In March, the California Highway Patrol pulled Britney Spears over on the 101 after a 911 call about a car speeding and swerving. Officers said they smelled alcohol, she did the roadside tests, and she was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and a drug. Reports said troopers found an empty wine glass and a bottle of Adderall that was not prescribed to her. Weeks later she resolved it the way many first-time cases resolve in California, by pleading to a “wet reckless,” with a year of probation and a DUI program.
The question I kept seeing afterward was a good one: what is a wet reckless, and does Florida have one? Here is the answer, and what it tells you about getting a Florida DUI knocked down.
This is general commentary on a publicly reported, resolved case. It is not legal advice, and The Safir Lawyer does not represent Ms. Spears.
What a wet reckless really is
A wet reckless is a reduced charge. Instead of pleading to a DUI, the driver pleads to reckless driving with a note in the record that alcohol or drugs were involved, hence the word wet. It usually carries lighter penalties, a shorter or no license suspension, and far less of a lasting mark than a DUI conviction. It is a creature of California law and a handful of other states, and it exists because courts need a middle option for cases that are real but not strong enough, or not serious enough, to demand a full DUI.
Florida does not call it that, but it makes the same move
Florida has no statute named wet reckless. What it has is the same result by a different road. A Florida prosecutor can amend a DUI down to reckless driving as a negotiated plea, which keeps the DUI conviction, the long license suspension, and the mandatory penalties off your record. Florida also runs diversion programs for qualifying first-time cases that can lead to a reduction or even a dismissal once you finish them. The label is different. The goal, walking away without a DUI conviction, is the same.
A reduction is not a gift. It is earned on the proof
A case gets reduced when the State’s evidence has a soft spot. Spears’s stop began with a 911 call and what troopers described as erratic, high-speed driving, and the lawfulness of a stop is always fair game. So is the rest of it: the field sobriety exercises, the testing, the officer’s read of the scene. In Florida, a shaky stop or thin proof is the pressure point that turns a DUI into a reckless. The weaker the State’s case, the more room there is to negotiate.
Alcohol and drugs together, plus an extra charge
Spears was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and a drug, not alcohol alone. Florida treats that the same way: you can be convicted on the combined effect of alcohol and a drug even if neither one alone would have done it. And the Adderall detail carries its own risk. Adderall is a controlled substance, and holding it without your own valid prescription is a separate crime in Florida, on top of any DUI.
She took the test, and that was a choice
One thing separated this case from some other celebrity arrests: Spears took the chemical test rather than refusing it. That is a real fork in the road. Taking the test hands the State a number but avoids the refusal penalties, the automatic license suspension and the refusal being used against you. Refusing flips that trade. There is no single right answer, and it is one of the first things worth understanding before you ever face the choice.
What this means in Florida
Strip away the name and this is a first-time DUI that got reduced, which happens in Florida every day when the facts support it. If you are charged, a reduction to reckless or a diversion slot is often on the table, and whether you get there depends on the stop, the testing, and how hard the proof is pushed. That is the work, and as a forensic lawyer-scientist it is the work I do.
Charged with a DUI in the Tampa Bay area?
A first DUI is often more negotiable than it feels, especially when the stop or the testing has a weak spot. Let’s find it.
About the author
Rory Safir is one of a handful of ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in Florida, an NHTSA qualified field sobriety instructor, and a former Assistant Public Defender in Tampa. He trained on the same gas chromatography instruments the State labs use, which is why he reads breath and blood evidence the way an analyst does.
Keep reading
Common Questions
Does Florida have a wet reckless charge?
Not by that name. Florida has no wet reckless statute, but a DUI can be amended down to reckless driving as a negotiated plea, and diversion programs can reduce or dismiss a first-time case. The label differs, but the result, no DUI conviction, can be the same.
Can you be charged with DUI for alcohol and drugs together in Florida?
Yes. Florida lets the State prove impairment from the combined effect of alcohol and a drug, even if neither one alone would have been enough on its own.
Is it a crime to have someone else's Adderall in Florida?
Yes. Adderall is a controlled substance, and possessing it without your own valid prescription is a separate criminal charge, independent of any DUI.
Can a first DUI be reduced in Florida?
Often, yes. Depending on the stop, the testing, and the strength of the evidence, a first DUI can be reduced to reckless driving or routed into a diversion program. It depends heavily on the facts.