Tampa DUI Lawyer Stephen Higgins Explains DUI Sentencing – Video

Being charged with a DUI is can be a very complex an intimidating situation. If you have been charged with a DUI here in Tampa you could be facing some very serious penalties if you are convicted. DUI Attorney Stephen Higgins explains the DUI Sentencing in Tampa, Florida:

Video Transcription:

Hi, Steve Higgins of the law firm of Finebloom and Haenel located here in
Tampa at 3426 West Kennedy. I’d like to talk to you about sentencing in
terms of a DUI.

A lot of people are very concerned with what’s going to happen. When the
case boils down four or five months from now and the case is set to be
resolved, what’s going to happen? A couple of things. I encourage you to
call the office so that we can talk about it more specifically, but
generally, a couple of things are going to happen when you get charged with
a DUI.

First and foremost, you could be convicted of DUI. Those carry a period of
probation, statutory license suspension for a period of six months. You’ll
be able to put in for hardship as long as you’ve done DUI School. We can
talk about that later, when you call. You’re also going to be required to
do DUI School, pay a fine, pay court costs, do some community service
hours. You’ll also be required to impound your vehicle for a period of ten
days.

A lot of these sanctions are standard. There are some negotiations that we
can have with the State Attorney’s Office to try to keep all of these
sanctions from being imposed on you, but they are standard, and the judge
will seek to impose these sanctions on you, assuming that you’re convicted
of a DUI.

There’s also the opportunity for us to get the charge amended to the lesser
charge of reckless driving. Reckless driving in the state of Florida is
still a misdemeanor offense. But within the gamut of a reckless driving
charge is the opportunity for us to keep you from being convicted of that
charge. In the state of Florida that’s called the withhold of adjudication.
There’s the opportunity for us to get that for you.

Third and finally, there’s the opportunity for us to go to trial. At trial,
two things will happen, either a not guilty verdict by six people of your
peers or a guilty verdict. Obviously, we work very hard to get you a not
guilty verdict. Hoping that the case, once all the evidence is heard,
you’ll be found not guilty and the case will be thrown out.

Sentencing is very confusing and can be very complicated. Every single case
is different. Every single case has different results. And every defendant
is treated differently.

My job is always, I tell a lot of my clients, I try to bring a face to the
file. I try to bring something a little bit different to the Hillsborough
County State Attorney’s Office and try to bring some more attention to my
client’s case that makes my clients a little bit different than everybody
else’s. So every case is different with respect to sentencing.

What I encourage you to do is give the office a call today. There’s
differences between a first time offense DUI, a second offense, a third
offense which is a felony. So I encourage you to call us today so we can
discuss in more detail exactly what’s happening with respect to your case.