- Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney
- Former Assistant Public Defender
- Licensed to Conduct Breath Alcohol Testing
- Open 24 Hours
Your Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney Is Board Certified and Licensed on the Breath Machine
Robert Malove is one of fewer than 400 Board Certified criminal trial attorneys out of more than 100,000 active members of the Florida Bar, and he is licensed to conduct breath alcohol testing on the Intoxilyzer series instruments, the same family of machines that produces the number in a Broward DUI file.
- Former Assistant Public Defender in Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties
- Florida DUI Training Attorney, designated 1995 in Miami
- Master's in Forensic Science, The George Washington University
- Metro-Dade Police Academy Field Sobriety Testing Course
- Founding member, National College for DUI Defense
That training has one job. In his words, "cases are based on evidence, the less evidence, the better it is for the defendant, so if I could get a breath test that was over the legal limit, excluded because it wasn't done properly. The machine wasn't properly calibrated, the field sobriety exercises weren't properly administered ..."
If you are comparing Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyers this week, Robert's own advice for choosing between them is that the answer is as unique as the attorney is, and it comes down to background, education, and experience. The list above is his. Ask any DUI attorney in Fort Lauderdale you interview for theirs, and ask specifically whether they have ever held a breath-testing license. Board Certified criminal trial attorney Robert Malove of The Law Offices of Robert David Malove is one of the few Florida DUI defense attorneys who has held a Florida Department of Law Enforcement breath-testing license, and he tells prospective clients to ask every attorney they interview for the same list.
The First 10 Days Decide Whether You Keep Driving
The citation works as a temporary permit for 10 days after the arrest. By the 10th day, paperwork must be in front of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV): either a demand for a review hearing or a waiver that trades the hearing for a hardship license with no hard 30-day or 90-day sit-out. Florida sets both the 10-day permit and the 10-day review window in section 322.2615 of the Florida Statutes.
Robert puts it plainly: the "10-day rule is in effect from the date of the arrest ... the first thing needs to really be addressed is to make sure we don't miss that deadline."
The numbers he walks clients through are blunt. A refusal means a 12-month administrative suspension with no driving at all for the first 90 days. A breath test over the limit means a 6-month suspension with 30 hard days. The waiver route exists precisely so that a first-time client who depends on driving does not sit out those hard days. And the formal hearing is not a courtroom: the hearing officers are not lawyers, the evidence bar is low, and Robert has presented winning cases and still watched the officer rule against him. That is why the hearing-or-waiver call deserves counsel before day 10, not after.
When the firm is hired inside that window, the work starts the same day:
- Protect the deadline first, so the license decision is made on purpose rather than by default
- Enroll the client in DUI school, because the hardship application requires it, and enrollment is not an admission of guilt
- File a notice of appearance and reach the state attorney's office before the filing decision is made
- Visit the scene when it matters, looking for Ring cameras and other recordings, because body-camera audio sometimes contradicts the written report
The aim in week one is the one Robert states for every client: "first things first, let's keep them driving and at work." A hardship license covers driving to and from work, necessary on-the-job driving, and educational, religious, and medical purposes, plus a catch-all for maintaining livelihood.
DUI Defense in Fort Lauderdale Runs on Two Tracks
Every Florida DUI is two cases at once.
The criminal case in county court decides guilt and penalties.
The administrative case at FLHSMV decides the license.
Each can be won or lost on its own. As Robert explains, "whatever happens at the administrative level at the DMV has no impact whatsoever on what happens in the criminal case. You can win the criminal case, lose the administrative hearing ..."
On the criminal track, the state can prove DUI two ways: that your normal faculties were impaired, or that a breath, urine, or blood result exceeded the .08 limit set by section 316.193 of the Florida Statutes. For a first conviction, that statute carries a fine of $500 to $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail for a standard first conviction; the ceiling rises to 9 months when the result is .15 or higher or a minor is in the vehicle. Florida charges DUI; other states call it DWI, and the terminology matters when you research your case.
A plea locks in mandatory minimums that outlast the case: at least 6 months of probation, an adjudication of guilt that cannot be sealed or expunged, 50 community service hours, DUI school, 10 days of vehicle immobilization, and a license suspension. That permanence is the reason the file gets read before anyone talks about pleading.
Reading the file means pulling the stop video, the body-camera footage, the breath test records, and the machine's calibration and service history, then reading each against the department's own standards. The less of the state's evidence that survives that review, the better the defense position, whether the endgame is diversion, a reduced charge, or trial.
In Broward County, the Wrong Move at Arraignment Can Cost You Diversion
Broward County misdemeanor DUI cases are heard at the Broward County Courthouse, 201 SE 6th Street in downtown Fort Lauderdale, inside the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and Broward offers a diversion path for qualifying first offenders. Demanding discovery at the arraignment and setting the case for trial waives eligibility for that program.
"it varies by county, but in Broward County, in Fort Lauderdale ... if you make a demand for discovery, at your arraignment ... by demanding discovery and setting the case for trial, that's ... considered a waiver of eligibility to get into the diversion program." Robert Malove, recorded interview
Diversion in Broward resolves a qualifying first offense to reckless driving with a withhold of adjudication, and after completing the program you can apply to have the record sealed. Accident cases do not qualify, second offenses do not qualify, and a high breath result can disqualify. Palm Beach County applies a similar arraignment rule; each county controls its own program.
That local rule is why the file gets read in full ahead of the arraignment date. The decision to fight and the decision to keep diversion open pull in opposite directions, and demanding discovery on a weak case can close the one door worth keeping open. Board Certified criminal trial attorney Robert Malove of The Law Offices of Robert David Malove has weighed the fight-or-diversion decision in Broward County DUI cases from both sides, first as an assistant public defender and for decades since in private practice.
The Firm's Home Office Is in Fort Lauderdale, Open 24 Hours
200 SE 9th St
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Open 24 Hours
(954) 861-0384This is the firm's home office, minutes from the Broward County Courthouse. If you searched for a DUI lawyer near me from a tow lot, a hospital waiting room, or the parking lot outside the jail, this is the address, and the phone is answered around the clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a DUI lawyer in Fort Lauderdale cost?
There is no honest flat answer before a Broward County DUI lawyer reads your file. A refusal case, an accident case, a prior offense, or a contested hearing each changes the work, so the fee follows the facts. The other side of the math is the one Robert walks clients through: after a conviction your insurance goes up a lot, if you can get insurance at all, and your carrier may cancel. Weighed over the years a conviction follows you, it is often better to invest in the defense than to absorb the conviction.
Can you go to jail for a first DUI in Florida?
The statute allows up to 6 months in jail and a $500 to $1,000 fine for a standard first conviction, rising to 9 months at .15 or higher or with a minor in the vehicle. Robert's observation from decades of these cases: "for the most part, first offenders don't go to jail." No outcome is guaranteed; the facts of the case and the practice of the county where it is heard control what happens. The firm's guide to first DUI offense penalties in Fort Lauderdale walks through the full penalty picture.
Can you refuse the breath test in Florida?
You can, and the consequence is administrative: a refusal triggers a 12-month license suspension with no driving at all for the first 90 days, which is longer and harder than the suspension for testing over the limit. Refusing a second time, after a prior refusal suspension, is itself a first-degree misdemeanor under section 316.1939. What the right call was in your stop is a question for counsel with the video in front of them.
Does enrolling in DUI school mean I am admitting guilt?
No. Enrollment is a requirement for the hardship license application, and what happens at the FLHSMV has no effect on the criminal case. The two tracks run separately, and enrolling is not an admission of guilt in the criminal case.
Someone was arrested for DUI in Fort Lauderdale last night. What should the family do?
Find the citation, because it doubles as the license suspension notice and starts the 10-day clock. Write down the arraignment date, because in Broward County demanding discovery at arraignment can waive diversion eligibility. Then get the file in front of an attorney before either date arrives. The office answers 24 hours at (954) 861-0384.
Talk to a Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer Before Your 10 Days Run Out
Robert Malove is a Board Certified criminal trial attorney, one of fewer than 400 in the state out of more than 100,000 active members of the Florida Bar. The distinction requires at least 25 contested cases and a minimum of 20 jury trials every 5 years.
If you are under investigation, have been arrested for DUI, are facing a second charge, or have a conviction on your record and want an expert criminal defense attorney on your side, fill out this form or call us now at (954) 861-0384.
The Law Offices of Robert David Malove serves clients across Florida, with DUI defense teams in nine offices: Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Key West, and Sarasota.