Hillsborough County deputies and officers made 27 DUI arrests during a joint enforcement operation over Labor Day weekend, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. The operation involved coordination with Tampa, Plant City, and University of South Florida police and resulted in 225 traffic stops. Such efforts reflect the holiday DUI enforcement that Tampa Bay agencies routinely conduct around major weekends.
Each arrest can trigger two separate legal proceedings. One is the criminal DUI case. The other is an administrative license suspension under Section 322.2615, Florida Statutes, which applies when a driver's breath or blood result is 0.08 or higher or the driver refuses testing. A first suspension lasts six months for a result of 0.08 or higher and one year for a refusal.
The statute establishes a strict timeline. On the day of arrest, the officer takes the license and issues a notice of suspension along with a 10-day temporary permit. Within 10 days, the driver can request a formal or informal review or, after a first DUI-related offense, request a restricted-license eligibility review instead. 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. Within 7 working days after the hearing, the department must send its decision.
The formal review is limited in scope. A hearing officer decides whether the arresting officer had probable cause and whether the test result or refusal occurred as reported. The driver may subpoena the officer and the breath test operator. If either fails to appear under that subpoena, the department must invalidate the suspension. Filing the request is among the first tasks Ben Stechschulte handles after a driver retains him as a DUI defense lawyer in Tampa, FL.
"At a formal review hearing, the arresting officer can be questioned under oath for the first time," Mr. Stechschulte said. "It is usually scheduled within weeks of the arrest, long before the criminal case is ready for trial."
For readers, this news matters because the 10-day deadline is easy to miss, especially after a stressful arrest. Missing it can result in a suspended license for months, affecting employment, family responsibilities, and daily life. The administrative hearing also offers an early opportunity to challenge the evidence and potentially invalidate the suspension, independent of the criminal case. For the broader Tampa Bay community, the high number of Labor Day arrests signals continued aggressive enforcement, making it crucial for drivers to understand their rights and act quickly.
StechLaw Criminal Defense represents drivers in Hillsborough County charged with DUI, DUI manslaughter, and boating under the influence, along with clients facing other state and federal charges. Ben Stechschulte, who heads the firm, graduated from Stetson University College of Law in 2005 and began his career prosecuting DUI, drug, and gun cases in Hillsborough County. The Florida Bar has since certified him as a specialist in criminal trial law.
