Tampa DUI Lawyer

If you have been arrested for driving under the influence ("DUI") in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL, contact a criminal defense attorney at the Sammis Law Firm to discuss fighting your charges. We focus on DUI cases in Hillsborough County, including cases in Tampa and Plant City, Florida. Our offices are conveniently located near the courthouse in downtown Tampa.

Call us today to schedule a free, confidential consultation to discuss the facts of your case with one of our attorneys over the phone or in the office. Our attorneys are on call to answer your questions 24/7. Even a misdemeanor arrest for DUI can cause long-lasting and life changing consequences. Never assume that you do not require the services of an experienced attorney. Contact us today to find out what you need to do to protect yourself after a DUI arrest.

Why Experience Matters

Focusing on DUI defense allows our lawyers to stay current on the most recent changes in Florida's criminal statutes and case law that effect DUI cases. We take a scholarly approach to filing and litigating motions to suppress or exclude evidence. Using innovative pre-trial motions is one important way to aggressively fight your DUI case.

The pre-trial motions ask the judge to throw out certain evidence against you or even throw out the charges completely. If the judge decides that certain evidence cannot be used at trial, then the prosecutor may be more willing to offer to reduce the charges to a less serious offense such as reckless driving. Should your case go to trial, pretrial motions are extremely valuable in eliminating certain prejudicial evidence that may increase the opportunity for a "not guilty" verdict.

Why You Should Fight the Charges

We created this website to give you general information about ways to fight a DUI case. Many people assume that if they were arrested, the prosecutor with the State Attorney's Office in Tampa will be able to obtain a conviction. Many DUI cases in Hillsborough County, however, are resolved without a conviction either because the prosecutor decides to reduce the charges to "reckless driving" prior to trial, the charges are dismissed by the court prior to trial, or the individual is found "not guilty" at trial.

Most importantly, we want to provide you with general information about the possible costs that could result from not fighting the case. The direct costs are those imposed by the Court, including the possibility of jail time or incarceration, probation, DUI school, fines and court costs, community service hours, substance abuse evaluation and follow up counseling, attending the "victim impact panel," installation of the ignition interlock device, and vehicle impoundment.

Even more costly are the hidden costs of a DUI conviction which can include a dramatic increase in you automobile insurance premiums (including obtaining something call "FR-44 insurance" after a Florida DUI conviction). Lesser known indirect expenses can include increases in life or medical insurance, and the impact a criminal record might have on your future educational and employment opportunities.

Many estimate that a first lifetime DUI conviction will cost the average driver in Florida more than $9,000.00 during the first three years after the conviction (not including attorney fees). The costs of a DUI conviction can be much higher depending on your particular circumstances, including the impact the DUI conviction might have on your future employment opportunities. Obtaining an attorney as early as possible after the arrest is an important step towards preserving all avenues of attack.

Call to Find Out What You Need to Do Right Now to Protect Your Driver's License - The 10 Day Rule

After you are arrested for drunk driving in Hillsborough County, you only have 10 days to demand a formal review hearing to contest the administrative suspension of your driver's license. After your DUI attorney makes the demand, we can help you obtain a 42 day driving permit while we fight the suspension (assuming your driver's license was valid at the time of your arrest).

The formal review hearing is one of the most important parts of your case because it gives your Tampa DUI Lawyer the opportunity to cross-examine the law enforcement officer that performed the stop and made the arrest, as well as the breath test machine technician and those involved with the calibration and testing of the machine. During the formal review hearing, your DUI lawyer can subpoena important documents and explore defenses that may ultimately help you to avoid a DUI conviction.

Stages of a DUI case in Tampa, FL

After your arrest for DUI, your criminal defense lawyer in Tampa can usually waive your appearance at many, if not all of the pre-trial court dates saving you the stress and inconvenience of going to court. Your DUI attorney in Tampa will handle the various stages of your case including the following:

• First appearance;
• Bond reduction hearing (particularly in serious felony DUI cases if you have not already bonded out of jail);
• Formal Review Hearing to Fight the Administrative Suspension of your Driver's License by the DMV;
• Arraignment;
• Disposition (also known as the Pre-trial Status Hearing);
• Evidenciary Hearings on a Motion to Suppress Evidence or Dismiss the DUI Charge;
• Pre-trial Conferences; and
• Bench Trial or Jury Trial.

Pre-Trial Motions and Challenges to the Prosecutor's Case

For many individuals charged with DUI, the goal is to avoid a DUI conviction by getting the prosecutor to agree to reduce the case to reckless driving. Even once the charge is reduced to reckless driving, the terms of the deal can be negotiated including whether you are "adjudicated guilty" of reckless driving or whether the court will "withhold adjudication" which might allow you to seal the criminal record. The DUI prosecutors with the State Attorney's Office in Tampa, Hillsborough, FL, may agree to reduce drunk driving charges for a wide variety of reasons including:

• Unlawful Stop - Concerns about the defense winning a motion to exclude evidence because of an unlawful stop performed by a law enforcement officer with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the Tampa Police Department, or the Florida Highway Patrol;
• Other Motions - Concerns about the defense winning a motion to exclude other evidence in the case, including evidence that you refused to take a chemical test, or evidence concerning the results of a breath, blood or urine test result.
• Source Code of Breath Test Machine - Concerns about motions to attack the breath test machine, or demands to release the "source code" of the particular breath test machine under in your case in Tampa, Hillsborough County;
• Video Evidence - Concern about the jury returning a "not guilty" verdict if the driver does not look drunk, impaired or intoxicated on the DUI video at the roadside or at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office central breath testing facility at the police station during the breath test or while the driver is read his implied consent warning after refusing to take a chemical test.
• Expert Witness - Concern about a DUI expert witness listed by the defense that can undermine a key piece of evidence the prosecutor otherwise intends to rely on at trial such as the results of a breath, blood or urine test or performance on a field sobriety exercises.

1st DUI - Special Considerations for Someone Charged with a First DUI in Tampa, FL

Read more about the possible ways to avoid the penalties and punishments for a First DUI in Florida, including the administrative driver's license suspension, as well as court ordered penalties such as probation with special conditions (DUI school, drug and alcohol evaluation, substance abuse counseling, the victim impact panel, community service, fines, vehicle impoundment, vehicle immobilization and court costs).

Top 10 DUI Arrest Locations for the Tampa Police Department DUI Unit:

• Ybor City

• SOHO
• 
MacDill (Kennedy to Columbus)

• Nebraska Avenue (Waters to Fowler)
• 
Courtney Campbell Causeway
• 
Dale Mabry (Martin Luther King to Hillsborough Avenue)
• 
Tampa Palms
• 
Kennedy (Dale Mabry to Westshore)
• 
Howard (Kennedy to I-275)
• 
Channelside

Contact Us Today to Schedule a Consultation with a Tampa DUI Attorney

We created this website to give you very general information about ways to fight DUI cases in Tampa, FL. Our website contains general information on DUI stories, DUI statistics, DUI consequences, and DUI laws in Florida. No substitute exists, however, for speaking directly with a criminal defense lawyer about the particular facts of your misdemeanor or felony case so that you can receive advice on how to proceed.

Drunk driving or DUI cases are treated differently in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Tampa and Plant City, Hillsborough County, FL. Contact a DUI attorney experienced with fighting cases in front of the particular prosecutor and judge in Tampa that will be assigned to your case.

Contact us to discuss the criminal offense of DUI (also known as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, drunk driving, driving while intoxicated, operating a vehicle under the influence, impaired driving, buzzed driving, impaired driving or drinking and driving). Our drunk driving lawyers provide free initial consultations over the phone or in the office. Organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) fight for increase penalties in DUI cases. Hire an DUI attorney that will fight to obtain the best possible result in your case.

Call 813-250-0500 today for a free consultation to discuss the facts of your case with the Tampa DUI Attorneys at the Sammis Law Firm today. Find out more information by visiting our Hillsborough County DUI Attorney blog to see a discussion of issues related to drunk driving defense.

At the Sammis Law Firm our attorneys help people charged with DUI in the following areas of Hillsborough County, Florida and the greater Tampa Bay area:

Tampa - 33602, 33605, 33609, 33603, 33607, 33604, 33612, 33616, 33620, 33606, 33610, 33625, 33614, 33619, 33634, 33647, 33611, 33617, 33613, 33621, 33615, 33626, 33629, 33637, 33635, Carrollwood - 33624, 33618, Saint Petersburg - 33703, 33702, 33716, Clearwater - 33762, Apollo Beach - 33572, Thonotosassa - 33592, Seffner - 33584, Lutz - 33549, Gibsonton - 33534, Riverview - 33569, Valrico - 33594, Oldsmar - 34677.