Formal Review Hearing

In Miami, a DUI arrest usually can lead to the mandatory suspension of your rights to drive a motor vehicle in the state of Florida. This suspension-time can be for a period of many months, depending upon your prior arrest history. It is of utmost importance that you understand that when you are charged with a Miami DUI, you have TEN days in which to file for your formal review-hearing. A solid Miami DUI defense can be weakened or strengthened depending on the hearing’s outcome, thus the hearing is of very high priority, because when properly handled, it can often lead to the reinstatement of your license, AND the strengthening of your criminal defense case.

Issues surrounding a license suspension

Electing to take a chemical test during your first offense can result in your license being suspended for up to six months with a one month outright ban (hard ban) on any kind of driving. Those who refuse the tests, receive a one-year ban and three-month hard ban to look forward to. The formal review hearing is your chance to fight this and retain your right to drive, and to preserve your ability to legally drive in Florida for as long as you are administratively and legally able to.

Therefore it is easy to see why it is imperative to your future that you contact a Miami defense lawyer as immediately as you possibly can after you are charged, since the filing of a formal review request is of paramount and utmost importance. The requesting of this hearing is crucial to your case for a variety of reasons. For one, the Miami DUI attorney can help you win a temporary, forty-two-day permit that gives you the time to make other arrangements for driving if necessary. This is almost always granted when a petition for formal review is filed, and should always be requested before running out of time.

The formal review hearing

At Musca Law, our attorneys can help you advise you, and guide you toward contesting your license suspension, and can also win your formal review. There are several ways that a good Miami DUI lawyer bring such cases to a successful disposition. For instance, if one or more of the prosecution witnesses fails to show up in court to testify, there is a better chance that you will win that hearing. This n turn forces the police to have to prove that they followed all of the correct procedures at every stage from the initial traffic stop to the administration of implied consent warnings. Skilled and competent, well seasoned Miami DUI attorneys can take any small failing and capitalize to turn it into a returned license for you.

Benefits of an administrative review hearing

Even if you are unsuccessful in restoring your license, the formal review process is an essential part of winning your criminal DUI case. Miami DUI lawyers will file for and receive what is called “discovery” which is the list of witnesses and any evidence to be used against you. Then, we can question witnesses and take formal depositions during the hearing process. They can force law enforcement officials to tip their hands in terms of what evidence they will use at trial. This knowledge can prove to be a powerful advantage when your DUI case heads to trial.