A Fifth-Offense DUI Reduced to Reckless Driving with No Conviction
February 2020
Sometimes, we surprise even ourselves. We had a client who was on his fifth DUI charge. (That's not a typo.) He was facing up to five years in the Florida State prison system. Due to some glitches in the system, we were able to negotiate a plea bargain which reduced the charge to Reckless Driving, and allowed the court to withhold adjudication on the result. This meant that our client would receive no additional drivers license suspension, and would not get a formal conviction for the Reckless Driving charge.
People occasionally ask if we feel bad about getting multiple-offenders off on a technicality. The answer is, "It depends." In this case, as a condition of our taking the case, we insisted that our client attend hundreds of twelve-step meetings and remain alcohol- and drug-free. He did that, and with the resolution of this case has a four-month head start on sobriety. So we actually feel good about starting our client on a path of recovery, while preserving his ability to support himself, and keeping him out of prison.
For our client, for us and for society, it is a win all around.
Practice area(s): DUI / DWI
Court: Manatee County Court