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The Safir Lawyer Blog

Florida DUI, criminal defense, and personal injury, explained by a forensic lawyer-scientist and former public defender. Seven running series cover the science behind the evidence, the cases in the news, the injury claims, and how a defense actually gets built, all in plain English.

Rory Safir

Every post here is written by Rory Safir, one of only six ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in Florida, the author of The Florida DUI Trial Manual, and a former Assistant Public Defender in Tampa.

About Rory →

The Series

Seven running series, each with its own beat. Pick a lane or read them all.

The Safir WireThe Safir WireLegal news, court rulings, and law changes, read the way a lawyer-scientist reads them.Explore the series ➞Called SafirCalled SafirAthlete and celebrity arrests, broken down by a criminal defense lawyer.Explore the series ➞SafircrackingSafircrackingForensic science, taken apart piece by piece: breath, blood, DNA, drug testing, and the crime lab.Explore the series ➞Fail-SafirFail-SafirFalse alerts, misused databases, and lab failures, and what they mean in a real case.Explore the series ➞Safir HarborSafir HarborHow cases actually get defended, from the first night to the last motion.Explore the series ➞Better Safir Than SorryBetter Safir Than SorryCar crashes, insurance tactics, and what an injury claim is actually worth.Explore the series ➞Rory SafirAsk SafirHave a question about a DUI, an arrest, or an injury claim? Ask it, and the answer may become the next post.Ask your question ➞
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Ask Safir: Should I See a Doctor After a Car Accident If I Feel Fine?

Florida gives you 14 days after a crash to get initial medical care or forfeit the no-fault benefits you already paid for. The second deadline hiding behind it decides whether your coverage is 10,000 dollars or 2,500....
  • Rory Safir
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Ask Safir: Can I Drive After a DUI Arrest in Florida?

The citation in your pocket is a ten day driving permit, and what you do inside those ten days decides whether you keep driving after it expires. One of the two paths costs more than people realize....
  • Rory Safir
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Ask Safir: Can a Florida DUI Be Reduced to Reckless Driving?

Reductions to reckless driving happen in Florida every week, through county programs and through pressure on the evidence. A statute most people have never heard of decides who is even allowed to take the deal....
  • Rory Safir
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Ask Safir: How Long Does a DUI Stay on Your Record in Florida?

The criminal record is permanent, the driving record keeps it for 75 years, and the clocks that do expire are the ones lawyers care about most: the five and ten year enhancement windows....
  • Rory Safir
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Ask Safir: What Happens If You Refuse the Breath Test in Florida?

Refusing the breath test after a Florida DUI arrest is now a crime, a change many drivers still have not heard about. The officer's warning is an element of that crime, and it is where these cases get fought....
  • Rory Safir
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Ask Safir: Do I Have to Do the Field Sobriety Exercises in Florida?

No law requires the roadside exercises and declining them is not a crime in Florida. What most articles skip is what declining actually changes, and what was already being graded before the question was asked....
  • Rory Safir
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Ask Safir: Will a DUI Show Up on a Background Check in Florida?

A Florida DUI conviction shows up on background checks and can never be sealed or expunged. The reason is a statute most articles skip, and the one real exit ramp runs through the charge itself....
  • Rory Safir
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When Police Ask Google for Your Account: What a Subpoena Gets, Under Federal and Florida Law

A subpoena with no judge involved reaches your name, your session times and the card you paid with. A warrant is only needed for contents. And for records, the government does not have to tell you at all....
  • Rory Safir
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Florida’s Super Speeder Law: What Section 316.1922 Actually Says

Florida created the crime of dangerous excessive speeding on July 1, 2025, and a first conviction carries jail. The bill was rewritten three times before it passed, and many summaries still describe the earlier draft....
  • Rory Safir
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Flock Cameras in Tampa Bay: Where They Are, the Misuse Arrests, and What the Law Actually Says

Three Florida officers were charged in five weeks over Flock camera misuse, and St. Petersburg's 50 cameras are now a mayoral runoff issue. A St. Petersburg defense lawyer explains what the cameras record, the felony charges, the Fourth Amendment cases, and what the search logs mean in a criminal case....
  • Rory Safir
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Fourteen Arrests in Two Fraternity Houses: How the Penn State Cocaine Case Would Run in Florida

Fourteen arrests in two fraternity houses, charges running from trafficking down to paraphernalia, and one father charged for trying to help. The Florida version of this case turns on 28 grams, a conspiracy statute punished like trafficking itself, and a dorm case from FSU....
  • Rory Safir
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Michael Caruso Arrest: What the Palm Beach Clerk of Court’s Five Florida Charges Actually Mean

Florida's Office of Statewide Prosecution charged the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court with five felonies. Each charge is a specific statute with its own elements, and the charge list itself tells you the State's theory. A Florida defense lawyer walks through all five....
  • Rory Safir
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Your AI Chat Is Not a Private Journal: What the ChatGPT Case Says About Florida Law

A man's private conversations with ChatGPT became three felony charges in Palm Beach County. The Florida statute that made it possible was rewritten in 2023, and it no longer asks whether you sent the threat to anyone....
  • Rory Safir

What the National College for DUI Defense Is, and Why Faculty Matters

The National College for DUI Defense trains DUI lawyers nationwide. Here is what it is, what its faculty do, and why the science is the part that decides cases....
  • Rory Safir
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A Golf Cart, a Refusal, and the Hearing Most Drivers Never Request

A golf cart DUI arrest carries everything a car arrest carries, including the license suspension. This one ended with the suspension set aside at the formal review hearing, and the State later dropped all three criminal charges....
  • Rory Safir
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What to Wear to Court in Florida

What to wear to court or jury duty in Florida, from a former public defender: the one rule, what works, what gets noticed for the wrong reasons, tattoos and piercings, and how the answer changes for a jury trial....
  • Rory Safir
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How Many Drinks Is Over the Legal Limit in Florida?

Florida law never counts drinks. It sets alcohol concentration limits, and the number of drinks it takes to reach them moves with body weight, time, food, and the machine doing the measuring. Here is what the limits actually are, why nobody can promise you a safe number, and what matters...
  • Rory Safir
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The State’s Best Witness Was a Helicopter Nobody Listed

A recent Hillsborough County case ended with a felony drug charge reduced to a misdemeanor, two of the four counts dropped outright, and no jail. The method behind that outcome is worth more than the outcome itself, because nothing about it is exotic....
  • Rory Safir
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A DUI Arrest Puts Your CDL at Risk for a Year. Here Is How One Driver Kept His.

For many drivers, a DUI arrest is a legal problem. For a commercial driver, it is a payroll problem....
  • Rory Safir
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A Lazy Eye, and the Check a Florida DUI Officer Is Supposed to Run First

A police officer is on the witness stand. He has spent forty minutes telling a jury that the way a woman's eyes moved on the side of a road proved she was impaired. And I am asking him to define a lazy eye....
  • Rory Safir

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Arrested for DUI in Florida, the bookI wrote the book on Florida DUIFree to anyone facing a charge in Tampa Bay. Plain English, nineteen chapters, no law degree required.Get your copy →ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist badgeForensic Lawyer-ScientistOne of six attorneys in Florida with the ACS-CHAL designation from the American Chemical Society.What that means for your case →

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Acquittal, Pinellas County: DUI jury acquittal after the HGN eye test was challenged.

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