DUI In Florida

[JasperFocker]

It sounds like you were drunk. The fact that nobody was hurt doesn't change the fact that you'd had a few drinks too many. If you were not technically drunk (as defined by law) you were still drinking and driving, something that's not anything to put on a life resume. Having said that, I sure don't want my life resume published, but that doesn't change what you did.

I'm not angry or MADD either...but hey, you drank alcohol and then you operated a lethal weapon. What about that do you not understand? You could have killed someone and changed the lives of many people other than the unlucky and innocent person you killed.

Life is short. I suggest you consider accepting punishment for foolish, dangerous, negligent behavior...and go on. Taxi cabs are cheap considering the potential outcome of driving after drinking behavior.

Good luck.

[lexy]

It sounds like you were drunk. The fact that nobody was hurt doesn't change the fact that you'd had a few drinks too many. If you were not technically drunk (as defined by law) you were still drinking and driving, something that's not anything to put on a life resume. Having said that, I sure don't want my life resume published, but that doesn't change what you did.

I'm not angry or MADD either...but hey, you drank alcohol and then you operated a lethal weapon. What about that do you not understand? You could have killed someone and changed the lives of many people other than the unlucky and innocent person you killed.

Life is short. I suggest you consider accepting punishment for foolish, dangerous, negligent behavior...and go on. Taxi cabs are cheap considering the potential outcome of driving after drinking behavior.

Good luck.

You know, firstly, that is REALLY judgemental. You do NOT know me. I have left my car more times than anyone I know if I drink. I have a low tolerance and am aware of the impact of drunk driving, I have a cousin and a friend both killed by drunk drivers. I am VERY opposed to it. In fact, I would NEVER have gotten behind the wheel of the car if I felt anything more than a bit "happy". Perhaps if USA invested more money in fast, affordable, convenient public transport and less punishing people for mistakes they regret horribly than we would not have such a problem. I can tell you one thing, if my punishment were to work on a public transport "building team" even if I had to just haul away trash while the engineers worked, I would gladly take that as punishment.

But to tell me something I already know, and was my first question, is like a mother pointing her finger at a "naughty" child and saying NO NO NO! Do you think I am proud of this? The first thing I did was get out of my car and not look at myself but look around to see if anyone else was injured. I would not be here today if I killed anyone as I would have offed myself out of guilt! I think that America needs to get on the ball with its love/hate relationship with alcohol and its obssessive need to deny people public transport that works like metros in almost every other country and bus systems and affordable taxis etc.

I assure you I will never as much as take mouthwash and drive again, that is how much a lesson I learned. What good is it going to do the state to waste money and time prosecuting and punishing me if they do not solve the base problems? That is where the money would be better spent. How many people do you know who DO get in cars with one too many because their car will be towed in the morning and they can't afford 100 dollars for a taxi?

Do not get me wrong, I feel awful about what happened and did not realize two drinks and a shot before I left would affect me so (two red wines at that) but it apparently absorbed in the course of my driving, that said, I was also out in the hot sun with nothing to eat or drink and also driving a car that I already SOBER almost crashed because I had only driven this rental twice and it had one of those steering wheels you touch and the whole car nearly does a 180!

[usedbranflakes]

My turn to be a jackass, ma'am...
Your turn to be high maintenance is over.
It's my turn to be the drama queen here and I am queening it up!

D.C., Northern VA, and parts of MD have WONDERFUL public transportation systems. Have you ever had a hard time hailing a D.C. taxi? I haven't; they will bang a U-turn at the wave of a hand to get to the curb to earn your business. The metro runs and runs and runs except for a few hours. Cars cna be parked overnight in a garage for 1/100th the cost of a DUI fine.

...yet people in the D.C. metro get DUIs quite frequently.

Don't blame public transportation or the lack thereof for your situation. It's a statistic that MADD hasn't been able to change in over 10 years. People will drink and drive and people will get drunk and drive.

Generally the DA/ADA has until 1630 the last day to file. They can file and then serve you. They do not have to serve you and then file. In fact there are many DAs who will call the attorney of record before filing to offer a plea agreement. ...but they don't have to extend that courtesy.

The military is very credible and the members of the military are very credible.
...except for that jackass marine that threw a puppy off a cliff in the mid-east and the Marine that raped the little girl in Japan. The other 144,998 Marines that are not bad seeds look fantastic in their dress uniforms or slant-pocket MCUs with the shiny gold or silver (not subdued brown) rank. I have seen dozens of police officers lie or contradict themselves in court. I have yet to see a single member of the military do so in a civilian court. I have yet to see them lose compusure on cross, particularly marines. Jack Nicholson was playing a Marine and I have never seen a Marine of any rank testify in a way that would bring disgrace to the Corps. Semper Fi!

Don't worry about the rental cars and their 180 degree turns at the touch of a wheel. While you must have the $$ to rent the luxury Porsche because of the responsiveness of it over a Volvo, Toyota, Ford, Mercury, Chevy, etc., you might not be able to rent a car for up to 4 years, dependent upon the rental company and the DL check they perform.

If yo do Yoga you have to have a killer body and that will get you some points at sentencing if you have a male judge; face it...attractive women, particularly attractive middle aged women about 10 years younger than His Honor, get better sentencing. The richy rich attitude will not win you any points; leave it at home or at your barrister's office. If you have a Her Honor then may God help you. Women judges tend to be tougher on females. It's just my observation in 3 states.

[lexy]

My turn to be a jackass, ma'am...
Your turn to be high maintenance is over.
It's my turn to be the drama queen here and I am queening it up!

D.C., Northern VA, and parts of MD have WONDERFUL public transportation systems. Have you ever had a hard time hailing a D.C. taxi? I haven't; they will bang a U-turn at the wave of a hand to get to the curb to earn your business. The metro runs and runs and runs except for a few hours. Cars cna be parked overnight in a garage for 1/100th the cost of a DUI fine.

...yet people in the D.C. metro get DUIs quite frequently.

Don't blame public transportation or the lack thereof for your situation. It's a statistic that MADD hasn't been able to change in over 10 years. People will drink and drive and people will get drunk and drive.

Generally the DA/ADA has until 1630 the last day to file. They can file and then serve you. They do not have to serve you and then file. In fact there are many DAs who will call the attorney of record before filing to offer a plea agreement. ...but they don't have to extend that courtesy.

The military is very credible and the members of the military are very credible.
...except for that jackass marine that threw a puppy off a cliff in the mid-east and the Marine that raped the little girl in Japan. The other 144,998 Marines that are not bad seeds look fantastic in their dress uniforms or slant-pocket MCUs with the shiny gold or silver (not subdued brown) rank. I have seen dozens of police officers lie or contradict themselves in court. I have yet to see a single member of the military do so in a civilian court. I have yet to see them lose compusure on cross, particularly marines. Jack Nicholson was playing a Marine and I have never seen a Marine of any rank testify in a way that would bring disgrace to the Corps. Semper Fi!

Don't worry about the rental cars and their 180 degree turns at the touch of a wheel. While you must have the $$ to rent the luxury Porsche because of the responsiveness of it over a Volvo, Toyota, Ford, Mercury, Chevy, etc., you might not be able to rent a car for up to 4 years, dependent upon the rental company and the DL check they perform.

If yo do Yoga you have to have a killer body and that will get you some points at sentencing if you have a male judge; face it...attractive women, particularly attractive middle aged women about 10 years younger than His Honor, get better sentencing. The richy rich attitude will not win you any points; leave it at home or at your barrister's office. If you have a Her Honor then may God help you. Women judges tend to be tougher on females. It's just my observation in 3 states.

Actually I would think places like Chicago, Boston, New York City, DC, etc. would have lower DUI rates. I can only speak for my own life experience, and that has been in Europe where I would NEVER have dreamed of getting in a car to go to the beach just for the off chance I MAY drink something. The US attitude, which is what I said (the love/hate relationship with alcohol) is also somewhat to blame. You trust a kid with a car at 16 and not alcohol until 21?! Strange to me! I personally find DUI's are not so common in Europe and public transport is VERY available, affordable, and fast as well as convenient. I could get from my house to wherever I want to go on a metro and walk two minutes and be there, or two minutes and be home....that is significant!

I am WELL aware of your points about the DA and what they can do. You think I am not shitting myself until the very last minute?

FYI, I am not "so wealthy" that I had a porsche or any other high end vehicle. In fact, if you want to know the story, my car was being repaired my insurance company paid for a replacement, only partially btw---I got a crappy 3 year old cheap hyuandai or something and immediately complained the steering was too sensitive, they told me that was all they had unless I wanted to updgrade and pay 30 more dollars a day instead of the 15 I was paying (for the three days I was to have it) and then I was called on Thursday and told my car would not be ready Friday as it was supposed to be, (later because an insurance company called, not because the dealership was honest, I found out something came off a truck when they were towing my car to get painted--the rear bumber was hit by a fed-ex truck and paint was scratched off which is why it was there THAT TIME) and so I had this car until Monday. I work from home so only drove it home and then to the beach on that Saturday, was not at all used to it and almost got in an accident sober with it as a matter of fact.

I do not know why you think I have this rich attitude. I am very pro public transport I wish I did not need a car at all to be honest. I am spoiled from living in Europe but you try living in the middle of nowhere in Miami and see how you get around?! If I was some Paris Hilton I certainly would not be driving myself anywhere let alone getting dui's but to me the 80 dollar cab fare is a bit steep!

I get all your points but I also feel really attacked as if nobody else ever made a mistake or had poor judgement. I should not have had even a sip of wine with a car I was not used to, that is a fact end of discussion I agree. That said, there were many mitigating factors as to the incidents that day and I believe it taught me a lesson and assure anyone I will never ever again get behind a wheel even after having mouthwash (something else I learned from my VERY expensive lawyer that almost got me broke---once they say dui, they WILL do all they can to prove it true or not). That is food for thought for anyone!

At this point I can only hope and pray that the next week and a half fly by and nothing happens.

I am trying to find out though how long they have to serve you...my lawyer indicated to me in no uncertain terms I had NO obligation to the courts anymore and the case is closed and if I wanted to go on an extended vacation or to Europe for the summer or move somewhere then he would certainly suggest that. I took that in code to mean that there must be a limit to how far they will go to try and serve you and how long they have to serve you. Afer all, with or without prejudice, they did close the case when they dismissed it.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Brevity is the soul of wit....

What exactly is it that you expect to be served upon you, and why do you believe you would be served by somebody other than a police or court officer?

[lexy]

Brevity is the soul of wit....

What exactly is it that you expect to be served upon you, and why do you believe you would be served by somebody other than a police or court officer?

To be as brief as you---I am very small, had a rental car was not used to as mine was being repaired. Had two glasses of wine on the beach and right before leaving was talked into taking a shot pf Patron. Did not really feel even buzzed just happy. Got in a car accident, was arrested for dui, blew under limit three times then was told to take deeper breaths, successively (the breath tests varied from .178 to .224 which was the highest of the three) was thrown in jail...forced to wear my bikini and cavity searched in front of MANY lesbians making cat calls, not once, but three times. (everyone else got prison garb) was lied to by police told not to bother bonding as I was only on a 8 hour hold...not true when the 8 hours were up as I found out as I was being transferred to the Miami-Dade women's correctional facility....finally bonded out...two days later almost---got a lawyer---very expensive---said he never saw a worse police report and if it were not for the breath results (and I do yoga so can breath in and out very deeply) there would be no case.

Went to court finally, and my lawyer filed for speedy trial (60 days for the court to refile in the event of a dismissal or witness not showing etc). Witnesses showed, one a marine, very credible put me behind the wheel which was the crux of our case (them not showing and proving I was behind the wheel) but officer was a no show. Was given a split second to accept a wet reckless meaning dui class, higher insurance, points on license, community service etc. or dismissal...asked lawyers advice got little, said NO dismiss! DA dismissed without prejudice giving her 60 days to refile. I now have 7 business days left for them to refile and am living in absolute fear.

Nobody can answer the likelihood of them refiling, nobody can tell me, I do not understand this, if they do refile how long they have to serve me (ie if I take a quick vacation for a while will that suffice?) and I am just worried. I have 4 days next week and 3 the week after then it is over if they do not refile but I have heard they often refile last minute!

[cyjeff]

K... and I will try to summarize in under your customary 1000 words.

You were drinking. 2 glasses of wine and a shot.

Got into an accident.

You tried to goose the breath test and they made you actually blow into it. You blew over the legal limit. You do yoga.

Officer didn't show. You were offered a plea. You were made to make a decision quickly. You didn't like this. You made the decision to reject the plea.

The case is to be rescheduled.

Now you are wondering if the fact you live in a gated community and have a scientific mind are enough to keep away the process server?

No, it isn't.

If they want to serve you, they will. They may wait until the last minute. I am not psychic. No one else here is psychic.... I think.

You may fall through the cracks. You probably won't. Since government agencies are filled with human beings, they are as subject to mistake as much as you and I. Well, maybe me.

Was that everything?

[cyjeff]

by the way... you blew between a .178 and .224. Any of those is enough for a DUI.

Depending on the jurisdiction and your age, the limit is .10 or .08.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Perhaps some part of my question is difficult to understand?

What exactly is it that you expect to be served upon you, and why do you believe you would be served by somebody other than a police or court officer?

[cyjeff]

I dug through some of the other rants, and I consistantly hear "It was only a couple of glasses of wine", "it was the rental car's fault", "it was the state's fault because of a lack of public transportation" (that is the one I find funniest... you are all upset about being seen in prison in a bikini but would have hopped on a bus????), and "it was just a mistake and bad judgement".

So. In the words of every other person caught for a crime on this board, it wasn't your fault, the crime wasn't that bad, it was only your first time and no one should punish you for one mistake.

Got it. Judges don't care. They care that you were driving while intoxicated and show no remorse. As for all your high words about "offing" yourself if you had killed someone mean nothing.

You cannot reconcile that statement with "it was just a mistake and bad judgement". What you are saying is that it is okay to drink and drive as long as you don't kill anyone. I am sure the victim's family will appreciate that it took their loss to elevate the crime above "bad judgement".

Oh, and I would keep away from phrases like "almost got in an accident sober with it as a matter of fact" when in court. That is an admission that you were not sober when they caught you.