Harsh consequences of a Florida DUI conviction include probation, thousands of dollars in court costs and fines, driver’s license suspension, DUI school, and possibly even jail.

A reduction of a reckless driving charge can free the client from not only many of the outrageous fines and penalties for DUI, but also the stigma surrounding a DUI conviction. However, only the prosecutor can reduce your DUI charge to reckless driving. If the prosecutor does not agree to reduce the DUI charge, then the client must decide whether he takes a DUI conviction or goes to trial. Whether the prosecutor will agree to reduce a DUI charge depends on three things:

1. The facts: Could the prosecutor lose the case at trial?

2. The Law: Can a Judge dismiss the case because the Officer violated the rights of the arrested citizen, and

3. Your past: Does the arrested citizen have a clean record or have they been arrested for DUI before?

A good Tampa Bay DUI lawyer should understand these three factors when negotiating your case with the prosecutor.

1. The facts: Could the prosecutor lose at trial?

State prosecutors want convictions. High conviction rates increase the likelihood of a happy State’s Attorney constituency and a better chance of re-election. Consequently, the State Attorneys want to win at trial. Or perhaps more accurately, the State’s Attorneys don’t want to lose at trial.

If the prosecutor fears that the facts of the case could lead to an acquittal by a jury, he or she will be more willing to settle the case for a reduction of reckless driving. The prosecutor will still get his conviction, so the conviction percentage of him. However, the trial gamble goes both ways: while the prosecutor may worry that the jury will acquit the citizen, the citizen is just as concerned that a jury might find him guilty. Therefore, the happy resolution may indeed be reckless driving charge.

2. The Law: Can a Judge dismiss the case because the Officer violated the right of the arrested citizen?

The United States Constitution protects its citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. What that means in the context of a DUI case is that the police officer cannot stop you for any reason. Rather, the police must have a reasonable suspicion that the citizen has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. Alternatively, the police may stop a citizen if they have probable cause to believe that the citizen is committing a traffic violation in front of them (think running a red light in front of the police).

However, if the officer stopped the citizen without reason, then a judge may throw out all the evidence seized by the officer obtained after the arrest.

While there are some clear examples of unreasonable police seizures, many cases fall into a gray area: the judge can rule that the seizure was reasonable or unreasonable. If the judge rules that the detention was unreasonable, the prosecutor may have to dismiss the case, since all evidence of post-arrest mortgage will be thrown out. Consequently, for fear of losing the motion, the prosecutor may agree to reduce the charge to reckless driving.

3. Your past: Does the arrested citizen have a clean record or have they been arrested for DUI before?

Ultimately, the citizen’s past is an important factor in determining whether the prosecutor will agree to reduce the DUI charge to reckless driving. If the citizen has no criminal record, or at least no previous DUI-related offense, then the prosecutor may be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt in negotiations and agree to reduce the charge. However, if the citizen has five DUIs on his or her record, the prosecutor is more likely to roll the dice at trial or on a motion.