Santa Rosa County, Florida DUI Lawyers

If you’ve been arrested for a DUI, you may be stressed and frightened about the consequences to come. A drunk driving conviction can result in the loss of your driver’s license, fines, and jail time, in addition to collateral consequences that can include increased insurance rates and a criminal record. The consequences of a DUI conviction will depend largely on whether this is your first DUI, or if this is a repeat offense. Individuals who are in accidents in which another driver or passenger was injured or killed, or those who are charged with a DUI where there was a minor in the vehicle can also face more serious consequences. The Alice Harris Law Firm is a DUI law firm in Santa Rosa County, Florida that works with individuals who have been arrested or charged with a DUI. You are innocent until proven guilty and there may be a range of legal defenses or alternatives to jail time and lost driving privileges available to you, depending on your situation.

What Constitutes Drunk Driving in Florida?

In Florida, a person can be charged with drunk driving if law enforcement has a suspicion that a person is under the influence. A person can also be charged with drunk driving if an officer suspects that a person has consumed drugs and alcohol in sufficient quantities as to impair his or her driving. A drunk driving charge is not limited to alcohol impairment, but can also include impairment from illegal drugs, or even impairment from prescription drugs. Basically, if your ability to drive is compromised due to drinking and driving, drugs, or the prescriptions you are taking, you should not drive.

While officers have the power to ask a driver to submit to a breath or blood test if the driver is arrested on the suspicion of drunk driving, there are situations where breath or blood tests can sometimes produce erroneous results, where roadside sobriety tests can result in an officer giving a driver a false positive for drinking and driving, and situations where a driver’s health issues, or where other circumstances could result in an officer wrongly believing a driver is under the influence. Breath tests can sometimes produce erroneous results, breathalyzers can sometimes be broken or improperly calibrated, and officers can sometimes make errors when they perform field sobriety tests or administer blood or breath tests.

Have you been charged with drunk driving in Santa Rosa County, Florida? It is important to note that you are innocent until proven guilty and have the right to have your day in court. The DUI lawyer, Alice Harris, Attorney at Law in Santa Rosa County, Florida may be able to review your case, help you understand your legal options, and fight to help you get the best outcome permitted under the law.

What are Some Santa Rosa County, Florida DUI Defenses?

 The DUI defenses available to you if you have been charged with a DUI will vary depending on your situation. If you have been arrested for a DUI, you may want to speak to a driving under the influence law firm in Santa Rosa County, Florida like The Alice Harris Law Firm. The DUI lawyer Alice Harris can review the facts of your case and help you understand the options available to you. For example, some DUI defenses can include looking closely at the circumstances surrounding how officers stopped you, how they tested you for drugs and alcohol, and how they went about arresting you. A DUI attorney can review your breath and blood results and review the way that evidence was handled and gathered at the scene. Our attorney can also investigate the case to determine if there might be an alternative explanation to the evidence gathered. For example, if a field sobriety test is being admitted as evidence, a DUI lawyer can review how the test was administered, how officers were trained to conduct these tests, and our DUI lawyer can review the results of these tests. Because field sobriety tests involve subjective assessments at the scene, these assessments can be closely analyzed for errors or inconsistencies. Officers have immense discretion and options when it comes to gathering evidence at the scene of a suspected DUI. Because of this, the best option for drivers might be to assert their right to remain silent when questioned, and to ask to speak to a DUI lawyer as soon as possible.

If you are being charged with a DUI, you could be facing a range of serious consequences. Having a criminal record or a DUI on your record could change your life in many ways. The Alice Harris Law Firm is a Santa Rosa County, Florida DUI law firm that may be able to fight for your freedom and innocence. In some cases, we can fight for charges to be dropped or reduced. In other cases, we may be able to negotiate with prosecutors to place you in a treatment program or alternative program instead of having you face jail time or lost driving privileges. Contact Alice Harris, Attorney at Law today to learn more about your options.