The 27 DUI arrests made during a multi-agency enforcement operation over Labor Day weekend in Hillsborough County have drawn attention to a critical but often overlooked deadline that can determine whether a driver keeps their license. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, deputies, along with Tampa, Plant City, and University of South Florida police, conducted 225 traffic stops during the operation. Each arrest triggers two separate legal proceedings: a criminal DUI case and an administrative license suspension under Section 322.2615, Florida Statutes. The latter carries a strict timeline that begins immediately after arrest.
Under Florida law, when a driver's breath or blood alcohol result is 0.08 or higher, or when the driver refuses testing, the officer confiscates the license and issues a notice of suspension along with a 10-day temporary permit. The driver then has 10 days to request a formal or informal review, or, after a first DUI-related offense, a restricted-license eligibility review. At midnight on day 10, the temporary permit expires. If a formal review is requested, the department must schedule the hearing or invalidate the suspension within 30 days, and issue its decision within seven working days after the hearing.
This administrative process is separate from the criminal case and moves much faster. A hearing officer at the formal review determines only whether the arresting officer had probable cause and whether the test result or refusal occurred as reported. The driver may subpoena the arresting officer and the breath test operator; if either fails to appear, the department must invalidate the suspension. Because the hearing is typically scheduled within weeks, it often occurs long before the criminal case is ready for trial. As attorney Ben Stechschulte of StechLaw Criminal Defense noted, "At a formal review hearing, the arresting officer can be questioned under oath for the first time."
Filing the request for review is among the first tasks Stechschulte handles after a driver retains him as a DUI defense lawyer in Tampa, FL. Missing the 10-day deadline can result in a suspended license for six months to a year, with no opportunity to challenge the suspension administratively. The high number of arrests during the Labor Day operation, part of the routine holiday DUI enforcement seen across Tampa Bay, means many drivers may now be facing that deadline without realizing it.
