St. Augustine DUI Defense Lawyer
Local Defense for Alcohol, Drug, and Refusal Cases
A DUI arrest in St. Augustine may follow a traffic stop on US 1, A1A, State Road 312, King Street, or another local road. It may also begin after a crash, when someone is found sitting in a parked vehicle, or when police claim that prescription medication or another drug impaired the driver.
The investigating agency depends on the location. Stops within the city may involve the St. Augustine Police Department, while the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, St. Augustine Beach Police Department, or Florida Highway Patrol may handle arrests elsewhere in the area. Identifying the agency is important because each maintains its own reports, recordings, and testing records.
Attorney Mark Sieron has defended people in St. Johns County for decades. A former Florida prosecutor, he knows how to examine police evidence and identify problems the state may overlook. Contact Aguilar & Sieron, P.A. for a free consultation with a St. Augustine DUI defense lawyer.
FAQs About DUI Charges in St. Augustine
- Which police agency handles a St. Augustine DUI arrest?
- Where will I be taken after a DUI arrest?
- What if I live outside Florida?
- How long do I have to contest a license suspension?
- Can I be charged when my alcohol level is below 0.08%?
- Can I get a DUI in a parked car or golf cart?
- What evidence can a DUI lawyer challenge?
- What happens if I refuse a breath test?
- How does a crash affect a DUI charge?
- What are the penalties for a first Florida DUI?
- How can Aguilar & Sieron defend my DUI case?
Which police agency handles a St. Augustine DUI arrest?
The City of St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, and unincorporated St. Johns County are separate jurisdictions. A stop in the Historic District may involve the St. Augustine Police Department, while a stop on St. Augustine Beach may involve that municipality’s police department. Sheriff’s deputies and state troopers also patrol roads throughout the area.
The same Florida DUI statute applies regardless of which agency made the arrest. However, the agency determines where the defense must request body-camera footage, patrol-car video, dispatch recordings, reports, and testing documents.
Some cases involve more than one agency. A trooper may investigate a crash after another officer initiated the stop, or deputies may assist city police with an arrest. A lawyer should identify every participating agency rather than relying only on the documents provided at release.
Where will I be taken after a DUI arrest?
Someone arrested for DUI in the St. Augustine area will generally be taken to the St. Johns County jail complex on Lewis Speedway. Florida law prevents release following a DUI arrest until the person is no longer impaired, has an alcohol level below 0.05%, or eight hours have passed since the arrest.
The criminal case will generally be heard at the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center at 4010 Lewis Speedway. St. Johns County is part of Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit, and the Seventh Circuit State Attorney’s Office prosecutes state DUI charges filed there.
The criminal prosecution is separate from any administrative driver’s license suspension. The jail release paperwork and court date do not fully address the license case, which has its own short deadline and review process.
What if I live outside Florida?
St. Augustine attracts visitors from across Florida and throughout the country. A person arrested while visiting may be released and return home before understanding what the charge requires. Leaving St. Johns County does not cancel the prosecution or eliminate court obligations.
A lawyer can determine whether the client must return for each hearing. Personal attendance may be excused for some proceedings, while other hearings or a trial may require the accused to appear. Only the court can authorize an absence when attendance would otherwise be required.
An out-of-state driver may also face consequences involving driving privileges. Florida can take action against the person’s ability to drive within Florida, and the licensing state may receive information about the arrest, suspension, or conviction. The possible response depends on that state’s laws.
How long do I have to contest a license suspension?
An officer may issue an administrative suspension when a driver allegedly produces a breath or blood alcohol result of at least 0.08% or refuses a lawful breath, blood, or urine test. The officer may take the Florida license and provide a notice of suspension.
An otherwise eligible driver generally receives a temporary permit that expires at midnight on the 10th day after the notice was issued. The driver has 10 days to request a formal or informal review of the suspension or pursue another available license option.
The best choice depends on the arrest, driving history, test result, and need to drive. Waiving a hearing may surrender an opportunity to challenge the suspension. Missing the deadline entirely can allow the suspension to continue without that review.
Can I be charged when my alcohol level is below 0.08%?
An alcohol level of at least 0.08% is one way Florida can prove DUI, but it is not the only one. Prosecutors may instead allege that alcohol impaired the driver’s normal faculties.
The state may rely on driving behavior, speech, balance, appearance, statements, field sobriety exercises, video, or witness testimony. A result below 0.08% may therefore become one part of the case rather than automatically preventing prosecution.
Those observations are open to challenge. Fatigue, anxiety, injury, illness, poor lighting, uneven pavement, confusing instructions, or unfamiliarity with the exercises can affect how someone appears during a roadside investigation.
Can I get a DUI in a parked car or golf cart?
Florida’s DUI statute applies to a person who is driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle. Police do not necessarily need to see the vehicle moving. This can lead to an arrest when someone is sleeping in a car or sitting behind the wheel in a parking area.
An actual-physical-control case may depend on where the person was seated, where the keys were located, whether the vehicle was operable, and whether the person could readily place it in motion. Witnesses, surveillance video, receipts, rideshare records, and phone information may help establish what occurred before officers arrived.
Florida DUI law can also apply to golf carts and similar vehicles. The possible charge does not disappear merely because the vehicle was traveling at low speed or operating away from a major highway. Boating under the influence is a separate offense governed by Florida’s boating laws.
What evidence can a DUI lawyer challenge?
A DUI arrest report records what an officer says happened. A defense lawyer can compare that narrative with the objective evidence and determine whether police followed the law at each stage.
Potential issues include:
- The Initial Stop: The officer must have a legally sufficient reason to stop or detain the driver.
- The Length of the Detention: Police generally cannot unnecessarily extend a traffic stop to search for evidence of another offense.
- Field Sobriety Exercises: The location, instructions, physical conditions, footwear, injuries, and officer’s scoring may affect the reliability of the exercises.
- Breath Test Procedures: Machine maintenance, calibration, operator qualifications, observation requirements, and interfering substances may affect the result.
- Blood or Urine Testing: Collection methods, storage, laboratory analysis, chain of custody, and the relationship between a detected substance and impairment can be disputed.
- Statements to Police: Statements obtained through an unlawful custodial interrogation may be subject to suppression.
- Video and Witness Accounts: Body-camera footage, business surveillance, passenger testimony, and other evidence may contradict the officer’s conclusions.
A successful challenge may result in evidence being excluded, charges being reduced, or the prosecution becoming unable to prove the case. No single defense applies to every arrest.
What happens if I refuse a breath test?
A refusal does not prevent the state from filing a DUI charge. Prosecutors may rely on other evidence of alleged impairment and may use the refusal as evidence in the criminal case.
Refusing a lawful breath or urine test can also lead to separate criminal charges and an administrative license suspension. A first refusal generally results in a one-year suspension and can be charged as a second-degree misdemeanor when the statutory requirements are met. A qualifying second or subsequent refusal can result in an 18-month suspension and a first-degree misdemeanor charge.
The defense can examine whether the officer lawfully arrested the driver, properly requested the test, provided the required warnings, and accurately documented the driver’s response. Confusion, medical limitations, an inability to provide a valid sample, or conflicting accounts of what the driver said may raise questions about whether a refusal occurred.
How does a crash affect a DUI charge?
A crash investigation may begin before police know who was driving or why the collision happened. Officers may rely on occupants, pedestrians, other motorists, business cameras, vehicle data, and physical evidence to reconstruct the events.
An injury can complicate observations of alleged impairment. Shock, a head injury, pain, blood loss, disorientation, and emergency medication can affect speech, balance, memory, or behavior. Hospital blood draws also raise different legal and scientific questions from a routine breath test.
A DUI involving property damage or minor injury can be charged as a first-degree misdemeanor. Causing serious bodily injury can support a third-degree felony, while causing death can result in DUI manslaughter. Leaving the scene after a fatal collision can increase the charge and possible sentence further.
What are the penalties for a first Florida DUI?
A standard first DUI conviction can bring consequences well beyond a fine. Potential and mandatory penalties include:
- Jail: The court may impose up to six months of incarceration.
- Fines: A standard first conviction carries a fine between $500 and $1,000.
- License Revocation: The driver’s license may be revoked for at least 180 days and as long as one year.
- Probation: The court requires monthly reporting probation, with the combined period of incarceration and probation limited to one year.
- Community Service: A first conviction generally requires at least 50 hours of community service.
- DUI Education and Evaluation: The driver must complete DUI school and a substance abuse evaluation, followed by recommended treatment when required.
- Vehicle Immobilization: A vehicle generally must be impounded or immobilized for 10 days, subject to statutory exceptions.
The maximum jail term increases to nine months, and the fine rises to between $1,000 and $2,000, when the alcohol level was at least 0.15% or someone under 18 was in the vehicle. Those circumstances also require an ignition interlock device for at least six months when the person qualifies for a permanent or restricted license.
Florida courts cannot withhold adjudication on a DUI conviction. The record may affect insurance, employment, professional licensing, education, commercial driving, military service, and other parts of the driver’s future.
How can Aguilar & Sieron defend my DUI case?
A St. Augustine DUI case may depend on a few minutes of video, a testing record, a witness who is about to leave town, or a license deadline that arrives before the first court hearing. Those details should be investigated before the state’s version of the arrest goes unchallenged.
Aguilar & Sieron, P.A. can address the license proceeding, collect evidence from the investigating agencies, challenge unlawful police conduct, negotiate with prosecutors, and prepare for trial when necessary. Contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a free and confidential consultation.