Can I be stopped & arrested for DUI or DWI in florida even if the vehicle was not moving?

It’s amazing how many people are arrested in Florida for DUI when they’re sitting in their car, the car is parked, they usually have the ignition on and the air condition going, and they’re just sitting in the car. Maybe because they don’t feel they’re okay to drive and they wanna wait a while. Police can come up to you and if you’re in control of that car, which means you’re in it, you have the key, whether the ignition is on or not, yes, you can be arrested for DUI. Now, you would think that as a matter of public policy, the State Attorney’s Office, that’s the prosecutor’s office, we don’t have district attorneys in Florida, we have state attorneys. You would think the state attorneys would say, “We’re not going to prosecute you, we’re glad you were not driving,” and some won’t prosecute, some will. But if you’re arrested for DUI for simply being in a vehicle and not driving, you need a top-notch criminal defense attorney who understands the DUI laws and the way it works, and who knows the prosecutors, so we can talk to that prosecutor and convince them not to go forward with the charges against you or to drop those charges because DUI is serious.

By Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A.