Tampa DUI Attorney

Leslie Sammis graduated with Honors from the University of Florida College of Law in Gainesville, FL, in 1999. For the past eleven years, Ms. Sammis has devoted her entire career to defending individuals charged with DUI and other serious criminal offenses.

As a member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL), the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and the NORML Legal Committee, Ms. Sammis is able to stay current on the most recent changes to Florida law that can effect criminal cases in general and DUI cases in particular.

Leslie Sammis is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida and the State of Georgia, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Education and Experience

After completing her undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1996, Ms. Sammis completed her first year of law school at Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Florida. While at the Stetson University College of Law, Ms. Sammis competed as the only first year student on Stetson's Trial Team winning second place overall in the 1997 National Association of Trial Lawyers (ATLA) Competition in Denver, Colorado.

For her second and third year of law school, Ms. Sammis transferred to the University of Florida College of Law in Gainesville, Florida, where she graduated with Honors in 1999. While at the University of Florida, Ms. Sammis served as Vice Chair on the Executive Board for the UF Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Board.

Gaining valuable insight into the criminal justice process, Ms. Sammis completed internships with the State Attorney's Office prosecuting felony offenses including three felony jury trials, the United States Attorney's Office in Tampa assisting federal prosecutors, and a federal judicial internship with the Honorable Henry Lee Adams, Jr., United States District Judge, for the Middle District of Florida in the Tampa Division.

Ms. Sammis' passion for trial advocacy lead her to the Public Defender’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida. While at the Public Defender's Office Ms. Sammis was quickly promoted through misdemeanor divisions of County Court to the juvenile division and then the felony division of Circuit Court.

After leaving the public defender's office eight years ago, Ms. Sammis entered private practice and continued to focus on defending men and women charged with DUI and other serious driving offenses. Ms. Sammis is able to provide aggressive and experienced legal representation to each of her clients charged DUI criminal offenses in the Tampa Bay area.

Ms Sammis takes a scholarly approach to conducting DUI legal research using the most cutting edge resources available to stay current on the changes in drunk driving defense. The firm is currently engaged in litigation to exclude the breath test machines used in Hillsborough County, FL, until expert witnesses hired by the defense are able to examine the source code used to run the breath test machines.

Education:

• University of Florida College of Law, Gainesville, Florida, 1999

  • Juris Doctorate, with Honors

• University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 1996

  • Bachelor of Arts

Bar Admissions:

• State Bar of Florida, 1999

• State Bar of Georgia, 2002

Associations:

• NORML Legal Committee
• Hillsborough County Bar Association
• Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL)
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)