The state of Florida revoked my daughters drivers license for six months for DUI. They took her license in October 2009. Tomorrow she was to have them reinstated. Today was her court date and the judge told her that she was taking her license and that the past six months didn't count because 'She' had not revoked her license. This was a first DUI offense. We thought we were following the law and did what the State Patrol and the State of florida told us to do. It seems that she is being penalized double because now she will have been w/o a drivers license for over a year from the time of the DUI (July 2, 2009). Is there any recourse or place to get this over turned or reviewed? She plead guilty today.
1 Answer from Attorneys
In Florida, there are two entities that control the loss of a DL with a DUI. There is the DMV, which is an administrative suspension and last 6 months for those who blow higher than .08. It is automatic in such cases and begins 10 days after the arrest. There is a 1 year administrative suspension if one refuses to blow.
The second suspension is judicially administered. It lasts 6 months and begins when the judge announces the sentence in court.
Most judges will run the suspensions concurrently, that is, while the DMV admin suspension is running, the judicial suspension will also run. But this can only occur when the DMV suspension is still in effect. What that means is, the DMV suspension starts 10 days after the arrest (in most cases). It doesn't matter what happens in court (unless you are acquitted). However, the court suspension never starts at the same time as the DMV suspension. Because the conviction usually takes place 30 days to more than a year in some cases, the maximum time the license is suspended could be 12 months, but is always more than 6 months. That 12 months may happen all at once, or be broken up into two 6 month periods if there is some time after the DMV suspension ends before the court suspension begins.
I know it is very confusing. It is for lawyers as well. The good news is, if the DMV suspension is done, your daughter can get her business purposes only license (BPO) right away, without a waiting period.
This explanation is for first offenses only. Two or more may have longer court suspensions.
Good luck.
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