a SR22 insurance policy with the mandatory liability limits, and pay the reissue fee of $125 to the DMV. The California DMV states that all first time DUI offenses are required to attend and complete a Drinking Driver Program. For a 2nd or subsequent DUI conviction you will be required to complete an 18 or 30-month Drinking Driver Program.

For more information on the Drinking Driver Program please contact the California DMV at (916) 657-6625.

If you need a restricted license to drive to and from work you will need to apply at any DMV field office.

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New York Adminstrative Hearing Information

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Scott Kemper

Administrative hearings are fairly specific to each state. Some states allow for hearings to be missed without any consequences, while other states will continue without you being present and suspend or revoke your driving privileges or possibly have you serve additional jail time.

This post will focus on New Yorks administrative hearings and what their hearing rules of procedure entail.

Who handles administrative hearings in New York if I need one?

New Yorks Office of Administrative Hearings manages administrative hearings where the Office of General Counsel will represent New Yorks Division of Licensing Services. This department determines what action will be taken against a licensee that is regulated by this department. This Division of Licensing services has assembled a guide to statutes and rules that relate to hearings and provides the necessary information to defendants and their respective attorneys.

Here are just a few reasons for a revocation or suspension of your drivers license:

You refused to submit to a chemical test as required by law at the time of the police stop.

Your chemical test produced a BAC percentage of .08 or more, or shows the presence of a controlled substance.

You were driving (operating) a commercial motor vehicle and a chemical test produced a BAC percentage of .04 or more, or shows the presence of a controlled substance.

These are a few examples for getting your drivers license suspended or revoked. Other reasons could include too many points against your license from speeding or other moving violations, and drug or alcohol related offenses. It would be a good idea to check your states Motor vehicle Department to see which offenses will result in a license suspension or revocation.

How will I know when my administrative hearing is scheduled?

This administrative hearing needs to be scheduled as soon as possible after the arrest; New York will generally schedule this hearing within 10 days of an offense that requires a hearing, under current statutes.

All of the parties involved will be given a reasonable notice of the administrative hearing by the state of New York with a time, a place, and the nature of the hearing. You will also be given documents or reference materials to a particular section(s) and the rules involved, where applicable.

What usually happens at an administrative hearing?

At an administrative hearing, a hearing officer will explain the process to you, swear the arresting officer in and review all the evidence that the officer has presented against you. The hearing officer will begin to take testimony from the arresting officer, and the hearing officer will start to determine if the arresting officer had enough probable cause to arrest you and if the arresting officer followed the official procedures set forth by the state.

The hearing officer will swear you and your attorney, if you hired one, in next and any witnesses that were subpoenaed to appear on your behalf at the hearing. (You will need to subpoena any witnesses before you go to the hearing not after.) The hearing officer will review all the evidence that you and your attorney are presenting in favor of you and will also begin to take testimony from you, your attorney, and any witnesses that you have.

The hearing officer will close the hearing after all evidence has been presented and there are not further questions from either side. The hearing officer will make their decision after all the evidence and testimonies have been reviewed and make their decision as to either dismiss the charges for a suspension or revocation and return your license to you or the hearing officer will uphold the suspension or revocation for the minimum time permitted by law for the crime that has been committed. This suspension or revocation period is also pending on your driving record, meaning if you have a long criminal history the suspension or revocation period could be longer, compared to a first time offender.

If you disagree with the hearing decision you have the right to appeal the decision to the court.

An excellent tip to remember would be to show up for your hearing prepared. If you fail to appear at the scheduled hearing many states will waive your rights to a hearing and the action against you will go into effect.

Additional information may be obtained by writing to:

Department of State
Office of General Counsel
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12231

Or by visiting www.NewYork.gov

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