Summary of the DUI Conviction Penalties in Gainesville, Alachua County and All of Florida

Below is a summary of the DMV and Criminal Penalties for a Driving Under the Influence (DUI)/ DWI conviction in Gainesville, Alachua County, and all of Florida as of July 2008.

For Blood Alcohol Level or Content between 0.08% and 0.15% (grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath) and under the following conditions:

• no property damage done,
• no personal injury to another,
• no serious bodily injury or death of any human being or unborn child,
• no minor passengers in the vehicle at the time of the arrest

The conviction penalties are:

For 1st Conviction:

• Fines of at least $500 and no more than $1,000
• Imprisonment up to 6 months
• Probation of at least 1 year with monthly reporting
• Completion of a substance abuse course conducted by a DUI program
• 50 hours of public service or a community work project
• Impounding of vehicle for 10 days, non concurrent with incarceration.
• Driver’s License revocation for minimum 180 days, maximum 1 year

For 2nd Conviction:

• Fines of at least $1,000 and no more than $2,000
• Imprisonment for up to 9 months
• Mandatory placement of an ignition interlock device for at least 1 year, at the convicted person’s expense.
• Probation of at least 1 year with monthly reporting
• Completion of a substance abuse course conducted by a DUI program
• 50 hours of public service or a community work project
• Impounding of vehicle for 30 days that does not occur during incarceration
• Imprisonment for at least 10 days (if occurred within 5 years of 1st conviction)
• Driver’s License revocation for a minimum of 5 years (if occurred within 5 years of 1st conviction)

Any person convicted of a 3rd DUI within 10 years of a prior conviction, commits a third degree felony and is punished accordingly. Plus, 2 years of ignition interlock device (at the convicted person’s expense), imprisonment for at least 30 days, maximum 5 years in prison, impoundment of vehicle for 90 days and minimum 10 years of driver’s license revocation.

Any person convicted of a 3rd DUI violation that occurs more than 10 years of prior conviction will be fined not less than $2,000 and no more than $5,000 and imprisoned for not more than 12 months plus mandatory placement of an ignition interlock device for a period of at least 2 years at convicted person’s expense.

For Blood Alcohol Content or Level over 0.15%, (grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath) or for having a person under the age of 18 years in the car at the time of the offense, the additional/increased DUI conviction penalties are:

For 1st conviction:

• Fines of at least $1,000 and not more than $2,000
• Imprisonment up to 9 months
• Mandatory ignition interlock device at the expense of the convicted person for at least 6 continuous months

For 2nd Conviction:

• Fines of at least $2,000 and not more than $4,000
• Imprisonment up to 12 months
• Mandatory ignition interlock device at the expense of the convicted person for at least 2 continuous years

Other situations:

• DUI causing property damage or personal injury to another:First degree misdemeanor and punished accordingly (not more than $1,000 fine or 1 year prison)
• DUI causing serious bodily injury to another:Third degree felony and punished accordingly (not more than $5,000 fine and/or 5 years imprisonment, at least 3 years of license revocation).
• DUI causing death of a human being or an unborn child:DUI manslaughter and felony of the first and second degree and punished accordingly (not more than $10,000 fine and/or 15 years imprisonment).

For more information:

• Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles – DUI and Administrative Suspension Laws

Remember, the only sure way of avoiding the lifelong consequences of a DUI conviction is to not drink and drive!

However, if it is too late, do not make another mistake – hire an experienced DUI/DWI attorney to represent you and do it ASAP, don’t wait! You can contact us today at 800-373-8000.

The experienced Trial Attorneys at Meldon Law are dedicated to preserving the rights of the accused.

Pictured above – Dan Weisman, Jeffrey Meldon, and Carey Meldon have a combined 60 years of legal experience representing people in Gainesville, Florida and Alachua County, Florida accused of DUI/DWI and other criminal charges. They wrote the DUI Guide for Alachua County – Ways to Possibly Avoid a DUI Charge or Conviction. Request your free copy today.

This free no obligation book, written by a team of experienced DUI defense criminal trial attorneys, gives insight into what a DUI charge is, ways the State can prove the charge, and possible legal defenses.

Being charged and convicted of DUI is best avoided by not drinking and driving! This book also gives information on what it takes to be over the legal limit, how alcohol affects the body, plus much, much more!