DUI / Criminal Traffic

You Can — And Should — Fight These Charges

St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater Drunk Driving and Traffic Crime Defense

Clearwater - Tampa - Pasco County - Manatee County

The potential consequences of DUI or criminal traffic offenses are too significant to simply "take your punishment." In addition to jail, license suspension, fines and even vehicle forfeiture, a conviction can haunt you in numerous ways — future arrests, driving privileges, employment, professional licenses.

With knowledgeable representation, there are proven defenses to limit the impact of a DUI or traffic crime, and in some cases, even get charges dismissed. The Hessinger and Kilfin Law will explore all possible defenses and make every effort to limit the impact of DUI penalties.

• See Your Drunk Driving Case for specific information about DUI.

You Need to Act Quickly. Call (888) 863-7415 Day or Night.
Any statements to police will be used against you. There are important issues to address before your first court appearance. And you must specifically request a Formal Review Hearing within 10 days of arrest or automatically forfeit your license. Contact our St. Petersburg, Tampa or Clearwater office for a free consultation.

DUI and other Criminal Traffic Offenses

The following are criminal "traffic tickets." They are misdemeanor crimes or possibly felony charges. Under Florida law, each of these carries the real possibility of jail (or prison), substantial sanctions against your driver's license and other costly and harsh penalties:

Driving under the influence (DUI)
Reckless driving
Driving on a suspended or revoked license with knowledge
Leaving the scene of an accident (hit and run)
DUI manslaughter (causing a death)

A Battle on Two Fronts

There are two parts to a DUI or traffic offense:

Criminal proceedings — We first aim to get charges dismissed or reduced by challenging the probable cause or the physical evidence. We always attempt to get DUIs reduced to reckless driving, arrange jail alternatives or negotiate minimum sentences. Managing the sentence on a DUI can often save the client months of probation and license suspension time.
An administrative hearing before the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles must be requested within 10 days. Hessinger & Kilfin fight to avoid license suspension or at least secure a permit to drive for work, church, medical and educational purposes.

Qualified to Handle Your DUI or Traffic Violation

Timothy Hessinger and Donald Kilfin spent 15 years and 6 years, respectively, in the State Attorney's office. As criminal defense trial lawyers, they put that prosecutor experience to work for you. They have handled thousands of traffic and DUI cases under every scenario:

First-time DUIs
DUI over .15 or over .20 (enhanced penalties)
Repeat offenses (including felony DUI)
Driving after suspension for DUI
Implied consent violations (refusal of a chemical test)
Drunk drivers under age 21
DUI for commercial drivers (CDL license)
Out-of-state drivers arrested in Florida
DUI accidents causing injury or death
Driving drunk with a child in the car

Our page on Your Drunk Driving Case, covers the topic of DUI in detail:

Why Defend a DUI Case?
20 Common Questions
Summary Of DUI and
Administrative Suspension Laws
Administrative License Hearing
Obtaining a Hardship License
DUI Criminal Penalties
Ignition Interlock
Vehicle Impoundment
Vehicle Forfeiture
Field Sobriety Tests
Traffic Stops and Roadblocks
Calculate Blood Alcohol Content

Let's Discuss Your Specific Situation

We start every DUI or criminal traffic case with a detailed interview with our client. Then we compare your version of events against the police report and the dashboard video from the squad car (if available). Contact us a soon as possible for a free initial consultation to find out where you stand.

Hessinger and Kilfin Law takes cases in Pinellas County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County and Manatee County.

• See our DUI Information Center for more background about drunk driving laws and your defense.