Thomas S. Hudson’s Answers

A third-time DUI conviction in Florida is a third-degree felony if the third conviction is within ten years of any previous conviction. A third degree felony carries up to 5 years in prison. However, this is not the same thing as a mandatory prison sentence. Most of the time, a person convicted of felony third-offense DUI will get some local jail time and a lot of probation. Many times, the state will charge the case only as a misdemeanor even if the most recent conviction was within ten...

When the police pull you over, they must first have grounds for the stop. The constitutional requirement is for "Reasonable Articulable Suspicion," sometimes referred to as "grounded suspicion." However, if the stop is good, that is, if the stop was for speeding or running a red light, and the officer then smelled alcohol and thought your speech was slurred or there was other evidence of impairment (maybe a beer in the cup holder?) then he may have a basis to investigate further. Case law...

There is almost no way to resolve this issue without getting a lawyer in California and dealing with the DUI. In all likelihood, a lawyer can help a lot. First, it's possible that the police officer is not even on the force any longer. However, in most states, a blow as low as .056 would have resulted in a reduced or a dropped charge if you have dealt with it from the beginning. A statute of limitations only applies when the state has not pursued the charges against you. Normally, if you...

Keep a record of the efforts you have made to fulfill the conditions of your probation. The law requires that violations of probation be "willful." If you can show that you made reasonable efforts to comply, you should be ok. It certainly isn't double jeopardy, since the violation is just the continuation of the first case. Good luck.

Different states have different definitions of what constitutes "driving" or being "in actual physical control" of a vehicle. However, it's my experience that there are very few juries who would convict on the fact situation that you have submitted, no matter what the law says.

There is nothing inherently theist about AA. The program refers to a "higher power" but this can be anything you conceive it to be, including "fate" "the conscience of the community," your inner consciousness or even the opinions of the members of your home group. No belief in anything supernatural is required. If you are going to a group that is too religious for you, then just go to a different group. There are all different types of groups and they are everywhere. Sounds like you just...

Absolutely not!! It is an old wives tale. However, there is considerable evidence that your breath pattern before you blow can affect the breath test result.