St. Petersburg DUI lawyer

What to do in the first 10 days after a DUI arrest

When an officer takes your license at the roadside, the citation they hand you works as a temporary permit for 10 days. After that, the suspension from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) kicks in. A breath or blood result of .08 or higher brings a 6-month suspension on a first arrest. A refusal brings a 1-year suspension, and a second refusal brings 18 months.

Inside those 10 days you have two options. You can request a formal review hearing, where we cross-examine the arresting officer and the breath technician under oath. Or, if this is your first DUI, you can waive that hearing and apply for a business-purpose license so you can keep driving to work and school. Which route is right depends on the facts of the stop and how much you need to drive. We go over both with you in person before the deadline passes.

If you miss the 10-day window, the suspension runs its full length and you lose the chance to cross-examine the officer early, before the criminal case gets going.

How a DUI charge gets reduced or dismissed

An arrest is not a conviction. Many Pinellas County DUI cases end with a reduced charge, usually reckless driving (often called a "wet reckless"), or with the charge dropped. A judge has no power to reduce your charge. That decision belongs to the State Attorney's Office for the Sixth Judicial Circuit, which means your lawyer has to show the prosecutor real problems with the evidence.

Doug Greenberg spent the start of his career as a state prosecutor, so he knows what makes a prosecutor worry about a DUI case. We gather the body camera and dash camera video, the arrest report, the breath test affidavit and the maintenance records for the Intoxilyzer 8000. Then we look for the weak points:

• Did the officer have a lawful reason to stop you in the first place?
• Did the officer actually see you driving, or arrive after the car was parked?
• Were the field sobriety exercises given the way the training manual requires, on level ground, with proper instructions?
• Was the 20-minute observation period before the breath test followed?
• Was the breath machine inspected on schedule, and was the operator's permit current?
• Was the blood drawn by someone authorized to draw it, and was the chain of custody kept intact?

When we find a problem, we put it in writing to the assigned prosecutor and meet with them in person. If the State won't move, we file motions to suppress evidence and take the case to trial in front of a Pinellas County jury.

Florida DUI penalties

Florida law sets minimum penalties for DUI that the judge has to impose on a conviction. Use the calculator below to see the range for your situation. The numbers come from section 316.193 of the Florida Statutes and the license revocation rules in section 322.28.

A first DUI conviction also carries 50 hours of community service, up to a year of probation, DUI school, and a 10-day impound of your vehicle. Your insurance company will require an SR-22 or FR-44 filing, which raises premiums for years. A DUI conviction can never be sealed or expunged in Florida, which is one more reason to fight for a reduction.

Some of these costs can be lowered before your court date. Finishing DUI school and your community service hours early can shorten probation or remove it, and that saves you monthly supervision fees. We tell you what to get done ahead of time so you walk into court with as much finished as possible.

Breath test refusal is now a separate crime

Since October 1, 2025, refusing a lawful breath, blood or urine test in Florida is a second-degree misdemeanor even on a first refusal. That charge carries up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, on top of the 1-year license suspension. A second refusal remains a first-degree misdemeanor. Prosecutors now often file the refusal charge alongside the DUI, so there are two counts to defend. The officer still has to show the request was lawful and that you were properly warned of the consequences, and that's where many refusal cases fall apart.

Felony DUI charges in Pinellas County

A DUI becomes a felony in several situations. A third DUI within 10 years of a prior conviction is a third-degree felony, and so is a fourth DUI at any time. A crash that causes serious bodily injury is charged as a third-degree felony. DUI manslaughter is a second-degree felony with a 4-year minimum mandatory prison sentence. These cases call for an early, independent look at the crash reconstruction and the blood evidence. If you or a family member is facing a felony DUI, call us before speaking with investigators.

Going to court on a DUI in Pinellas County

Misdemeanor DUI cases in Pinellas County are heard in county court, most often at the Pinellas County Justice Center on 49th Street North in Clearwater. In most cases we can appear for you at the arraignment, so you don't have to miss work for a hearing where nothing gets decided. We're at every hearing that counts, and we know the judges and prosecutors who will handle your case because we've appeared in front of them for decades.