Reader’s Question:

Will I have to contain an Ignition Interlock Device placed in my car as a condition of bond for a DWI offense in Palm Beach FL?

Messer

Palm Beach, FL

Thank you for your query, Messer. In Palm Beach FL, if you were stopped by a representative of the law enforcement, and the day you were stopped it was your first offense; conditions of bond are an issue of judgment with the Court. In general, most judges will not make an Ignition Interlock Device as a condition of bond for a first offense DWI. However, if you are accused with a succeeding DWI and this does not matter how long ago your first DWI was, with Intoxication Assault, or with Intoxication Manslaughter you are obligatory by law to put in an Ignition Interlock Device on your car. In actual fact, you will not be able to steer any means of transportation that is not equipped with an Interlock Device. If the piece of equipment verifies a certain level of alcohol on your breath, it will for the time being disable your vehicle. When driving, you have to constantly blow into the piece of equipment about every twenty minutes. Please be reminded, that the alcohol in some mouthwashes can still be enough to cause the Ignition Interlock Device to disable the vehicle if you do not remain a certain period of time following its use.

Reader’s Question:

I was charged with DUI in Florida and of course, I was asked to attend a traffic school. I don’t have the luxury of time to go to a regular traffic school. Would it be better if I just go to an online traffic school? How does this work?

Suzanne

Palm Beach, FL

The good news about taking up an online traffic school is that you can just do it in the comforts of your home. You wouldn’t have to sit in a physical classroom to take the traffic school because you can simply do it online.

It is not as difficult as it sounds to find a Florida online driving school. There a lot of providers who have made courses available for students. But don’t assume that all of these online traffic schools are Florida approved traffic schools. Be mindful that not all online traffic schools are approved for court use. I suggest you check with the courts to find out which online traffic schools in Florida are worthy of their seal of approval. The list of approved Florida online traffic school providers could probably be found at the State’s Department of Transportation website or other government web location.

If you have already found a provider that you and your court like, you just need to register on a web page and establish an account. After that, you will have access to the traffic school materials that have been customized to include laws and regulations in the State of Florida, and go through the course to learn all the state-mandated items that they feel a traffic violator would benefit from learning in a defensive driving class. After your course, you’ll take a final exam and you’ll be required to get a minimum percentage correct in order to pass the course. You will be receiving a certificate of completion in the mail and be able to bring it to court to show that you have satisfied the traffic school requirements.

Reader’s Question:

Is it possible that I was intoxicated at the time that I was tested in Palm Beach, Florida, but not during I was driving? And, does this make a disparity?

Janice

Palm Beach, FL

The answers for both your questions Janice is yes. Our Florida law only offers that the felony of DWI happens when a person has an alcohol concentration of .08 or more in his body or has lost normal use of his intellectual or bodily abilities at that time that he or she is driving. So, the timing of the particular test in question can present a significant problem for either the prosecution or the defense (depending upon the circumstances). This problem usually arises in connection with breath or blood tests tested approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes after driving. In such delayed testing, absent other information about the quantity of alcoholic drinks used, the type of drinks used, and information of when the drinks were consumed, a person’s alcohol level at the time of driving may have been elevated, dropped or the similar.

In order to link the test result to alcohol level at the time of driving the prosecution may attempt to present expert testimony. The procedure the “expert” uses to tell the test result back to the time of driving is known as retrograde extrapolation. Depending upon the facts in your case, the expert may use his facts regarding alcohol assimilation, circulation and removal to have the State’s extrapolation evidence excluded or to raise issues of reasonable doubt in connection with that evidence.