Brandon DUI Attorneys are often asked this question by individual who blow below the .08 legal limit, which folks always hear about in the media. In short, yes, you can be charged and arrested with driving under the influence if you blow below the legal limit. As we discussed elsewhere on our Brandon Criminal Defense Attorney blog, there are two ways essentially to be charged with driving under the influence. First, one can blow above the legal limit. This is commonly known as a DUBAL DUI case, that acronym stands for: driving with an unlawful blood alcohol level. In these cases, the State Attorney’s office is only required to prove that you were driving an automobile and you had an unlawful blood alcohol level i.e over .08. The second way the State Attorney’s office can prove that you committed driving under the influence is that your normal faculties were impaired. In these cases, individuals either refuse to blow or blow below the legal limit. In those situations, the State Attorney’s office will attempt to prove your normal faculties were impaired, regardless of your blood alcohol level. Generally, this is generally done by presenting the video of folks doing their field sobriety exercises. Florida Statute Section 316.1932 regulates Florida breath testing procedures.
Unfortunately, this issue has become a far more widespread as Tampa Bay area law enforcement agencies are becoming far more aggressive arresting individuals for DUIs. We believe this is related to the economic turn-around as law enforcement agencies now have more money to spend on specialized DUI units. As we have discussed elsewhere on our Brandon DUI Attorney blog, when someone blows above .08, there is a legal presumption that one’s impaired. It is worth noting though that if a blood alcohol level is between .05, but less than .08, there is no presumption that the person was either under or not under the influence of alcoholic beverages to the extent that the normal faculties were impaired. This permits the fact finder, whether it is a jury or a judge, to then consider all the facts and then make their own individualized determination. Further, if an individual’s blood alcohol level is below .05, it is presumed that the person was not under the influence of alcoholic beverages to the extent that their normal faculties were impaired. Obviously, Brandon DUI cases where an individual’s blood alcohol level is below .05 are extremely limited. It is worth noting though that these cases do unfortunately happen. We’ve had great success in getting these charges reduced or outright dropped in light of the facts and circumstances of these low blood alcohol level DUIs.
If you have questions concerning your Brandon DUI case, contact the Brandon DUI Attorneys of Hackworth Law for a free case consultation. We have handled thousands of criminal cases throughout the entire Tampa Bay area. If you would like to contact one of our Brandon DUI Attorneys immediately, please use the “Contact Us Now” tab in the upper right-hand corner of our website. If you would like to contact one of us immediately, please use the chat box in the lower right-hand corner of our website. One of our Brandon DUI attorneys are standing by immediately to give you the immediate assistance you need. We appreciate you taking the time to check out our Brandon DUI Attorney blog and look forward to working with you in the future.