Tampa DUI and Criminal Defense

DUI and Criminal Defense in Tampa

Tampa is the heart of Hillsborough County and one of Florida’s largest cities, stretching from the downtown core and Ybor City to the Westshore business district, Hyde Park, the University area, and the neighborhoods around MacDill Air Force Base. Its nightlife, its three interstates, and its sheer size make it a constant focus of DUI and criminal enforcement.

The bars and clubs of Ybor City, the SoHo and Hyde Park districts, and the stadium and event traffic all feed a steady stream of DUI stops, while the interstates and arterials see drug, traffic, and other arrests around the clock. A Tampa case can carry serious exposure, and the difference often comes down to whether the stop, the search, and the testing hold up.

Tampa is also where I cut my teeth. I served as an Assistant Public Defender in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit here, trying cases and representing hundreds of people in these same courtrooms, so I know how the State builds a Tampa case and where it tends to break down. Tampa cases also tend to come with a lot of evidence, from body-worn and dashboard camera footage to surveillance video and crowded-scene witnesses, and a careful review frequently shows the video does not match the report. With MacDill nearby, we also see service members and federal employees whose careers and clearances ride on the outcome, and we defend those cases with that in mind.

I am proud to represent everyone in this community, including veterans and servicemembers and LGBTQ clients, with the same preparation and discretion in every case.

Ybor City, Gasparilla, and DUI Enforcement in Tampa

Tampa packs a lot of nightlife into a few districts: Ybor City’s Seventh Avenue, the SoHo strip along South Howard Avenue, the Channel District, and the bars and breweries downtown and around Water Street. Those areas, and the routes home along the Selmon Expressway, Bayshore Boulevard, and the interstates, see steady DUI enforcement, especially on weekends. The city’s signature event, Gasparilla, takes over Bayshore Boulevard on the last two Saturdays in January with hundreds of thousands of people and a long day of drinking, and DUI patrols ramp up around it and around the Florida State Fair the same time of year.

A Tampa stop turns on the same questions we test in any DUI: whether the officer had a lawful reason to stop you, whether the field exercises were given and scored correctly, and whether the breath or blood testing holds up. As a former Hillsborough public defender, I know how these cases are built downtown, and we take them apart the same forensic way.

How We Help

Whatever the charge, the work starts with the evidence: the stop, the search, the testing, and the witnesses.

What a Charge Can Mean for You

A DUI or criminal charge connected to Tampa reaches well past the courtroom. A conviction can suspend your driver’s license, leave a permanent public record that shows up on background checks, threaten a job or a professional license, and, for a non-citizen, carry immigration consequences that the criminal sentence never mentions. Certain charges can also affect your right to own a firearm and your ability to seal or expunge the record later. These stakes are the reason we treat even a first misdemeanor seriously, and the reason the early decisions, about the stop, the testing, and how the case is resolved, are worth getting right the first time.

Where Your Tampa Case Is Heard

Hillsborough criminal cases run through the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, the circuit where I began my career as an Assistant Public Defender, so I know how the State builds and tries its cases here. Felony cases are heard at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse in downtown Tampa, while misdemeanor, traffic, and many county-court matters for the eastern part of the county are handled at the Plant City Courthouse on North Michigan Avenue. A Tampa case is most often heard downtown at the Edgecomb Courthouse and its Annex. If a DUI is involved, the ten-day clock to protect your license through the DHSMV runs from the date of the arrest.

That license side runs separately through the Florida DHSMV. Formal review hearings for Tampa arrests are held at the Tampa Bureau of Administrative Reviews (the BAR) on East Hillsborough Avenue, which also handles Hillsborough, Pasco, and several nearby counties. You have only ten days from the arrest to demand that formal review, which is the only way to fight the suspension and an early chance to question the officer under oath. We file that demand and appear at the Tampa BAR for you.

DUI School and Diversion for a Tampa Case

If a Tampa case ends in a DUI, Florida requires DUI school before your license comes back, and the licensed provider for Hillsborough County is DUI Counterattack Hillsborough in Tampa. For an eligible first DUI, the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit’s RIDR program can reduce the charge to reckless driving after enhanced conditions, and the circuit also runs the DETRR drug program, the Misdemeanor Intervention Program, and other diversion and treatment-court options for non-DUI charges, which the Hillsborough State Attorney describes on its site. We line the timing up with your court and license deadlines and tell you plainly whether diversion or fighting the charge fits your case.

How We Defend a Tampa Case

We get the full file rather than the summary, test the science with the right expert, press the constitutional issues around the stop and the search, and tell your whole story in negotiation and, when needed, at trial. It is the same forensic-first approach in every part of Hillsborough County we serve, and it is what separates a case that is merely processed from one that is truly defended.

Common Questions

Do you handle DUI and criminal cases in Tampa?

Yes. We defend DUI and the full range of criminal charges connected to Tampa, including drug, theft, violent, weapons, domestic violence, and probation matters, along with serious injury cases.

You were a public defender in Tampa, right?

Yes. I began my career as an Assistant Public Defender in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Tampa, where I tried cases and represented hundreds of people. That courtroom experience still shapes how I defend Hillsborough cases today.

What makes your Tampa defense different?

I am one of only six attorneys in Florida recognized as an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, and I read the breath, blood, and urine science myself rather than taking the State’s report at face value. That scientific read is where many cases turn.

How fast should I call after an arrest?

As soon as you can. A DUI arrest starts a ten-day clock to protect your license, evidence can be lost, and the earlier we are involved the more of your case we can protect. The first consultation is free and we are available 24/7.

Do you handle Gasparilla and Ybor City DUI arrests in Tampa?

Yes. Gasparilla, the Ybor City and SoHo nightlife districts, and the routes home draw heavy DUI enforcement, especially in late January. We defend those cases from the lawfulness of the stop through the field exercises and the breath or blood testing that follow.

Where is my license hearing held for a Tampa DUI?

The license suspension is handled by the Florida DHSMV, not the criminal court. Formal review hearings for Tampa arrests are held at the Tampa Bureau of Administrative Reviews on East Hillsborough Avenue, which serves Hillsborough, Pasco, and several nearby counties. You have only ten days from the arrest to demand that hearing.

More Hillsborough Areas We Serve

This page is general information about Florida law and our service area, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Court structure and procedure can change, so confirm details with counsel about your own case. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.