Reviewed by Michael P. Maddux, Esq. | Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer | Florida Super Lawyer for 16 Consecutive Years

Here’s something that catches nearly everyone off guard. One DUI arrest creates TWO separate legal battles.

1. The Formal Review Hearing (DMV)

This has nothing to do with whether you’re guilty of a crime. This is the DMV’s process to decide if your license gets suspended, and you typically have just 10 days from your arrest to request it. No request equals automatic suspension. An experienced attorney can challenge the legality of the stop, the field sobriety testing, and the breathalyzer results right here.

2. The Criminal DUI Case (Court)

This is the criminal side, where your freedom, record, and finances are on the line. Penalties can include fines, DUI school, probation, and jail time. This case plays out in front of a judge and operates entirely separately from the DMV hearing.

Why does this matter? Because you need a defense strategy for BOTH, and they require action at different times.

Don’t wait. Don’t assume one outcome affects the other. And don’t try to navigate this alone.

📞 Call us today at (813) 253-3363.

Reviewed by Michael P. Maddux, Esq. | Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer | Florida Super Lawyer for 16 Consecutive Years

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed House Bill 35 into law, significantly expanding the state’s habitual traffic offender framework under Florida Statute § 322.264.

Most notably, the new law adds driving without a valid license to the list of qualifying offenses that can trigger a habitual traffic offender designation. Under this expanded definition, a driver who accumulates the requisite number of qualifying convictions within a five year period may be formally designated a habitual traffic offender by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Any subsequent driving offense can then be charged as a third degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, five years of probation, and a $5,000 fine. What many Floridians historically treated as a minor inconvenience can now serve as the foundation for a life altering felony prosecution.

At the Law Office of Michael P. Maddux, P.A., we recognize that the people most affected by HB 35 are often not reckless drivers but individuals navigating financial hardship, administrative license suspensions, or unpaid court costs who simply had no idea their driving history exposed them to felony liability.

An experienced criminal defense attorney can examine whether the underlying convictions that triggered the habitual offender designation were properly entered, whether the required notice of suspension was actually received, and whether law enforcement complied with constitutional requirements at the time of the stop and arrest.

If you or someone you know has been charged under Florida’s habitual traffic offender laws, early intervention is often the most powerful tool available.

📞 Call us today at (813) 253-3363.