Now that I was officially charged with Driving Under the Influence in Florida, the legal process begins. Because this is a serious offense and there are certain “deals” that can be made to lessen your sentence, it is highly recommended you get an attorney.
In my case, I had an attorney and this is the first time I was ever charged with a DUI.
Before the first court appearance, my attorney began discussions with the state’s prosecutor handling my case. During a pre-trial hearing in May, the state made a plea offer that would allow me to avoid pleading guilty to DUI, but instead enter a Pre-Trial Diversion Program.
Pre-Trial Diversion programs are offered to first-time offenders and come with reduced penalties and the chance of having the charge removed from your record once you successfully complete all the terms of the program.
In my case, the terms of the offer were:
- 12 months of supervised probation
- Victim Impact Class
- 50 hours of community service
- Level 1 DUI Class
- 10-day impound
- 6-month interlock
- $100 fine
- $50 cost of prosecution fee
- 6 months driver’s license suspension
As previously mentioned, upon successful completion of the Pre-Trial Diversion program, the DUI charges against me would be expunged from my record.
Obviously, knowing that a DUI on your driver’s record will result in higher insurance premiums and other issues for the rest of my life, I said I would take the offer.
In August, I received notice that I was not approved for Pre-Trial Diversion because I “failed to meet the State Attorney’s Office criteria for entrance into the Pre-Trial Diversion Program. ” Keep in mind, this letter was after my attorney and the Assistant State Attorney assigned to my case agreed to the plea offer.
After inquiring why I was rejected, we were told that my BAC disqualified me from Pre-Trial Diversion. This was frustrating, as the state’s attorney had all the details of my case including the BAC. The plea offer should have never been on the table if the state’s attorney reviewed the documents prior to making the offer.
Looking into this further, I found the requirements for the Pre-Trial Diversion program on my county’s website:
As you can see, the BAC may not exceed .220 for the pre-trial diversion program. Mine was .248.
Now that Pre-Trial Diversion was off the table, my case was headed to court.
Pre-Trial Diversion is NOT something that you can request or be offered UNLESS you have an attorney. This is yet another reason why it’s so important for you to have an attorney represent you if you’ve been charged with driving under the influence in Florida or another state.