Serving Fort Lauderdale | DUI Defense
After a Fort Lauderdale DUI arrest, the date on your suspension notice may need attention before your court appearance. Miller & Jacobs helps you sort out both proceedings, examine the allegation, and understand your choices. Mark J. Miller or Rick S. Jacobs is the responsible attorney for a DUI matter the firm accepts.
Start with the notice and the next court date. The firm serves Fort Lauderdale from its Pompano Beach office. Ask what the proposed representation includes before you hire us.
10 Days
General window to request suspension review
Separate Matters
Court proceedings and driving privileges
Named Partner
Mr. Miller or Mr. Jacobs handles an accepted case
230+ Jury Trials
Combined across the partners’ legal careers
10
Days generally allowed for suspension review
The Notice Comes First
Section 322.2615 generally allows a request for formal or informal suspension review within 10 days after the notice is issued. An eligible driver’s initial temporary permit expires at midnight on the tenth day following issuance. A later arraignment does not extend that window. Have counsel review your notice, eligibility, and available options promptly.
Read the Suspension Review LawDriving Privileges
Challenging the suspension and seeking a restricted driving privilege involve different decisions. An eligible first-time driver may have a waiver option under section 322.271(7). Discuss what you give up before choosing it.
Criminal Court
A misdemeanor DUI may proceed through Broward’s traffic and misdemeanor division; a felony charge follows a different assignment. The Central Courthouse is at 201 S.E. 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale. Use the hearing notice to confirm the building, division, and courtroom.
The Consequences Need Their Own Review
The alleged conduct, prior record, reported alcohol level, passenger’s age, injury, and driving status can change the potential consequences. We review those details before discussing a possible resolution. No attorney can promise the result from the name of the charge alone.
Earlier Cases
Provide the actual records from an earlier DUI, refusal, or suspension. A recollection of what happened can miss a detail that affects the current charge or driving eligibility.
Specific Allegations
Florida’s DUI statute provides enhanced consequences for a reported level of .15 or higher or a passenger under 18. Counsel should review both the allegation and the evidence supporting it.
Harm Alleged
A collision can raise questions about impairment, causation, and a more serious offense. The defense may need crash reconstruction, treatment records, and witnesses in addition to the usual DUI materials.
Your Livelihood
Explain which licenses, work duties, or immigration issues may be affected. Specialized advice may be needed before a plea or other decision; avoiding jail would not necessarily resolve those concerns.
Get the Notice in Front of a Lawyer
Make the driving decision with the deadline and the alternatives understood.
Call 954-465-8733Call with the issue date on the notice, the agency, and your next court appearance. You can discuss the situation before you have every report.
What the Officer Reported
An arrest report summarizes an investigation. We compare that account with the records and your recollection, including whether the officer observed driving, encountered a parked vehicle, or arrived after a collision. The facts should determine which issues receive attention.
Explore Fort Lauderdale Criminal DefenseThe Encounter
A stated traffic violation, a dispatch call, a crash, and contact with someone in a parked car can raise different issues. Locate the earliest recording and identify what the officer actually saw.
The Result
Obtain the testing records and compare the timing with the encounter. Counsel can review the instrument, operator, procedures, and circumstances of the samples rather than treating a printed number as the whole case.
The Request
The type of test, legal basis for the request, warnings, and recorded response matter. Tell counsel about trouble understanding instructions, a physical limitation, or a disagreement over what was requested.
The Conditions
Describe the surface, lighting, traffic, footwear, and any balance or medical issue. Compare the instructions and the officer’s scoring with the full recording, including what happened before the exercises began.
The Collision
A crash investigation may involve several drivers, witnesses, treatment, and a gap before testing. Preserve information about the vehicles and sequence of events so the allegation can be evaluated in context.
The Substance
A medication label does not establish whether someone’s normal faculties were impaired. The dose, time taken, medical history, observations, and any toxicology result need to be considered together.
The Records Behind the Allegation
Fort Lauderdale Police Department, BSO, and Florida Highway Patrol maintain their own records. Start with the agency named on the citation or arrest report. If city police handled the encounter, FLPD’s Records Unit is a source for city police reports. Counsel can determine how to obtain relevant recordings and discovery.
Compare the reason for the encounter with the recording and dispatch information. Then identify when the investigation changed, what supported each decision, and whether a challenge to the stop or detention is available.
An exercise, warning, or remark can look different when the moments before and after it are included. Check for separate cameras, gaps, sound limitations, and timestamps that do not line up.
A reliability review may require the instrument’s records, operator information, observation sequence, and applicable procedures. Some questions need technical assistance; others can be answered by comparing the paperwork with the video.
Look at the warning actually given and the response actually made. A report’s refusal label should be examined alongside the recording and any relevant language, hearing, or medical issue.
When blood, urine, or toxicology is involved, review the collection authority, timing, handling, laboratory documentation, and meaning of the result. The presence of a substance and impairment are different factual questions.
A parking receipt, ride receipt, complete message thread, medical record, or nearby business camera may help establish timing or explain an observation. Tell counsel where those records may exist before they are lost.
Keep originals intact. Save complete files and conversations in their original form. Discuss potentially relevant material privately with counsel before deleting it, editing it, posting it, or approaching a witness.
The Day After Release
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You may be looking at a work schedule and wondering how to get there. A visitor may be trying to return a rental car or get home. The paperwork can be difficult to absorb while those practical problems are pressing.
Tell your lawyer what driving means for your day. A useful conversation should explain the legal options and their limits, while taking your actual responsibilities seriously.
Preparing Your Defense
The work depends on the circumstances and the agreed scope. A license issue can require a fast decision while evidence gathering and criminal-court preparation continue. You should understand what is happening in each proceeding.
01
Read the suspension documents and hearing notice. Identify the dates, current restrictions, and the question that cannot wait.
02
Discuss review, waiver eligibility, and any restricted privilege using your actual notice and history. Understand the effect of a choice before making it.
03
Identify the agency’s files, available recordings, witness information, and independent records. Preserve what is already available while obtaining discovery.
04
Review the legal basis for the encounter, actual physical control, observations, testing, and any refusal or crash allegation.
05
Confirm the Broward division, appearance requirement, and preparation needed for the hearing. Follow current orders while counsel seeks any appropriate change.
06
Assess a motion, an offer, and trial preparation against the evidence and consequences. The client needs a clear explanation before deciding whether to accept a proposed resolution.
Responsibility and Cost
The initial consultation is free. If Miller & Jacobs accepts the matter, Mr. Miller or Mr. Jacobs handles it as the responsible partner. The proposed written agreement should explain the criminal defense work, whether license proceedings are included, costs, and how any additional work will be addressed.
Prior-case records and the current charge
Testing records or a disputed refusal
A collision or a more serious allegation
The separate administrative proceeding
Investigation, motions, hearings, or trial
Ask which hearings and applications are covered, how you will receive updates, and how expert or investigation expenses are handled. A clear agreement helps prevent assumptions about what the fee includes.
Send Us A Message
Partner | Former Assistant State Attorney
Mark reviews the DUI allegation with the driving decision and court obligations in view. He evaluates the records, identifies issues needing investigation, and explains the choices supported by the evidence.
Read Mark’s Bio →
Partner | Former Assistant State Attorney
Rick assesses the proof, the potential consequences, and the preparation a contested matter may require. He helps the client understand an offer or a defense question before making a decision.
Read Rick’s Bio →Useful Details for the First Call
A short account of the encounter and the dates on your paperwork gives the conversation a starting point. Counsel can identify what is missing; you do not need to assemble a complete defense file before calling.
Keep every page. Note whether the document says you are eligible for a temporary permit and when it expires.
Provide the case number and current release terms. Tell counsel about a conflicting date or a notice you cannot locate.
Identify the issuing state, whether you hold a CDL, and prior DUI or suspension records when available.
Write a private timeline with approximate times, statements, observations, and testing. Distinguish what you recall from what someone later told you.
Keep receipts, full messages, photographs, or recordings that may establish timing. Do not alter the files to make a cleaner presentation.
Tell counsel about medication, injury, treatment, or a witness. Discuss how relevant records or an account should be obtained.
Fort Lauderdale Clients | Pompano Beach Office
1600 S. Federal Highway, Suite 1101
Pompano Beach, FL 33062
Driving, Court, and the Decisions Ahead
These explanations are general. The notice, legal history, evidence, and court orders determine what applies to an individual case.
No. The criminal hearing and administrative suspension follow separate procedures. Section 322.2615 generally provides a 10-day window after issuance of the suspension notice to request review. Have the notice reviewed promptly even if the arraignment is weeks away.
The choice depends on eligibility, history, the suspension, and the need to drive. An eligible first-time driver may seek a restricted privilege by waiving suspension review under section 322.271(7). A waiver gives up the challenge; discuss both alternatives before choosing a route.
Florida’s DUI law covers driving or actual physical control of a vehicle. A moving vehicle is not required in every case. Where you were, access to the vehicle and keys, the vehicle’s condition, and the surrounding evidence may need review.
A Florida case can raise driving-privilege questions for a visitor as well as a Florida resident. The effect on a license issued elsewhere requires review of the Florida action and the issuing state’s rules. Tell counsel where you are licensed and do not assume returning home ends the matter.
A medical condition, injury, or medication may help explain a recorded observation, but it does not resolve the accusation by itself. Discuss the timing and relevant records privately with counsel so the explanation can be compared with the evidence.
Provide the earlier refusal and suspension records. Prior history can change the administrative consequences, and a refusal allegation may also involve a separate criminal charge. Counsel should review the current request, warning, response, and applicable law before discussing the exposure.
Start with the agency named on the citation or report. FLPD maintains city police records; BSO and Florida Highway Patrol maintain their own files. Your lawyer can identify which reports and recordings matter and the appropriate discovery or records process.
That should be stated in the proposed written agreement. Ask whether suspension review or a restricted-license application is included, which criminal hearings are covered, and how investigation or expert costs are handled. Do not assume one fee covers every proceeding.
