If you, a loved one, or a friend has been arrested for or charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Miami, Florida, the attorneys at Musca Law can help. We have an experienced and dedicated team of Miami DUI lawyers that are familiar with the laws and the different types of evidence that may be involved in your DUI case.

Miami DUI Defense Strategies

Our team of attorneys will aggressively defend your case to bring about the best possible outcome in your favor. There are a number of factors that make your case unique. We offer a free, confidential consultation to address your concerns and consider all of the circumstances and possible defenses in your Miami DUI case.

Refusal to Submit to Testing

At the time you are stopped by an officer for driving impaired, chances are you will be asked to take a blood, urine or breath test. You do have the right to refuse testing, but you will face administrative sanctions (you have 10 days to request a hearing) and possibly a suspension of your driving privileges. Musca Law can help you turn this refusal into a positive for your defense.

DUI Breath Testing

A knowledgeable Miami DUI attorney will tell you that the breath tests are often reliable. It is no longer automatic that a breath test result that is over the legal limit of .08 will result in an automatic “guilty” in your criminal case. There are many factors which determine the overall blood alcohol level, and many things that can cause an inaccurate level. A MuscaLaw Miami DUI lawyer can consider a number of possible defenses revolving around your breath test and its results.

DUI Urine Testing

It is not uncommon for a law enforcement officer to request a urine test when a breath test returns at lower than .08. This is generally done to look for evidence of marijuana, cocaine or other drugs, prescription or non-prescription, in the bloodstream. However, these tests are also often unreliable or inaccurate. Your Miami DUI lawyer may determine it is inadmissible to use these results and this can be used in your favor.

DUI Blood Testing

A blood test after a suspected DUI is just one of the additional methods of measuring your blood alcohol content after a Miami DUI stop. However, drawing blood to test for impairment is limited by State in the manner in which it can be obtained, who may take the blood sample and under what circumstances. Quite often, proper procedures are not followed, providing a strong defense for getting the charges dismissed or reduced.

Property Damage

When there is property damage or personal injury associated with a DUI incident, charges and penalties may be compounded. Penalties are more severe when there is property damage, and the resulting affects to the individual charged and the victim associated with the accident are great. A Miami DUI defense attorney can examine and, when appropriate, challenge the evidence taken in the case. This can possibly result in the reduction of penalties or even dismissal of the charge altogether.

DUI Penalties

Penalties that result from a DUI charge vary depending on the number of of factors, including the number of prior DUI convictions, the severity of the impairment, whether there was any harm caused during the incident, and other individual circumstances of the incident. Penalties include fines, court costs, jail time, community service, driver license suspension, vehicle impound, DUI school, substance abuse evaluation and possible treatment, random testing, and even victim impact panel requirements.

DUI Manslaughter

DUI manslaughter is when an impaired driver causes a fatality while driving under the influence of alcohol or another substance. As you can imagine, the charge holds the harshest penalties after a conviction. A DUI manslaughter charge must be addressed immediately.  The sooner you  starts aggressively defending your case, the better chance you have of achieving the best possible outcome.

Defense For Women

There are a number of reasons that DUI charges against women are skewed. More women are being unfairly arrested for drunk driving. A savvy Miami DUI attorney can help you fight those charges. They will point out the discrepancies in accuracy for breath test analyzers on female subjects. They will also point out the difficulties that are sometimes encountered when women are wearing high heels or are barefoot and attempting to perform sobriety tests.

Formal Administrative Review Hearing

A Miami DUI arrest results in the suspension of your privilege to drive. The duration of the suspension may be affected by a formal review hearing. This is part of the administrative process of a DUI charge. The defendant has 10 days from the arrest date to request a hearing. Having a Miami DUI attorney that is well-versed in the process can improve the outcome of the hearing.

Controlled Substance DUI

Driving under the influence of a controlled substance is against the law, but very difficult to prove. The substance itself is often not in the vehicle. If you have been charged with a controlled substance DUI in Miami, a qualified attorney may be able to help your case. The prosecution may be unable to prove that the substance or drug in question actually caused the impairment.

Boating Under the Influence

The penalties for Boating Under the Influence (BUI) are serious, and include fines, community service, jail time and/or supervised rehabilitation. A qualified Miami BUI lawyer can help you get the best possible results for your case. Boaters of all ages carry substantial penalties and fines, and boaters under the age of 21 may be charged if they have a BAC of .02 or higher, similar to obtaining a DUI while driving a vehicle.

Commercial Vehicle DUI Charge

A DUI while driving a commercial vehicle is a very serious offense. Because the severeness of the damages that can result from an incident with a commercial vehicle, there is a lower threshold of intoxication allowed by law. While legal requirements differ, there is very little room for error. Some requirements call for a zero tolerance for alcohol, and others have restrictions with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .04 or lower. In most if not all cases, penalties are higher for BAC levels over .04. Commercial vehicle DUI charges carry more at stake for defendants, as they usually result in the loss of income and extreme difficult in obtaining future commercial vehicle employment.

Juvenile DUI Charge

The State of Florida has a zero tolerance policy for minors. This means that any juvenile with a blood alcohol content level of .02 or great to be charged with a DUI.  It is important for a juvenile charged with a DUI to act quickly in the defense of his or her case, as a DUI convicted at such a young age will carry him indefinitely. An experience Musca Law attorney can vigorously defend you or your family member.

DUI Roadblocks & Checkpoints

Many drivers receive a DUI charge after being stopped at a checkpoint – it is one of the most controversial way to receive a driving under the influence charge. Quite often, one of our experienced attorneys can show that checkpoints and roadblocks come close to violating basic 4th Amendment rights.

Miami Dui Attorney, BAC, or Blood Alcohol Content, is the amount of alcohol in the blood. A huge number of myths have developed over the years as reliable signs of intoxication. In many cases, the officials narrated that the subject emitted the odor of alcohol. Whereas, the reality is that alcohol itself is odorless. Its smell is because of the other ingredients in the beverage.

Also, individuals who drink non-alcoholic beverages are considered ‘alcohol-free’ and thus, cannot be arrested for DUI. DUI is the act of driving while intoxicated with alcohol. But the truth behind this, too, is different from what it appears. The human body is capable of naturally producing alcohol on a continuous basis. This process is called, ‘endogenous ethanol production,’ which happens due to the growth of deep tissues. Sometimes, people produce enough of it to get arrested for DUI as they become legally drunk.

Since acetone can be recorded in the breath during a breath analyzer test, there is a high chance that diabetics can get falsely arrested for alcohol indulgence.

Some officials have the idea that their view of the BAC is different from that of the breath analyzer, they realize that might not make them look so good. Officials are aware that the initial part of the breath has a lower concentration of alcohol than the equivalent BAC, and the later part of the breath has much higher concentration than it. Officers will try to force the subject to breathe harder into the breath analyzer, so that the air for the reading comes from the deeper portions of the lungs. The result records a higher concentration of alcohol. This would lead to an inaccurate reading, mainly because breath testers usually lack precision.

Also, there is a myth that these testers measure BAC. But the reality is that, they only test the presence of any chemical from the methyl group. Also, people with lower hematocrit levels, like females, are sure to give a higher BAC reading.