8 DUI Myths Debunked by Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorneys: Driving Under the Influence Myths Exposed
There are a lot of DUI myths out there, and as Florida DUI Attorneys we want to set the record straight.
Police and prosecutors often use different fear tactics to make you feel helpless, stuck, or as if you’re already guilty — when in fact, you should be presumed innocent until the conclusion of your DUI (Driving Under the Influence of drugs or alcohol) case in Florida.
We’ve seen it all – almost – and are here to help offer some hope and truth to combat DUI myths we often hear from clients, or from our own friends, etc.
8 Common DUI Myths that people are sure mean they’ll be found guilty of a Florida DUI:
I blew over the legal limit of 0.08 – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case- I crashed into another car before getting arrested for DUI – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
- I admitted to police that I was drinking and driving – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
- I had an open container in my car – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
- I didn’t have a valid license – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
- English isn’t my first language, I have a thick accent, or there was a type of language barrier that led to complications during my DUI arrest – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
- I failed the field sobriety exercises – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
- Police Found drugs in my car – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
Admittedly – some of these circumstances may, in fact, make your Florida DUI case tougher to beat – but none of these circumstances make your case impossible to beat your Florida DUI case.
It is a myth to think that any of these above circumstances mean you’re certain to be convicted of a DUI.
We’ll break each myth down and offer some antidotes and truth to debunk and expose the myths. We’ll even tell you about cases that we’ve won that have had these same circumstances as elements in their DUI cases that we’ve won or gotten favorable results for.
Florida DUI Myths Debunked and Exposed by Fort Lauderdale DUI Defense Attorneys
1. I blew over the legal limit of 0.08 – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
While this might seem like a slam dunk for the Florida State Prosecutors and the police officers who arrested you for DUI – that is NOT the case. Despite what many think, blowing over 0.08 on a breathalyzer is not a sure conviction for a DUI.
If you were arrested for Driving while Under the Influence of drugs or alcohol (DUI), and took a breath test you might be thinking that your case is over.
Your case can be won, even if your blood alcohol content (BAC) level was above 0.08 (the legal limit). Rossen Law Firm has even won cases when a client has blown 3 times the legal limit (yes – we’ve won cases when people have blown above 0.24 on a breathalyzer!).
As Fort Lauderdale attorneys skilled in DUI Defense, we’re not afraid to put in the work needed to fight to win cases with high breath tests.
3 ways Rossen Law Firm wins high breath cases:
- Investigating to see if there was illegal police conduct or if any constitutional rights were violated. If you were stopped illegally – your breath test result may be completely irrelevant.
- Consent: We look into whether the breath test was illegally coerced or forced by the police. Most people don’t know they can say “no” to a breath test.
- Over the legal limit while driving? Police need to prove your BAC was above .08 WHILE you were driving. If you gave a breath test at the station, perhaps hours after your actual arrest, it makes it near impossible for prosecutors to PROVE your BAC was above .08 at the time of driving, even if it’s over the limit at the station.
There are also numerous ways that Florida DUI’s tool is flawed. Learn a bit more about the Florida Breathalyzer and why we often recommend saying no to the breath tests here.
RELATED CASE RESULT: See how Rossen Law Firm got a Tamarac, Florida DUI case completely thrown out even though the client blew a 0.19 in a breath test.
2. I crashed into property or another car before getting arrested for DUI – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
A car crash is certainly not grounds for a sure-fire DUI conviction in Florida. Rossen Law Firm has beaten many DUI cases that involved crashes, property damage, and even DUIs with bodily injury.
This may surprise you, but we’ve literally gotten DUI charges dismissed even when the driver has crashed into as many as FOUR other vehicles.
Our client, Jessica* had one drink and went to drive home in the rain – she spun out of control and hit 4 vehicles in total. On the morning of the day the case was set to go to trial, we got the Florida State Prosecutors to drop the DUI charge completely. They also dismissed 2 of the 4 hit-and-run charges. Our client ended up only getting charged with 2 counts of hit-and-run with 6 months of probation. Learn more here.
*Jessica is either not the client’s real name or is used with permission.
Here’s another example: Josh* crashed his car into a townhome community gate in South Florida and was knocked unconscious.
Police arrived on the scene, and in their reports noted that they smelled weed and alcohol, and they also said they found a marijuna joint in his car. It’s also important to note – that DUI stands for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and /or drugs – It is not all about being intoxicated, you can also get a DUI for drug use and driving.
Police did a DUI investigation. Josh agreed to the field sobriety exercises, he failed them and ended up being arrested for DUI.
The police did a poor job, however, and failed to record their DUI investigation and there were no witnesses to the DUI investigation.
Rossen Law Firm ended up taking the case to trial, and we were able to get the police to admit that they in fact DID NOT smell alcohol when they arrived; and police also admitted that they didn’t think Josh was under the influence of marijuana.
The jury found Josh not guilty. Rossen Law Firm won the case and our client walked out of the courtroom a free man!
*Josh is either not the client’s real name or is used with permission.
While this is one specific example, we’ve dealt with all sorts of driving under the influence charges in Florida and have either gotten the case reduced to a lesser crime (such as reckless driving) or dismissed altogether.
A car crash does not mean your DUI case doesn’t have a chance for a favorable outcome!
RELATED FLORIDA DUI CASE RESULTS:
- Learn how Rossen Law Firm won a DUI with Property Damage Case by getting it dropped to one count of reckless driving in Fort Lauderdale after our client hit another vehicle.
- Rossen Law Firm beat a university student’s South Beach, Miami DUI case after she backed into another car in a parking garage.
RELATED: Read more Winning Florida DUI Case Results from Rossen Law Firm
3. I admitted to police that I was drinking and driving – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
Even if you admitted to police that you were drinking and driving (or under the influence of drugs and driving), it does not mean your Florida DUI case is un-winnable.
In fact, many DUI cases include the client or defendant having admitted to police that they were drinking. While it’s best not to admit this – it doesn’t mean your case is “over” or “doomed.”
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TIP: When Police ask if you’ve been drinking, or how much you’ve had to drink you can simply tell police, politely, that you are invoking your right to remain silent. You can even say something simple like “I’m not going to talk about my day, officer.” Even if you’ve legitimately only had 1 or 2 drinks, it is best to NOT tell officers if you’ve had a drink or not, and especially don’t say how many drinks you had. All you’re doing is giving them evidence.
That being said, telling police that you’ve been drinking or how many drinks you’ve had is one of the most common DUI “mistakes” we see in Florida DUI cases. There are many ways to work around this admission, and a lot of other defenses a skilled DUI attorney can put into use to defend you, your future and your freedom.
If an attorney ever tells you that your DUI case cannot be beat because you admitted to police that you’d been drinking, this is NOT an attorney you want to represent you.
It all depends on the unique circumstances of your case, but there are many ways to still win a DUI case even if you admitted to drinking and driving.
In a way, this is really similar to having a breath test above 0.08 – when you get a BAC above 0.08, it indicates to police that you’ve been drinking. Since it’s not impossible to beat a breath test, which is another form of evidence, it is also not impossible to beat a DUI case with an admission of drinking and driving.
FLORIDA DUI CASE TIPS:
- Looking for a DUI Attorney in South Florida? Rossen Law Firm offers Free DUI Strategy sessions.
- We take the time to listen to your case, learn all about it, and then we tell you how we would defend you and your future. We do ALL of this before you sign a single thing – this is all complimentary.
4. I had an open container in my car – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
It all depends on the unique circumstances of your case, but there are many ways your DUI case can be beat even if you had an open container in your car when you were pulled over.
For one, an open container itself isn’t usually probable cause enough to pull someone over. Typically, an open container is something that a police officer finds or sees in your car after you’ve been pulled over – whether for DUI, speeding, or something else.
What we mean is, while having an open alcoholic beverage container in your car is illegal, the fact that you had one in your car doesn’t mean a skilled DUI lawyer can’t beat your case.
For example – what if the police officer pulled you over without any proper probable cause? If police pulled you over inappropriately for some reason, it’s possible that your rights were violated before they saw the open container. In a case like this, skilled DUI attorneys can file a motion to suppress evidence, which is an appeal to the Florida Court to get some of the evidence in your case “thrown out,” so to speak, because it wasn’t appropriate that those details were included in the case against the defendant.
Also, if the open container was found in a search, there is a chance that the search itself was illegal, which again means that there could be a successful motion to suppress that evidence.
According to the Fort Lauderdale DUI policy, officers are ONLY allowed to keep suspects of DUI on the scene only if the officer has developed a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the driver is under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. If a DUI investigation is launched without “a reasonable, articulable suspicion” of DUI – that again is a reason to file motions to suppress evidence and will greatly help your case – even if you had an open container in your car at the time you were pulled over.
RELATED DUI CASE RESULTS: Read more Winning Florida DUI Case Results from Rossen Law Firm
5. I didn’t have a valid license – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
While having a suspended or expired driver’s license isn’t ideal, it certainly doesn’t mean your DUI case can’t be beat!
It’s still possible to get a favorable outcome on your Florida DUI Case even if you have a suspended driver’s license or expired / not valid driver’s license.
Typically, a suspended license is a misdemeanor, and a third offense is only a felony if the underlying suspension or revocation resulted from a DUI or other type of crime.
If this is the first time you’ve dealt with a suspended license, however, it will likely just be another criminal charge you’re facing – it doesn’t necessarily affect your DUI case.
In fact, we were able to get our client Steven* probation even though he was facing a felony DUI and had a suspended driver’s license at the time he was arrested for his Florida DUI in Coral Springs.
Steven ran a red light and was pulled over in Coral Springs, when police asked for his ID Steven told the cops he had a suspended Florida driver’s license.
Steven was looking at 2-5 years in prison for his second DUI. Rossen Law Firm worked hard on mitigation for his South Florida DUI case, and we were able to get Steven into a 7 month alcohol and drug outpatient rehab program, as well as involved in AA meetings.
After skillful negotiations, we were able to keep Steven out of prison for his DUI charge – even though he also had a suspended license. Instead of up to 5 years in prison, Seven got 18 months of probation.
*Steven is either not the real client name or is used with permission
This goes to show that a skilled South Florida DUI attorney can certainly still get you a good outcome on your case even if you have a suspended license.
RELATED: Read more Winning Florida DUI Case Results from Rossen Law Firm
6. English isn’t my first language, I have a thick accent, or there was a type of language barrier that led to complications during my DUI arrest – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
If you were arrested for DUI in Florida and you don’t speak English, or English isn’t your first language, or even if police officers misunderstand you due to an accent – don’t worry, your Florida DUI case can still be won.
Having a language barrier of any kind can lead to unnecessarily harsh criminal charges. It’s important to have an attorney on your side, especially if your ability to understand English, or the officer’s ability to understand you due to an accent was taken advantage of in any way.
Rossen Law Firm has beaten DUI’s for clients who have both hardly known English and who have been misunderstood by arresting officers due to their accents.
Barely knew any English: DUI reduced to reckless driving
Omar*, our Client, was driving in Sunrise, Florida when a police officer pulled him over for a DUI investigation after he saw Omar speeding and weaving.
Omar didn’t know English very well at all, as he just recently moved to South Florida from Puerto Rico. An officer was called to the scene to help translate, and Omar did the field sobriety tests but they weren’t recorded. He was then not given a breath test until about 2 hours after his arrest.
Omar was terrified that he’d have a criminal record so soon after moving to America, and he was already struggling financially.
Rossen Law Firm took depositions on all police officers and we found major inconsistencies between the Sunrise officer and Broward Sheriff’s Office. In the end, Omar’s charges were reduced to one count of reckless driving, a misdemeanor.
*Omar is either not the real client name or is used with permission.
Learn more about Omar’s case here.
Man with Hatiain accent: DUI charges dropped
Damani, our client, has a thick Hatian accent, and was worried that his accent was misconstrued by police as a slur and used as evidence against him during his Florida DUI arrest.
Damani was pulled over for speeding, weaving and drifting in Boca Raton, Florida. The police officer reported that Damani was slurring, unsteady and stumbling on the walk and turn exercise. When Damani was asked to take a breath test, he refused. Damani was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence.
Rossen Law Firm got the dash camera footage from the police officer’s car that showed that Damani’s driving over the line was very slight and was not to the extent described by the officer. Along with other key details, we were able to get Damani’s DUI charges dropped.
*Damani is either not the real client name or is used with permission.
Learn more about Damani’s case here.
RELATED: Read more Winning Florida DUI Case Results from Rossen Law Firm
As you can see, not speaking or understanding English well and having a thick accent are not reasons that your DUI cannot be beat. A good Florida DUI defense lawyer will know how to defend you, no matter what.
7. I failed the field sobriety exercises – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
While we recommend that no one ever do field sobriety tests in Florida – even when you’re sober – failing Field sobriety tests DOES NOT mean your Florida DUI cannot be beat.
We often beat DUI cases in which defendants fail the Field Sobriety Tests (as you can see, if you’ve read some of the above examples as well). Here are 2 quick examples:
Our client Jeff* not only failed the field sobriety tests, but he also blew 0.19 on a breath test – which is more than 2x the legal blood alcohol content in Florida. He hired Rosse Law Firm & in the end – his DUI case was completely thrown out by the judge.
That means Jeff’s Florida DUI charge was gone- he no longer had to worry about prison, losing his license, or a criminal record.
*Jeff is either not the real client name or is used with permission.
Learn more about Jeff’s case here.
In another case, we got our client Jose’s* Florida DUI case dismissed mid-trial even though he failed the field sobriety tests.
In this case, Jose was not even drunk at all – but he was recovering from a sprained knee injury and also was forced to do the field sobriety tests in the rain. He was sick and even threw up and tried explaining to the officer that he was ill, not drunk.
Rossen Law Firm worked hard on the case, collecting depositions, proving that the officer in fact didn’t even take a breath test – even though he attached a breath test result from a different arrest to Jose’s police report.
In the middle of the trial, the judge granted out motion for Judgment of Acquittal, dismissing the charges without the attorneys even making their closing statements. In fact, after the trial many members of the jury waited for us and Jose to say how sorry they were that Jose went through that and to ask how to get that Trooper fired.
*Jose is either not the real client name or is used with permission.
Learn more about Jose’s case here.
RELATED DUI Results: Read more Winning Florida DUI Case Results from Rossen Law Firm
8. Police found drugs in my car – now no one can beat my Florida DUI case
If police found drugs in your car, your Florida DUI (driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol) is not doomed. We’ve beaten numerous cases involving drugs being found in someone’s car.
We’ll share two examples. One thing to note, is that criminal charges are specific to the alleged crimes. So, if you’re arrested for a DUI in South Florida, and police also find marijuana in your car (for example); you will most likely be charged with two different criminal charges: 1 for your alleged DUI, and 1 for your alleged marijuana possession.
The fact that you had marijuana in your car doesn’t make your DUI charge any worse. And, being arrested for a DUI doesn’t make your marijuana possession any worse.
Facing these 2 criminal allegations just means that your total jail or prison and fine exposure may be more serious, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that your DUI is any tougher to beat. It just means you need a lawyer who is skilled in both DUI Defense and Drug Crime Defense in South Florida.
Example 1:
In one case, our client Cameron* was charged with possession of Oxycodone. But the thing was – he had absolutely no idea about the drugs.
Cameron had spent the day with his girlfriend, and without him knowing it – she put her pill bottle (a real prescription as she was recovering from a procedure) in his backpack. So when Cameron was pulled over after dropping his girlfriend off at home, he agreed to allow police to search his car since he had nothing to hide.
But then the police found the pills in his backpack – a complete surprise to Cameron.
Rossen Law Firm went to work on the case, and in the end we got the possession of Oxycodone case completely thrown out. Learn more here.
While this case doesn’t involve a DUI, it serves to show that drug possession charges can also be beat; so if you’re pulled over for DUI (whether police suspect you’re under the influence of alcohol or drugs) and police also find drugs of some kind in your car – it does not mean your DUI case can’t be beat.
Typically what happens is you’d be charged with both a DUI, and also a drug possession charge. While of course it’s not great to have 2 separate charges, they don’t necessarily make each charge worse — it just means you need a lawyer who is skilled in both DUI Defense and Drug Crime Defense in South Florida.
Example 2:
In Myth 2: “I crashed into property or another car before my South Florida DUI arrest, my case can’t be beat,” we also told Josh’s* story.
Josh crashed his car into a townhome community gate in South Florida and was knocked unconscious.
Police arrived on the scene, and in their reports noted that they smelled weed and alcohol, and they also said they found a marijuna joint in his car. It’s also important to note – that DUI stands for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and /or drugs – It is not all about being intoxicated, you can also get a DUI for drug use and driving.
Police did a DUI investigation. Josh agreed to the field sobriety exercises, he failed and ended up being arrested for DUI.
Rossen Law Firm took the case to trial, and we got the police to admit that they in fact DID NOT smell alcohol when they arrived; and police also admitted that they didn’t think Josh was under the influence of marijuana.
The jury found Josh not guilty. Rossen Law Firm won the case and our client walked out of the courtroom a free man!
*Josh is either not the client’s real name or it is used with permission
RELATED: Read more Winning Florida DUI Case Results from Rossen Law Firm
CONCLUSION: 8 Common Florida DUI Myths debunked by Fort Lauderdale DUI and Criminal Defense Attorneys
In Summary, it IS still possible to beat your Florida DUI case even if:
- If you blew over the legal limit of 0.08
- If you crashed into another car before getting arrested for DUI
- If you admitted to police that you were drinking and driving
- If you had an open container in your car
- If you didn’t have a valid driver’s license
- If English is not your first language, you have a thick accent, or there is any type of language barrier that led to complications
- If you failed the field sobriety exercises
- If Police found drugs in your car
Many of the above conditions do add certain complexities to your South Florida DUI case, however, with a skilled Florida DUI defense attorney none of the above conditions mean you can’t still get a great result on your DUI case.
How does Rossen Law Firm Win DUI cases? Check out our DUI case results.
If you live in South Florida and have more questions about your DUI case, don’t hesitate to reach out and set up a free consultation with our DUI defense law firm. We have skilled DUI and Criminal Defense Attorneys who aren’t afraid to do the hard work other law firms wont – which means we can get you results other law firms can’t.
Call to set up a FREE strategy session for your Palm Beach, Broward, or Miami-Dade County DUI charge today:
- Fort Lauderdale: (754) 206-6200
- Sunrise: (754) 999-2499
- Boca Raton: (561) 880-8181
P.S. If you’re arrested for a DUI in Florida you only have 10 days to save your Driver’s License so connecting with a DUI attorney ASAP is advised so you have the ebay chance of keeping your driving privileges.
For more Florida DUI penalties and consequences in South Florida, click here.
