North Port, FL DUI Law Firms & Lawyers

You should review the written retainer contract with your lawyer, it probably was a flat fee which included plea or trial.  I assume that at some point you entered a plea rather than going to trial. The decision to plead rather than go to trial is based upon the advice of your lawyer, which is what you paid for.  A lawyer will file a notice of appearance, request and review discovery from the state, obtain and review the dui video, and enter into negotiations with the state attorney and attend several court hearings before advising you of whether to go to trial or not. It is quite possible that the lawyer decided that you would have a losing case and if you went to trial you may have faced a jail sentence instead of probation as part of a plea. In many cases you are paying for the reputation and experience of the lawyer and some lawyers collect a flat fee which includes a trial.

They can treat it as a 2nd ovi; stiffer penalties and jail time; you need to hire a lawyer who handles criminal matters like me; or if you have no income, you should qualify for a public defender

Absolutely, you should consult with an experienced attorney, who would have many questions about the many issues inherent in any DUI matter.  Those questions would address details of the initial stop and detention, whether there was probable cause to justify the officer's request for a breath test, how it was requested, and many other issues.  It would be very unwise to receive the extremely damaging blemish of a DUI conviction on your record and to suffer its consequences without fully investigating and testing the prosecution's case.  Remember, you are presumed to be innocent, and although mere probable cause is required for an arrest, the much higher standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is required for a conviction. Regarding your driver license, you do have both the ability to challenge the suspension and to seek a hardship permit.  There are time limitations, however, and these issues would also be addressed during the consultation that you should seek.