The 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 time.

A charge reduction to reckless driving can relieve the client of not only many of the outrageous DUI fines and penalties, but also the stigma that surrounds 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 to take a DUI conviction or go 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. His past: Does the arrested citizen have a clean record or has he been arrested for DUI before?

A good Tampa Bay DUI attorney 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 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 reckless driving reduction. The prosecutor will still get your conviction, so the percentage of his conviction. However, the stake of the trial goes both ways: while the prosecutor may worry that the jury will acquit the citizen, the citizen is equally concerned that a jury might find him guilty. Therefore, the happy resolution can 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 Constitution of the United States 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 pull over a citizen if they have probable cause to believe 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 detained the citizen for no reason, then a judge can dispose of all evidence seized by the officer obtained after the detention.

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

3. His past: Does the arrested citizen have a clean record or has he been arrested for DUI before?

Finally, the citizen’s background 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 prior DUI-related offenses, then the prosecutor may be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in negotiations and agree to reduce the charge. However, if the citizen has five DUIs on his record, the prosecutor is more likely to roll the dice at trial or on a motion.