Reading a Florida DUI Plea Offer With Two Counts

Attorney Answer

That reads as one offer covering two counts, not two competing deals — but do not act on my reading or anyone else's. Ask the prosecutor's office, through your lawyer, to state in writing which terms attach to which count.

I am not going to tell you which option is better or whether to take a plea. That decision depends on facts no one can see from shorthand, and it is yours to make with a lawyer who has the discovery.

What I can tell you is how the process works, which is what your second question was really about. Pleas in Florida are governed by Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.170, which covers the kinds of pleas, how and when they are entered, and withdrawal. Plea discussions and agreements are governed by Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.171. The part you are asking about — what happens after you say yes — is Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.172: before accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, the trial judge must determine that the plea is voluntarily entered and that a factual basis for it exists, through an on-the-record colloquy with you. Until the judge completes that and formally accepts the plea, the agreement is not final and either side may withdraw from it. So no, acceptance is not automatic and not instant.

On the DUI count itself, Fla. Stat. § 316.193 sets the penalty structure: a first conviction is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 to $1,000 and imprisonment of not more than six months, with mandatory probation, substance-abuse education, and possible vehicle impoundment, with escalating penalties for subsequent convictions and aggravating circumstances. Note one gap deliberately: § 316.193 does not set the licence revocation period. Revocation lengths live in a different chapter of the Florida Statutes, so if the offer contains a revocation term, ask your lawyer to confirm it against that chapter rather than against the DUI penalty statute.

Two tracks. Whatever happens in the criminal case, the administrative action against your driving privilege is a separate proceeding. Any window to seek review of an administrative suspension ran from the notice of suspension you were given at the arrest, not from the plea — so if that was not handled, raise it with counsel now rather than assuming the plea resolves it.

What you can do

1. Ask for the offer in writing, and ask for the charging document (the information) beside it so you can see how many counts there actually are. 2. Ask your lawyer, count by count: is adjudication withheld or entered on this count? That single question usually matters more than the dollar figures. 3. Ask what the offer means for your driving privilege specifically, and have the revocation term verified against the licence statutes. 4. Ask when the offer expires and whether it survives the next court date. 5. Tell your lawyer about anything that makes a conviction unusually costly for you — immigration status, a professional licence, a commercial driving job — before you decide anything.