Hollywood DUI Lawyer | Shield Firm

From the Broadwalk to Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood has two well known destinations: the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk and the busy downtown along Hollywood Boulevard. The Hollywood Police Department commonly makes DUI stops on A1A near the beach, on Hollywood Boulevard, and on US 1 and I-95.

The setting of a stop can matter. Field sobriety exercises are meant to be given and scored under national NHTSA standards, and the surface, slope and lighting where they were done can affect whether that happened. Video from the scene often shows those details.

Higher readings and enhanced penalties

Florida sets enhanced penalties when a breath or blood alcohol level is 0.15 or higher, or when a minor is in the vehicle. For a first DUI in those circumstances, the law allows a fine of $1,000 to $2,000, up to 9 months in jail, and 6 months of ignition interlock.

A reading is evidence, not the end of the inquiry. Breath tests use the Intoxilyzer 8000 under rules set by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, including a 20 minute observation period before the test, and those records are part of discovery.

Hollywood's regional courthouse and the main courthouse

Broward runs a regional courthouse in Hollywood, alongside the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Both serve the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and a lawyer can confirm which building a particular hearing is set in.

Separately, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) handles the administrative suspension of your license. There are 10 days from the arrest to request a formal review hearing, and the suspension takes effect if that request is not made.

Help from outside Broward County

The firm takes Hollywood DUI cases but has no Broward office; its offices are in Orlando and Satellite Beach. Calls are answered 24 hours a day. Payment plans are available through Affirm, including $0 down options, subject to approval.

Hollywood at a glance

County: Broward County
Court: The Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale (Broward also runs a regional courthouse in Hollywood)
Circuit: Florida's Seventeenth Judicial Circuit
The firm has no office in Broward County; its offices are in Orlando and Satellite Beach. See our offices.

Other Broward County cities

General information only, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Hollywood DUI questions

It may be, or your hearings may be set at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Broward runs both, and a lawyer can confirm where each date in your case falls. The location does not change the law that applies or the separate 10 day deadline for the license hearing.

A result of 0.15 or higher triggers enhanced penalties if there is a conviction. For a first DUI, that means a possible fine of $1,000 to $2,000, up to 9 months in jail and 6 months of ignition interlock. The test itself can still be reviewed, including the 20 minute observation period and the FDLE records.

The law and the court are the same either way. The location can still matter to the evidence: the reason for the stop, the surface and lighting where exercises were done, and what the video captured. Those details come out in discovery and can be tested through motions or depositions. For a misdemeanor DUI, though, Florida's rules limit depositions, and the defense generally has to show good cause to take one.

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