Miami DUI Defense Attorney

The Law Office of Nayib Hassan, P.A. represents drivers across Miami and Miami-Dade County who have been arrested for driving under the influence, and the firm also handles serious state and federal criminal matters throughout South Florida. A Miami DUI defense attorney has to think about two cases at once. One is the criminal prosecution in Miami-Dade court. The other is the separate administrative fight over your driver license, which starts running the night of the arrest and does not wait for the criminal case to catch up.

Florida’s DUI statute gives prosecutors two ways to prove their case. They can show a breath or blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, or they can show that your normal faculties were impaired, whatever the number says. That second path matters because it means a case can go forward even when a breath result is thrown out or never obtained. It also means the officer’s observations, the roadside exercises, and the body camera footage often decide the outcome more than the machine does.

One more feature of Florida DUI law shapes everything that follows. A judge may not accept a plea to a lesser-included offense in a DUI case. That takes away the quiet reduction that people hear about in other kinds of cases, and it means the real leverage comes from the quality of the stop, the testing, and the evidence itself.

How a Miami DUI Case Usually Unfolds

Most Miami DUI cases begin with a traffic stop, a crash scene, or a checkpoint, and the officer is already building the case before you say a word. Observations of driving, odor, speech, and eyes go into the report, followed by field sobriety exercises and a request for a breath, blood, or urine test. Each of those steps is a place where the State can be tested. Was there a lawful reason to stop the car? Was there a lawful reason to extend the stop and ask you to perform exercises? Were you told what refusing a test would mean? Were the testing procedures followed correctly?

After an arrest, adults taken into custody in Miami-Dade appear for a first appearance, and misdemeanor jail arraignments are held on weekday mornings and afternoons at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in downtown Miami. A standard first-offense DUI is a misdemeanor and is heard in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit’s county criminal court, which sits at the Gerstein building and at branch locations including Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, the Harvey Ruvin Justice Center, and the South Dade Justice Center. Cases that involve serious injury or a death are charged as felonies and move to the circuit criminal division, which also sits at the Gerstein building.

From there the case moves through discovery, where we obtain the police report, dash and body camera video, breath test records, and maintenance logs for the machine. Then come motions, which may challenge the stop, the arrest, or the admissibility of the test result, followed by negotiation or trial. Because a Miami DUI attorney cannot count on a reduced charge as a standard outcome, preparation for trial starts early and shapes every conversation with the prosecutor.

Why Choose the Law Office of Nayib Hassan, P.A. for a Miami DUI Case

Nayib Hassan is the attorney and founder of the firm. He is a former Broward County Assistant State Attorney who has spent more than 20 years inside the criminal justice system, and as a prosecutor he handled thousands of cases and tried hundreds to verdict. That background matters in a DUI case because he knows how the State evaluates a stop, how officers are trained to document impairment, and where those reports tend to be weakest when a judge or jury reads them closely.

The firm represents clients in Miami, Miami-Dade County, and throughout South Florida, and it handles state criminal defense including DUI, drug crimes, firearm offenses, and violent crimes alongside its federal practice. Mr. Hassan is admitted to the federal courts of the Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts of Florida, the federal court for the District of Columbia, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He is fluent in Spanish, recognized among the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers, holds a 10.0 Avvo rating, and serves on the Miami board of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He also teaches as an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University and has presented continuing legal education programs on federal court practice to other defense attorneys.

The firm intentionally limits its caseload so the attorney handling your case is the attorney you speak with, and it is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Mr. Hassan has represented defendants in multi-defendant drug cases, including matters where charges were dismissed and one where his client received one of the lowest sentences among all codefendants. His cases have been covered by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, and the Miami Herald. Consultations are confidential.

Situations That Lead to DUI-Related Charges in Miami-Dade

• First-Offense DUI: Charged under section 316.193 when a driver is at 0.08 or above or is impaired in normal faculties. A first conviction carries a fine of $500 to $1,000, or $1,000 to $2,000 if the level was 0.15 or higher or a minor was in the vehicle.
• High Breath Readings: A result of 0.15 or higher raises the fine range and often changes how a prosecutor views the case, which makes the calibration, observation period, and operator records worth close review.
• Test Refusal: Declining a breath, blood, or urine test triggers its own license suspension, and a second or later suspension for refusal removes the option of a hardship license.
• Repeat DUI: A second conviction within five years of a prior one carries a five-year license revocation.
• DUI With a Minor in the Vehicle: Having a child in the car moves the first-offense fine into the higher range and tends to make prosecutors less flexible.
• DUI With Serious Bodily Injury: A felony-level charge that carries a three-year license revocation on conviction, and a case where accident reconstruction and medical records become central evidence.
• DUI Manslaughter: A conviction requires permanent revocation of the license, and these cases demand early, thorough investigation of causation and testing.
• Drug-Impaired Driving: Prescription medication or other substances can support a DUI charge on the impairment theory alone, with no alcohol involved.

What to Do After a DUI Arrest in Miami

Start with the license, because the clock on it is shorter than most people expect. A DUI arrest in Florida can trigger an administrative suspension through the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, separate from the criminal case, and there is a short window after the arrest to request a review hearing. That window passes quickly, so call a lawyer within the first day or two rather than waiting to see how the criminal case looks. Whatever paperwork you were handed at release, including the citation and the notice of suspension, keep it and bring it with you.

Write down everything you remember while it is fresh: where you were coming from, what you ate and drank and when, why you were stopped, what the officer asked, which exercises you were asked to do and where, and whether the road surface, lighting, footwear, or a medical condition affected your performance. Note whether anyone was with you and who might have seen the stop. Do not post about the arrest, and do not discuss it with anyone other than your lawyer.

Know what court you are headed to. A misdemeanor DUI in Miami-Dade is handled by the county criminal court, with arraignments commonly set at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building or one of the branch locations, depending on where the arrest occurred. If you were arrested in Broward or Palm Beach County instead, the case belongs to the Seventeenth or Fifteenth Judicial Circuit and the schedule is different, which is one reason to have a lawyer confirm the court and date immediately. Missing an arraignment creates a new problem on top of the original one.

The most common mistakes are driving on a suspended license, ignoring the administrative deadline, speaking to the prosecutor or an insurance adjuster without counsel, and signing up for DUI school or treatment before talking to your lawyer about timing. A first conviction requires completion of DUI school before a hardship license can be reinstated, so it will come up, but when and how you do it can matter to the case.

Penalties and License Consequences After a Conviction

Penalties in a Florida DUI case come from two places, the criminal court and the licensing agency, and people are often surprised by how much of the real impact lands on the license. A first conviction without a death carries a revocation of at least 180 days and no more than one year. A second conviction within five years of a prior one carries a five-year revocation. Convictions for DUI manslaughter, DUI with serious bodily injury, and vehicular homicide carry longer or permanent revocations as the statutes provide.

Hardship reinstatement exists for some drivers, but it has limits. It requires completion of DUI school on a first conviction, and it is not available after a second or later suspension for refusing a test. For a Miami commuter whose job depends on driving, those rules can matter more than the fine. A defense plan should account for the license outcome from the start, not only the courtroom result.

Clearing the Record After a DUI Case

Sealing or expunging an arrest record is possible only in limited circumstances. Anyone who wants to petition a court must first obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and a court cannot order expunction or sealing without it. A person who has been adjudicated guilty of a felony is not eligible, and a person who has previously sealed or expunged a Florida record generally cannot do it again. Expunction can be available where no charging document was filed, or where charges were dropped, dismissed before trial, or ended in an acquittal. Even then the court has discretion and no one has a right to the relief. For that reason, how a DUI case ends matters well beyond the case itself.

Common Questions About DUI Charges in Miami

Can I be convicted of DUI if my breath result was under 0.08?

Yes. Florida law allows a conviction based on impairment of normal faculties even without a qualifying test result. The State would rely on driving behavior, the officer’s observations, and your performance on roadside exercises, which is why those pieces of evidence get scrutinized closely.

What is the fine for a first DUI?

A first conviction carries a fine of $500 to $1,000. If the breath or blood level was 0.15 or higher, or a minor was in the vehicle, the range rises to $1,000 to $2,000. Court costs, DUI school, and other conditions add to the total.

Will I lose my license?

A first conviction without a death carries a revocation of at least 180 days and up to one year. There is also a separate administrative suspension that begins after the arrest, which is why the deadline to challenge it is so important.

Can I get a hardship license?

Often yes after a first conviction, once DUI school is completed. It is not available after a second or later suspension for refusing a test.

Can my DUI be reduced to reckless driving?

Florida law does not allow a judge to accept a guilty plea to a lesser-included offense in a DUI case. Outcomes tend to come from weaknesses in the State’s evidence, not from a routine reduction.

Should I refuse the breath test?

Refusal brings its own license suspension, and a second or later suspension for refusal removes the possibility of a hardship license. Whether refusal helped or hurt in a given case depends on the rest of the evidence, which is something to review with your lawyer after the fact, not a decision to take lightly at the roadside.

What if there was no video of my driving?

Many stops are documented only by the officer’s report. Without video, the case rests on what the officer says they saw, and cross-examination of that account becomes the heart of the defense.

How long does a misdemeanor DUI take in Miami-Dade?

It varies with the court calendar, how quickly discovery is produced, and whether motions are filed. A case that involves suppression hearings or a trial takes longer than one resolved early, and a lawyer can give you a realistic estimate once the discovery is in hand.

Can a DUI affect a professional license or job?

It can. Many licensing boards and employers, including those that require driving, ask about arrests and convictions. The way a case ends, whether by dismissal, acquittal, or conviction, affects what you must report and whether the record can later be sealed or expunged.

I was arrested in Broward or Palm Beach County. Can you still help?

Yes. The firm represents clients in Broward and Palm Beach Counties as well as Miami-Dade, and a lawyer can confirm which court and which circuit will hear your case.

Is a DUI ever a federal case?

Not usually. DUI is prosecuted under Florida law, but the firm’s federal experience matters when a driving incident overlaps with other conduct, such as events on federal property or related federal allegations.

DUI Defense Across Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida

The firm defends DUI cases from Miami and Miami Beach through Coral Gables, Kendall, Doral, Hialeah, Aventura, North Miami, Homestead, and Miami Gardens, and across the rest of Miami-Dade County. Many arrests happen on the roads that connect those communities, and the county court locations at Miami Beach, Hialeah, and Coral Gables mean your case may be heard close to where you were stopped.

The firm also serves drivers charged in Broward County, Palm Beach County, and Monroe County, as well as clients across the Southern District of Florida and throughout Florida. Because the attorney handling your case is the one who answers when you call, you are not passed between staff at a critical time.

Talk to a Miami DUI Defense Lawyer Before the Deadlines Run

The license clock starts at arrest, and the best defenses depend on evidence that is easiest to preserve early. If you need a Miami DUI defense lawyer, the Law Office of Nayib Hassan, P.A. is available around the clock to talk through your arrest, the deadlines, and what a defense would look like in your case. Call the firm to arrange a confidential consultation.