The state of Florida is consistently ranked as one of the toughest states for DUI’s. Not only do police officers patrol with an eye for catching any hint of drinking and driving but the state prosecution also tries to convict as many individuals as possible. Whether you are from Florida or not, getting charged with a DUI can quickly become an emotional and financial hardship. For those of you reading this that are not from the state of Florida, there are additional concerns that you will have to address when dealing with your Florida DUI charge.
Although the defense of your case will be the same as if you were from Florida, there are certain requirements that the state has in place with regard to timing and appearances that you will need to consider. In Florida, individuals charged with driving under the influence are required to attend a court date within ten days of receiving his or her DUI. But what do you do if you were not planning on staying in the sunshine state for that long? Additionally, many of the punishments that are attached to a DUI conviction require local things like community service and working with a state parole officer. Again, the geographic issues come up. With both of those items being mandatory requirements, the last thing you want to do is miss an appearance or not satisfy a punishment. There are ways to get around it—hire an attorney. Working with an attorney on any DUI charge is always a good idea but this is especially true for out of state DUI’s because there will be few, if any times in which you would have to come back to the state to resolve the charges against you. If you choose to represent yourself then you will need to show up to court on the necessary dates, which can get costly quickly!
Your Florida DUI attorney can make any and all court appearances for you as well as file the necessary paperwork to get your case resolved quickly. Your attorney can also help with the punishment (should that be the case) aspect of your case and inform and work with the judge on creating a working situation that limits travel without compromising the punishments the judge in your case assigns. For instance, your attorney can put together an arrangement that allows you to mail in your probation requirements rather than meet with an officer in person; and buy (rather than serve them in person) community service hours when possible.
If you have recently been charged with driving under the influence while visiting Florida, give the attorneys at Finebloom & Haenel P.A. a call today. We have worked on tons of cases similar to yours and know the added stress being from out of the state adds. We will go over the various options with you and work hard to get you the best possible results in your case. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
I would like to recognize Nicole Naum for helping me with this post.
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