As a result of your DUI arrest, your Driver License is subject to two separate suspensions:
1. Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle Administrative Suspension
2. Criminal Suspension
Most importantly, you need to be aware of Florida’s Ten Day Rule regarding your right to fight the Administrative Suspension.

DHSMV Administrative Suspension

The first Driver License suspension you are subject to is imposed by the DHSMV and is known as an Administrative Suspension. This suspension is imposed if, after your DUI arrest, you either
1. Refused to submit to a breath, urine or blood test, or
2. Submitted to a breath, urine or blood test and your blood alcohol level was found to be .08 or higher.
If you refused to submit to a BAC test, or if your BAC was over .08 your Driver License will be suspended for either 6 months, 1 year, or 18 months from the date of your arrest. If your license is suspended for either reason, you will be issued a temporary driving permit that expires at midnight on the 10th day following the date of your arrest.

Florida’s Ten Day Rule

You only have 10 days from the date of your arrest to request a formal review hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles to contest the Administrative License Suspension and attempt to get your license back. If you fail to request the hearing with the 10-day period, your license will be suspended for 6 months, 1 year, or 18 months depending on the circumstances. It is important to contact our office within the 10-day period.
If a formal review hearing is requested within the mandatory 10 days of your arrest, you will be issued a temporary license that is good until seven days after the hearing. At midnight of the 7th day after the hearing, however, until we either receive notice that we won, or if the suspension is upheld, your license is suspended. If we have won your DHSMV hearing, you will have your full driving privilege. Otherwise, you only have 10 days to drive after you are arrested using your citation as a driving permit.

Obtaining a Hardship Driver License

If we are unable to successfully challenge the administrative suspension, you may still be eligible for a hardship license. To be eligible for a hardship license you must: (1) enroll in a DUI School, (2) serve the first 30 days of your administrative suspension for a first offense, and (3) provide proof of enrollment in a DUI school to your local DHSMV Administrative Review Office. The review office will then process your hardship license application. If the review office gives you approval to reinstate your license early for hardship purposes, you must then present this approval to your local driver license office. Finally, you must complete the DUI school within 90 days of being given the hardship license. Failure to complete the DUI school will result in cancellation of your hardship license until the DUI school is completed.

Criminal Suspension

The Criminal Suspension is imposed by the Court. If you are eventually convicted of DUI, another mandatory 6 or 12 month suspension begins on the date of conviction and the judge will suspend your hardship license.

Criminal Suspension Periods

Depending on what you are charged with, the following criminal suspension periods would be imposed if eventually convicted. After that are the eligibility requirements for a hardship license if you were to experience a Criminal Suspension.
A. First Conviction: Minimum 180 days revocation, maximum 1 year.
B. Second Conviction Within 5 Years: Minimum 5 years revocation. May be eligible for hardship reinstatement after 1 year. Other 2nd offenders same as above.
C. Third Conviction outside of 10 Years: If the two previous DUI convictions were more than 10 years prior to the current conviction, then you are only facing a maximum of 1 year suspension. If one of the DUI convictions have occurred within 5 years of the current DUI conviction, then you are looking at a 5 year suspension
D. Third Conviction Within 10 Years: Minimum 10 years revocation. May be eligible for hardship reinstatement after 2 years.
E. Fourth Conviction, Regardless of When Prior Convictions Occurred) and Murder with Motor Vehicle: Mandatory permanent revocation. No hardship reinstatement.
F. DUI Manslaughter: Mandatory permanent revocation. If no prior DUI related convictions, may be eligible for hardship reinstatement after 5 years.
G. Manslaughter, DUI Serious Bodily Injury, or Vehicular Homicide Convictions: Minimum 3 year revocation.

Eligibility for Hardship License

Depending on the degree of DUI you were convicted of, the following requirements must be met in order to be eligible for a hardship license following a criminal suspension.
• First Conviction: Must complete DUI school and apply to DHSMV for hearing for possible hardship reinstatement. Mandatory ignition interlock device up to six months for BAC of .15 or higher, effective 07/2008.
• Second Convictions (or more): No hardship license except as provided below. Mandatory ignition interlock device for one year, effective 07/2008.
• Second Conviction Within 5 Years: (5 Year Revocation) May apply for hardship reinstatement hearing after one year. Must complete DUI school and remain in the DUI supervision program for the remainder of the revocation period.
• Third Conviction Within 10 Years: (10 Year Revocation) May apply for hardship reinstatement hearing after two years. Must complete DUI school and remain in the DUI supervision program for the remainder of the revocation period. Mandatory ignition interlock device for two years, effective 07/2008.
• DUI Manslaughter With No Prior DUI Related Conviction: (Permanent Revocation): May be eligible for hardship reinstatement after 5 years from date of revocation or from the date of term of incarceration provided the following requirements have been met: (1) Has not been arrested for a drug-related offense for at least 5 years prior to the hearing; (2) Has not driven a motor vehicle without a license for at least 5 years prior to the hearing; (3) Has been alcohol and drug-free for at least 5 years prior to the hearing; and (4) Must complete a DUI school and must be supervised under the DUI program for the remainder of the revocation period (failure to report for counseling or treatment shall result in cancellation of the hardship license).
• Manslaughter, DUI Serious Bodily Injury, or Vehicular Homicide Convictions: (3 Year Revocation): May immediately apply for hardship reinstatement hearing. Must complete DUI school or advanced driver improvement course.

-Christopher Atcachunas, Esq.

This is an area of law that is frequently overlooked and not taken seriously by many people. Here I will give you a crash course on the pitfalls and surprises that are associated with this driving offense.
First question we need to answer is how your license gets suspended? That’s pretty self explanatory, but here are some examples on how and when your driver’s license gets suspended.

- Failure to pay traffic infractions
If you don’t pay/elect school/elect a hearing for your speeding ticket or other violation within 30 days, the Court can D6 (suspend) your driver’s license.

- Failure to pay Child Support Obligation/Failure to Obey Court Order
If you are under Court order to pay child support and you fail to pay, the Court can D6 your driver’s license.
If the driver enters into an agreement or settlement regarding their driving privilege, if this agreement is breached, the Court can suspend your driver’s license.

- D.U.I. or Drug Offense suspension
If you are convicted of D.U.I. or any type of drug offense, your driver’s license can be suspended by the Court.
If caught driving on any of these offenses, jail is the standard offer by Florida prosecutors.

Second question is how do you know your license is suspended? If your license is in the process of being suspended for any of the aforementioned reasons, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in Tallahassee will send you a notification of when your license will be suspended. This usually gets sent to the address listed on your Florida Driver’s License.
Third question is what exactly is Driving While License Suspended? Under Florida Statute 322.34(2), Driving While License Suspended WITH Knowledge, makes it a second degree misdemeanor to drive on a suspended license. The maximum penalty for this offense is up to 60 days in jail and or a fine up to $500.00.

There is a major difference between Driving While License Suspended (DWLS) WITH knowledge and DWLS WITHOUT knowledge. DWLS WITH knowledge is a criminal infraction for which you can be arrested and face criminal charges. DWLS WITHOUT knowledge is a civil infraction that can be paid at the clerk’s office like any other traffic violation.

However, both of these infractions, whether civil or criminal, carry the penalty of counting towards the status of being classified as a Habitual Traffic Offender. This is something that nobody wants to deal with. Under Florida law, if you plea to either the civil or criminal infraction of DWLS, it will count toward you being a Habitual Traffic Offender. After 3 of these pleas, you can be classified as a HTO and you can lose your license for 5 years! That’s not all either. If you have 2 DWLS With Knowledge, your third will be charged as a third degree felony with a maximum penalty of up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.00.

Now you are probably thinking, “What can I do if I receive one of these infractions?” Well, our office can offer a number of solutions to whatever your situation may be. If you are able to reinstate your license at any time during your case, we can work out a deal where you can plea to the lesser offense of Possession of an Invalid Drivers License under Florida Statute 322.03 (NVDL). The advantage of this is two fold. First, you can save yourself possible probation and driver school and most importantly, NVDL does not count toward your HTO status. If reinstating your license is not an option, trial is always available. Were you the actual driver? Were you in control of the motor vehicle? Did you know your license was suspended? These are all defenses to the criminal offense of Driving While License Suspended with knowledge. We can also examine possible suppression issues with your stop. If you were illegally detained or pulled over, we can have the case thrown out on Constitutional grounds.

If you have any other questions or concerns please call our office. We have handled hundreds of these cases in the Orange, Osceola, and Seminole areas.

-Christopher Atcachunas, Esquire