Reader’s Question:

I just got my driver’s license and I will be getting my own car insurance soon here in Palm Beach, Florida. In case an accident happens, what does the insurance law say that I should have?

Carolina

Palm Beach, FL

Owners and operators of motor vehicles are mandated by the Florida Financial Responsibility Law to be financially responsible for damages and/or injuries they could cause to others when a car accident happens. This law would require you to have liability insurance in Palm Beach, Florida at the time of the following:

-An accident where you’re at fault and injuries have happened
-A suspension because of too many points against your driver’s license
-A revocation because of being a Habitual Traffic Offender
-A revocation for any serious violation where your license is ordered to be revoked

You should have the following minimum insurance coverage:

-$10,000 Bodily Injury Liability (BIL)
-$20,000 Bodily Injury Liability to two or more individuals
-$10,000 Property Damage Liability (PDL), or
-$30,000 Combined single limits

Your driver’s license would be suspended for up to three years if you commit any of the aforementioned offenses and you don’t have insurance to abide with the financial responsibility law.

Tags: auto liability insurance, car insurance, driver’s license

Reader’s Question:

I’m afraid I might just lose my DUI case here in Palm Beach, Florida because I really don’t know what to do. I know this would cost me too much time and money, but how would I know what it would really cost me to have a DUI conviction?

Franco

Palm Beach, FL

The first thing that you would have to do now after you have been charged with DUI in Palm Beach, Florida is to get a lawyer who would represent you. Hire a lawyer who specializes in DUI cases if your income allows it. This kind of lawyer would be able to give you solid information on what you could expect in terms of cost for your DUI case. You can add the lawyer’s fees into your total and you could also request an estimate or you may estimate this cost based on your lawyer’s hourly rate.

A lot of DUI lawyers offer a free consultation to go over the basic facts of your DUI case. You may ask for a ballpark figure on what the defense would cost you based on your particular situation. Also, remember that a DUI conviction could be costly for years to come. For some people, a DUI conviction would be costly in terms of employment because they’ll have limited options for the future and, in some cases, termination. Your DUI may also cost you for your car insurance rates to increase. So if you’re in search for a justifiable car insurance rates after your DUI, go on and get an online rate quote from this website.

Tags: car insurance, DUI, DUI cost, DUI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

My cousin was charged with DUI here in Palm Beach, Florida and I see that he worries too much about his auto insurance. What can he expect from his insurance company after his drunk driving charge?

Margaret

Palm Beach, FL

Most auto insurance companies check their client’s motor vehicle record once a year. Some auto insurance companies do check it only once every three years or when the client is applying for a new insurance policy. Sometimes, tickets, drunk driving or DUI convictions and accidents could escape the auto insurance company’s attention. If your cousin’s auto insurance company finds out about his DUI charge, especially if he gets convicted, he will see higher premium rates and possibly he might have the task of seeking a new auto insurance company because his current auto insurance company might not renew his coverage.

There are usually two ways that auto insurance companies deal with customers who have DUI charge. Including your cousin’s DUI case in Palm Beach, Florida, the first possible thing that would happen is that the auto insurance provider might cancel the policy. It would also be possible that the auto insurance company would raise the premiums due to increasing the “point” count, almost to the point of “unaffordability.” In case this happens, he can check out other auto insurance providers and he can absolutely find a good auto insurance through getting an online rate quote from this website.

Tags: auto insurance, car insurance quotes, drunk driving insurance, DUI

Reader’s Question:

My brother is accused of DUI here in Palm Beach, Florida and I heard that he would have to pay some fees until the case is resolved. What kind of fee is this and aside from the fees and court fines, what other financial aspect of the case does he have to worry about?

Edmund

Palm Beach, FL

In a DUI case, some counties really require pretrial supervision which would include regular fees of about $20 per month until the DUI case is resolved. That would probably be the fees that you are referring to while your brother’s DUI case in Palm Beach, Florida is on trial. Believe it or not, this could be considered as probation even before conviction that is solely based upon the accusation of the DUI crime.

Aside from the fees and court fines, your brother would also have to worry about the impact of his DUI charge on his car insurance rate. Major insurance companies would simply refuse to give him coverage as he is already tagged as a high risk driver because of his DUI charge. For those car insurance companies that are willing to offer policies, the premium rate would depend on several factors. These factors include make and model of car driven, driving record, age, levels and type of coverage sought, marital status and if the DUI case involved a wreck or other charges. He would also have to get an SR22 car insurance and he could definitely get an online rate quote from great insurance company in Florida available from this website.

Tags: drunk driving insurance, DUI, DUI cost, DUI lawyer, SR22 insurance

Reader’s Question:

After the arraignment of my sister’s DUI charge In Palm Beach, Florida, she’s already preparing for her trial. Before that, she told me that there would be a discovery motion first. What does discovery motion in a DUI case mean?

Mallorie

Palm Beach, Florida

During a discovery motion in a DUI case, the prosecution will be asked to release additional evidence. Discovery would be based on the idea that the defense is entitled to all the information that will be used by prosecutors in their attempt to convict. Most of the time, prosecutors would simply give your DUI lawyer the evidence that would make the discovery unnecessary.

There is actually an informal discovery process that often happens between the defense and the prosecution without the judge getting involved. Both parties provide the other with a list of the information that they would like to be given. The pieces of evidence that your DUI lawyer will receive in this informal discovery process include things such as the names and addresses of prosecution witnesses, statements made by you, relevant evidence seized or obtained as part of the investigation, results of scientific tests and all written or recorded statements of witnesses whom the prosecutor intends to call at a prospective trial. In your sister’s DUI case in Palm Beach, Florida, if both sides refuse provide the evidence that the other side requested, a formal discovery process begins. This would require filing motions so that the judge can decide whether or not to order that the prosecution give the DUI lawyer the evidence he/she wants.

Tags: drunk driving laws, DUI, DUI advice, DUI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

I’ve been following several DUI cases here in Palm Beach County, Florida since my sister has been a victim of a DUI-related offense. Is it true that a person can also be charged with DUI without actually driving? Are there people who have already been convicted of this kind of a DUI charge?

Dean

Palm Beach, FL

As strange and funny as it may sound, an individual could be charged with DUI in Palm Beach, Florida without actually driving. In the State of Florida, a person can be convicted of DUI if driving or in actual physical control of the vehicle.

Actual physical control arises in a variety of different ways. There have been many DUI cases in Palm Beach County, Florida where the police officer arrives at the scene and discovers that the defendant was asleep behind the wheel, either with the engine running or not. There are also DUI cases where the defendant had passed out while waiting on the traffic light to change. This means that actual physical control is where the individual has the ability to readily exercise control over the vehicle. Examples would include if the driver fell asleep behind the wheel and the car keys are in the ignition or if the driver is lying down asleep in the front seat and the keys are in the ignition.

There are several people reported to have been actually convicted for DUI without actually driving the vehicle during the arrest. Most of them have pulled the car off of the roadway, turned off the automobile and then proceeded to sleep it off and the police officers stumbled upon them. The issue of actual physical control is decided by a jury, not by a judge unless it is a non-jury trial.

Tags: DUI

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.

READER QUESTION:

What’s the point of getting an AV rated New York DUI lawyer?

Samuel

HEY THERE, SAMUEL.

The point of getting an AV rated New York DUI lawyer is that you are getting a lawyer who is basically the top of his or her class. An AV rated lawyer has been evaluated by their peers who are also extremely knowledgable in their area of practice and have been found to be exceptional. These lawyers tend to have many many years of experience, low rates of failure, and higher quality of service for their clientele.

Some people may state that they cannot afford an AV rated New York DUI lawyer. While for some this may be true, for many it isn’t quite as out of reach as they may think. Lawyers want clients because they want money, and because of this, all those except for the ones that cater to the richest 1% are likely to have a sort of payment plan by which you can pay out what you owe them. Often you can pay minimum monthly payments, and also take an active role in deciding how much you are being charged during your case’s defense.

–Fashun.

READER QUESTION:

Should I hire an AV rated Palm Beach DUI attorney?

Maggie

Good question, Maggie.

An AV rated Palm Beach DUI attorney would definitely be your best bet if you’re looking for quality representation. Here are a few things you can get from an AV rated lawyer which wouldn’t be guaranteed among other lawyers.

• assurance of experience–AV rated Palm Beach DUI attorney will always be extremely knowledgeable in their field
• assurance of acclaim–lawyers receive an AV rating from their peers, meaning they are being rated by other experts, who should know a good one when they see them
• assurance of ability–lawyers with good AV ratings have excellent case record, ranging from high success rates to total success rates

There are some obstacles when hiring an AV rated Palm Beach DUI attorney, and most of these stem from the pricing, which tends to be hire when AV ratings are involved. You pay for the service you receive, though, so sometimes it’s best to just grin and bear it and arrange the ways you can. Most lawyers allow for you to make regular payments on your charged amount, and you can also control the amount paid for those who charge by the hour while you’re still in the middle of your case.

–Fashun.