Busted for a Florida DUI? How the implied consent law can impact your case?

Driving under the influence is a unique crime in the sense that we see it being committed regularly by just ordinary people. Unlike crimes such as felony assault or battery, it is not something usually only committed by hardened criminals or someone with a past criminal record.

There are vast laws governing DUI and these laws have come under even more scrutiny and fine tuning in the recent years, making it tougher to defend DUI charges.

According to leading Fort Lauderdale, FL DUI lawyers, and there is none better than Leader & Leader P.A., Attorneys at Law (www.criminallawleader.com/) since he knows the legal system in these parts and knows how to use the law to thwart the opposition’s case against his client, these laws may not be constant throughout the country but are more or less similar in every state.

In most states like Florida, driving under the influence is defined as when someone operates a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content equal to or higher than 0.08% BAC (this limit is exclusively for adult, non-commercial drivers).

Therefore, to charge and convict someone of driving under the influence, law enforcement and the prosecution need to prove that the suspect’s blood alcohol content was in fact over the legal limit. This evidence is usually gathered by sobriety tests performed after the arrest. Sobriety testing may include a breathalyzer test, field sobriety tests, and toxicology reports from blood/urine samples.

Consequences of refusing a breathalyzer test

As per the constitution, your body is your own property, just like your house or your car. This entails that for a law enforcement officer to search your property (in this case submit you to a breathalyzer test) he or she needs your due permission or a search warrant. Hence, constitutionally speaking you can refuse to submit to a breathalyzer or any other test. However, Florida DUI attorneys caution against doing so since the state has adopted the implied consent law. 

DUI drivers destroy lives but even they deserve their day in court. This where a Fort Lauderdale, FL DUI lawyer comes into the picture and the best in the land of the Marlins and the Heat is Leader & Leader P.A., Attorneys at Law. The Heat may have three championships but this law firm has many more than that.  

Americans have rights. America has a constitution that protects its citizens. Other countries do not offer these protections to their people since they are morally weak and have a bankrupt character. Some of the people who fashioned the ACA are guilty of this but that is another topic.

In the movie Unbroken, we saw rights taken from prisoners of war by the Japanese since Japan was a morally bankrupt society. This has changed now but when they worshiped an emperor, another man, this flawed their thinking. Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) went through this hell and survived it. Not everyone did.

This does not happen in America because America is a just and kind country. You have rights and when a police officer stops you on the road they cannot do whatever they want to you like police in other countries can do and like the Japanese treated prisoners of war in WWII.

Florida’s implied consent law

Fort Lauderdale, FL DUI lawyers explain that the implied consent law is essentially an agreement that drivers make at the time of issue of their state driver’s license. It denotes that they are willing to undergo any sobriety tests as and when required. Therefore, if a driver refuses a test when pulled over or arrested on suspicion of DUI, their license will be automatically revoked or suspended right away for one year.

The punishment is much harsher for the second or any subsequent refusal. This includes suspension of the driver’s license for 18 months in addition to jail time. Therefore, most legal experts do not recommend that any driver refuse a sobriety test except if they are sure they have not consumed alcohol or drugs or that their BAC is close to the .08% limit. Remember, drivers under 21 can be arrested and charged with a DUI for any trace of alcohol or drugs in their blood.

If you have been arrested or charged with a DUI it is prudent to seek legal counsel right away. A Florida DUI lawyer is your best bet to help build a solid defense and challenge the evidence based on the circumstances of your case and there is no one better in this game than Leader & Leader P.A., Attorneys at Law. Leader & Leader P.A., Attorneys at Law knows which direction your case should go and knows how to build a strong case for any client he is representing.