DUI and Criminal Cases

YOU HAVE ONLY 10 DAYS TO ACT ON YOUR DUI DRIVER’S LICENSE SUSPENSION.

FOR ANY CRIMINAL CASE, YOU WILL HAVE CRIMINAL COURT SOON.

If you have been charged with or are being investigated for a crime, you should immediately contact an experienced and aggressive Criminal Defense Attorney to learn what legal rights you have. A qualified Criminal Defense Attorney can defend you against the police and the prosecutor as well as diligently represent you in court. Such an attorney can speak to the police and prosecutor on your behalf, investigate any case against you, find your best defenses, negotiate with law enforcement for you, and zealously defend you in court. A private lawyer can begin working on your case immediately, paying close attention to all details of your case.

Attorney Christopher Parker-Cyrus has successfully defended thousands of clients throughout the state of Florida on charges including Armed Home Invasion Robbery, Armed Robbery, Burglary With an Assault, Kidnapping, Sexual Battery, Drug Trafficking, Robbery, Burglary, False Imprisonment, Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Assault, Possession of Cocaine, Sale of Marijuana, Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Driving Under the Influence, and other many other misdemeanor and felony crimes. Mr. Parker-Cyrus has over 20 years of experience in court. He knows well that a criminal conviction can lead to time in prison, loss of a job, a permanent criminal record, and other significant negative consequences. Mr. Parker-Cyrus has been lead defense counsel for well over 100 trials to verdict and has obtained outright dismissals for hundreds of other clients.

Christopher Parker-Cyrus can handle all types of criminal charges, including:

DUI/DWI
FELONY CHARGES
MISDEMEANOR CHARGES
DRUG TRAFFICKING
ALL DRUG CRIMES
VIOLENT CRIMES
AGGRAVATED BATTERY
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT
BATTERY
DOMESTIC BATTERY
WEAPONS CHARGES
ROBBERY
ARMED ROBBERY
THEFT OFFENSES
JUVENILE OFFENSES
SEX OFFENSES
VIOLATIONS OF PROBATION

CALL NOW FOR A FREE CONSULTATION! We will zealously advocate having your case dismissed before trial. Our ultimate goal is always to get your case dismissed as quickly as possible!

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT DUI CASES?

IF YOU ARE ARRESTED FOR DUI, TO NOT LOSE YOUR RIGHT TO APPEAL YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE SUSPENSION AND OBTAIN A PERMIT IMMEDIATELY, YOU MUST CONTACT AN ATTORNEY WITH EXPERTISE IN DUI DEFENSE IMMEDIATELY IN ORDER TO HAVE THE PROPER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES BEFORE THE 10 DAY DEADLINE EXPIRES!

If you are arrested for DUI, your case will be different than other criminal offenses in that you will also have an Administrative Suspension of your Driver’s License that is imposed by the Department of Highway and Safety Motor Vehicles. That part of your case is completely unrelated to your DUI criminal case.

After you are arrested for DUI, if you had a valid Driver’s License, you will be able to legally drive for exactly 10 days. You will also have 10 days to take action to fight your Driver’s License Suspension. For our clients we, within the 10 day deadline, file for a Formal Review of the Driver’s License Suspension. By doing do, we assure that our client will have a hearing to contest the Driver’s License suspension within 30 days and that our client will receive a permit to drive (the permit is issued if our client had a valid Driver’s License when the DUI case occurred). During the time period prior to the Formal Review Hearing, we would have time to obtain all of the relevant documents that are related to the DUI case and subpoena the police officers to attend the hearing to give testimony.

As previously stated, the DUI criminal case is completely separate from Criminal Court. The law on DUI is extensive and varies greatly depending on whether it is the client’s first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. DUI. Prior convictions change the possible penalties, including possible jail or prison time, Driver’s License Suspension periods, fines, DUI School Levels, possible probation periods, the possibility of receiving a driving permit, and more.

PROCESS FOR CRIMINAL CASES, INCLUDING DUI CASES

Most criminal cases begin with an arrest. If the person is able to bond out of jail, he or she will not have to spend the night in jail. However, if he or she cannot bond out of jail immediately, he or she will have a court hearing called a FIRST APPEARANCE. The judge at the first appearance will review the bond that is set for the person to pay to be released from jail. The accused person does have the right to be represented by an attorney that knows the law related to the setting and lowering of bonds. In some cases, it is possible to convince the judge to lower the bond or allow the accused person to be released without paying any bond, such as being released on his or her own recognizance. It is best to retain an attorney immediately to represent the accused person at the FIRST APPEARANC E. In this way, the bond can be set as low as possible.

After the FIRST APPEARANCE Hearing has been held, the next court appearance, the ARRAIGNMENT, will be held within 15 to 30 days. During that time, it is essential, if not already done, to meet with and hire an experienced Criminal Defense Attorney that can give the best defense possible. Your attorney will be able to initiate the investigation of your case, prepare a strategy, and obtain all of the documents, videos, pictures, and witness information that are relevant to your case.

In felony cases, your attorney, after the ARRAIGNMENT, can and should take the depositions of all of the essential witnesses that would be used by the prosecutor in your case at trial. Your attorney will also find all of the strong defenses that you have in your case. These defenses could be based on problems with the witnesses of the prosecution, problems with the procedure used by the police, or your own witnesses that can give testimony that will be helpful in your case.

Christopher Parker-Cyrus has been able to win a great number of cases through the filing of Motions to Suppress Evidence. These motions are most often based on violations of the Amendments of the United States Constitution by the police. For example, before a police officer can legally stop, detain, or search a person or vehicle, he must have the required reasonable suspicion to stop the person or vehicle. In other words, generally speaking, he must see that the pedestrian or driver has committed some sort of traffic violation, such as speeding, running a red light, or careless driving. Without any such required reasonable suspicion of the commission of a crime, the stop or detention of the vehicle is illegal because it violates the 4^th Amendment of the United States Constitution. If the judge grants such a Motion to Suppress Evidence, then, the prosecutor will likely dismiss the case entirely. However, the prosecutor, in some cases, does choose to appeal the judge’s decision to the Appellate Court.

CLIENT ONLY NEEDS TO APPEAR AT THE FINAL COURT DATE AFTER HIRING OUR FIRM

Mr. Parker-Cyrus can represent you at your Arraignment and every court hearing after the Arraignment without you having to attend those court hearings. The only exception is your last court date, when you will have to appear.

At the Arraignment, Mr. Parker-Cyrus will inform the judge that you plead Not Guilty and request that the prosecutor provide every piece of evidence that exists in the case. The prosecutor will then be required to do so within approximately 15 days.

Subsequent court dates, such as PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCES, CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES, etc., would simply be dates to report to the judge the progress of the case and to inform the judge of what work was left to be completed. Most cases are continued various times in order to give the prosecutor and the defense attorney time to work on the case, negotiate, and try to come to a resolution. At some point, the prosecutor will make a plea offer in the case. If a case cannot be resolved without a trial, then, the judge will ultimately set a date to have the trial. However, the final decision on whether to have a trial is always the decision of the client.

CRIMINAL PENALTIES AND SENTENCES IMPOSED BY JUDGES IN FLORIDA

The consequences of a criminal conviction in Florida can be severe. In any criminal case, a conviction could result in a sentence to the County Jail, a Prison sentence, a lengthy probation period, fines, court costs, forfeiture of money or property, classification as a sex offender, loss of a person’s civil rights, and more. A criminal conviction can never be removed or expunged from a person’s criminal record and will follow that person for the rest of his or her life, giving him or her difficulty each time he or she applies for a job.

Different levels of criminal offenses carry different maximum penalties. For example, different levels of severity exist for Misdemeanors and for Felonies.

The least serious Misdemeanor offense is a 2^nd Degree Misdemeanor. The maximum punishment is 60 days in jail and a $500 Fine.

The next most serious Misdemeanor offense is a 1^st Degree Misdemeanor. The maximum punishment is 1 year in jail and a $1000 Fine.

The next level of offenses is Felony offenses. A third degree Felony is punishable by a maximum

of 5 years in state prison and a $5000 fine.

A second degree Felony is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in state prison and a $15000 fine.

A first degree Felony is punishable by a maximum of 30 years in state prison and a $25,000 fine.

A Life Felony is punishable by a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A Capital Felony is punishable by a maximum of the death penalty.

PENALTIES THAT CAN BE IMPOSED IN A DUI CASE

In a DUI case, the possible penalties vary based on the number of prior convictions that a person has had, the level of the breath test results, whether a minor was in the vehicle when the DUI occurred, whether the driver was under 21 years of age, and other considerations. However, the following is a general list of the possible penalties:

A maximum of 6 months to 12 months in jail.
Probation of 6 to 12 months.
A fine of $500 to $5000.
A judge imposed Driver’s License Suspension ranging from 6 months to a permanent revocation.
At least 50 Community Service Hours for a first DUI
An Ignition Interlock Device for up to 2 years
The impoundment of the person’s vehicle for up to 90 days
Level 1 or Level 2 DUI School
A Victim Impact Panel
A Substance abuse evaluation and treatment if ordered
A court order of no drinking alcohol