When there is no avoiding a DUI conviction, community service is commonly part of a sentence. Obviously, community service is not meant to be enjoyable and isn’t, but it’s always preferred over a jail sentence, loss of a license and, by some, high monetary fines which all can be alternatives.

In Florida:

Community Service – s. 316.193 (6)(a), F.S.

First Conviction: Mandatory 50 hours of community service or additional fine of $10 for each hour of community service required.

Arrested for DUI in Orange County, Florida? Contact an Orlando DUI lawyer at Musca Law now.

After being sentenced to community service the judge will sometimes provide you a list of community service organizations to choose from. Other time he or she will assign you to a specific organization. If you get lucky, a judge may let you choose a unspecified organization you are comfortable with. Some examples of community service include:

• Talking publicly about the dangers of driving under the influence.
• Working with anti drunk driving groups such as MADD.
• Working with law enforcement (e.g. washing police cars)
• Picking up liter.

The important thing is that your hours are recorded properly. When you return to court you must have a signed court document by whoever supervised you that all hours were completed. Failure to do so will result in harsher penalties such as jail time.

If you have recently been charged with drunk driving in Orlando it’s important to know the charge is most likely beatable if proper steps are taken. Remember, if you avoid being convicted you’ll also be avoiding community service and many other unpleasant penalties such as monetary fines and jail time. If you are truly interested in fighting your Orlando DUI charge we welcome you to contact our experienced Florida criminal defense lawyers for a free and confidential consultation (conducted either in person or by phone, your choice.)

Not sure what lawyer to choose? When considering our firm to fight your DUI or other criminal charge you will be pleased to find out we have over 100 years combined experience trying criminal cases. Because of the great results we continually achieve we encourage you view our past case results before scheduling your free consultation.

Your freedom is to important to trust inexperienced attorneys with. You will be glad you had our experienced team on our side. Call us at 407-443-3729 now.