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Fort Lauderdale · Broward County
Charged with a DUI in South Florida? Attorney Tyler Williams challenges every stop, test, and procedure to protect your license and your future.
A DUI arrest in Fort Lauderdale usually starts as a traffic stop on I-95, US-1 (Federal Highway), or one of the other main corridors, made by Fort Lauderdale Police Department or Florida Highway Patrol. From there you are booked at the Broward County Main Jail (BSO), and the case is heard at the Broward County Judicial Complex (Central Courthouse) in downtown Fort Lauderdale, misdemeanor or felony.
Florida's DUI statute, section 316.193, gives the State two ways to prove the charge: your normal faculties were impaired, or your breath or blood alcohol level was .08 or higher. One is enough. A driver who refused every test can still be convicted on the officer's observations and the video, and "actual physical control" covers someone asleep in the driver's seat with the keys within reach.
Refusing the breath test has its own price. A first refusal suspends your license for a year, a second refusal is a separate misdemeanor, and the refusal gets used against you at trial. That doesn't mean refusing was the wrong call. It means the case now turns on different evidence.
The arrest itself suspends your license: six months for a breath test of .08 or higher, a year for a refusal, under section 322.2615. That runs separately from the criminal case, and you have 10 days to act.
There are two paths. Request a formal review hearing with the DHSMV, where I question the officer under oath before the criminal case has even started. Or, on a first DUI, waive that hearing and apply for an immediate hardship license so you can keep driving to work. Which one fits depends on how strong the stop looks. Miss the 10 days and both options are gone. Most people who call me after day 10 didn't know the deadline existed.
A first DUI with no crash is a misdemeanor: up to six months in jail, a $500 to $1,000 fine, up to a year of probation, 50 hours of community service, DUI school, a 10-day vehicle impound, and a license revocation of six months to a year. Jail on a first offense is uncommon in Broward when there's no crash and no record, but the rest is standard. A breath level of .15 or higher, or a minor in the car, raises the maximum to nine months and adds an ignition interlock.
Priors change everything. A second DUI within five years means a mandatory 10 days in jail and a five-year revocation. A third within 10 years is a third-degree felony, up to five years in prison. A crash with serious bodily injury is a felony regardless of priors, and DUI manslaughter carries a four-year minimum mandatory. A DUI conviction stays on your driving record for 75 years and can never be sealed or expunged, which is why a reduction to reckless driving, where the facts support it, matters so much.
A DUI is a procedure case. The officer needed a lawful reason to stop you, to ask you out of the car, and to arrest you, and each step has rules. Field sobriety exercises are supposed to be given a specific way, and the body camera usually shows whether that happened. The Intoxilyzer 8000 has maintenance records, inspection logs, and a 20-minute observation rule, and when those don't check out, the number can be kept away from the jury. Blood draws need a warrant or valid consent, and I read the chain of custody line by line.
I spent years in the Broward courtrooms where these cases are heard, first at the Public Defender's Office and then in private practice. I know what the county court DUI prosecutors need to prove and where their cases tend to crack. That's where I focus from day one.
A DUI arrest by Fort Lauderdale Police Department goes to the Broward County Judicial Complex (Central Courthouse) in downtown Fort Lauderdale, whether it is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. There is no regional courthouse step for Fort Lauderdale cases. Booking and first appearance details are on the Fort Lauderdale criminal defense page.
Your license is suspended automatically unless you request a formal review hearing with the DHSMV within 10 days of the arrest. That hearing is separate from the criminal case. I file the request immediately so you keep the ability to drive while the case is pending.
No. A first or second DUI with no injury is a misdemeanor in Florida. It becomes a felony on a third offense within 10 years, a fourth offense at any time, or when the crash causes serious injury or death.
Sometimes. Prosecutors may agree to a reckless driving plea when the evidence has problems, such as a weak basis for the stop, a breath test with calibration issues, or a low reading. I look for those problems in every case. No outcome can be promised.
This page is general information about Florida law and Broward County procedure, not legal advice for your specific case. Penalties and court assignments can change. We confirm the details when we speak.
Your first case strategy session is free and completely confidential. Attorney Tyler Williams answers personally, 24/7. Se habla español.