The Supreme Court of Florida handed down an opinion last week changing the face of DMV Administrative Hearings as we know them. Until this decision, if an officer made an illegal, or “bad”, stop of a vehicle, the DMV could still suspend that driver’s license if he or she was found to have blown over a .08 or refused to submit a breath sample. The outcome of this was frustrating – court cases for DUI would be dismissed due to illegal police work, but the DMV would still suspend the license of the driver who had his or her rights violated!
Now, under the new Supreme Court ruling, the DMV must acknowledge the bad stop and cannot take your license if you are arrested following an illegal stop. How often does this happen? Quite often, actually – there are many rules and procedures an officer must follow in order to make a lawful arrest. In many cases, the officer will have a mere “hunch” when he makes a stop – however, the US Constitution protects against such stops and requires the arrest and its results to be suppressed in any Court of law. Now, given this new decision, the same holds true at DMV Administrative Reviews.
This new law could very well have an impact on your DUI case. Call the law firm of Taracks & Associates today for a free consultation. An experienced Tampa DUI attorney will review your case with you and help you determine your rights and whether or not the initial stop was indeed lawful. If not, you could win both your case AND keep your license under the new law! Call us today at 813-281-2897. Act now, you only have ten (10) days to challenge the suspension of your license! Taracks & Associates – The Advocate For You.