Pasco County DUI Lawyer

Are you looking for a DUI defense lawyer in Pasco County, FL?

At StechLaw Criminal Defense, we offer DUI defense representation grounded in nearly 15 years of work on behalf of clients in Pasco County and across the Tampa Bay area.

If you are facing a DUI charge in Pasco County, the State’s case is likely built on a breath reading, a set of roadside exercises, and an officer’s written description of how you looked and spoke. Rules govern each of those. Our Pasco County, FL DUI defense lawyer examines whether the State followed them.

Ben Stechschulte prosecuted cases before he began defending them. He carries board certification in criminal trial law, with more than 60 cases taken to verdict. Free consultations are available.

DUI Defense Lawyer Pasco County, FL

A DUI defense lawyer’s work in a Pasco County case starts with what the State intends to introduce. Breath instruments must be inspected on a schedule and operated by trained personnel. Roadside exercises must be demonstrated and scored the way officers are taught to administer them. Gaps in either area are usually where a contested case is won or lost.

Pasco County courts opened 895 DUI cases in fiscal year 2024-25, part of 10,879 county criminal filings, according to Florida trial court statistics. Where a case is heard depends on where the arrest happened, since Pasco splits court operations between New Port Richey and Dade City. A Pasco County pursuit that starts as a traffic stop can add charges beyond the DUI.

Types of DUI Defense Cases We Handle in Pasco County

Pasco County stretches from the Gulf beaches through Wesley Chapel and out to the agricultural east, and enforcement patterns differ across that span. The charges below cover what we see most.

• First-offense DUI. A first charge carries fines, jail exposure, probation, and community service. Most first-offense defenses begin with the video and what it actually shows about the driver’s condition, rather than with the number the machine produced.
• Breath test refusals. Refusal brings a separate suspension of the driving privilege and lets the State argue that the driver was avoiding a result. That inference is one a jury is free to reject, and the circumstances of the request matter.
• High breath readings. An elevated reading raises the sentencing exposure and narrows what prosecutors will discuss. Maintenance history for the machine carries real weight at this level, since breath testing instruments have documented failure modes.
• Repeat offenses. Prior convictions add ignition interlock requirements and, past a certain point, convert the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony. That shift moves the case into circuit court, where the procedure and the exposure both change.
• Drug-impaired DUI. Prescription medication and cannabis prosecutions run under the same law as alcohol. A valid card does not settle the question, and these cases usually come down to what the officer observed rather than a laboratory value.
• DUI with a child in the car. A child passenger moves the case into a higher sentencing tier, and these cases can draw attention from agencies outside the criminal court.
• Underage DUI. The threshold for drivers below the legal drinking age is set well beneath the adult standard, so a small amount of alcohol can trigger a suspension. That action proceeds whether or not a criminal charge follows it.
• Commercial driver DUI. Pasco sits on the I-75 and US 19 freight corridors. A DUI arrest threatens a commercial license even when the driver was in a personal vehicle at the time, and the licensing consequence is harsher than for other drivers.
• DUI with serious bodily injury. A crash producing serious injury converts the charge to a felony. Crash reconstruction and the chain of custody on any blood draw usually decide the outcome.
• DUI manslaughter. A death makes this the most serious charge in the category, carrying mandatory prison time on conviction. Causation and timing are contested in nearly every such prosecution.

Why Choose StechLaw Criminal Defense as my DUI Defense Lawyer in Pasco County, FL?

A Former Prosecutor Reading the State’s File

Ben Stechschulte worked as a prosecutor before moving to the defense side. That background shapes how a file gets read. Someone who has charged DUI cases knows which reports are written to survive scrutiny and which are written quickly at the end of a shift. Hiring a former prosecutor means the review starts from how the State builds its case rather than from guesswork. He holds board certification in criminal trial law from The Florida Bar, a credential requiring peer review and examination, and completed his law degree at Stetson University.

Sixty Cases Tried to Verdict

Most DUI cases end in a plea, but prosecutors handle a file differently when they know the defense will take it to trial. Ben Stechschulte has tried more than 60 cases to verdict. That experience is what tells us whether an offer is worth taking or whether the evidence would hold up at trial. If the case against you is solid, we say so, and the work shifts to limiting what a conviction costs. Our results include DUI charges dismissed and reduced.

Understanding DUI Defense Cases

What Are Important Aspects of a DUI Defense Case?

A DUI case is a sequence of decisions made by one officer, and a Pasco County DUI defense attorney can examine each of them separately.

• The stop. Whether there was a lawful basis for pulling the vehicle over, or whether the driver was already parked.
• The roadside investigation. Whether the roadside exercises were demonstrated and scored the way the training manual requires.
• The instrument. Whether the machine had current inspection records and whether the operator held a valid permit.
• The blood draw. Whether a draw was authorized at all, and whether it was handled properly afterward. Blood test challenges often succeed on handling rather than chemistry.

Charges, Penalties, and Defense Strategies for DUI Defense Cases

Florida attaches specific legal meaning to the number produced by a test, which is why the reading itself is so often the battleground.

• A result of 0.05 or lower creates a presumption that the driver was not impaired.
• A result above 0.05 but below 0.08 creates no presumption in either direction and is weighed with the rest of the evidence.
• A result of 0.08 or higher is prima facie evidence of impairment under the presumption statute, and also supports a separate charge of driving with an unlawful alcohol level.
• Refusing a lawful test carries its own consequences under the implied consent statute, separate from the DUI charge itself.
• A driver may subpoena whoever administered the test and question that person as an adverse witness.

What Is The DUI Defense Case Timeline?

A contested case runs on two tracks that rarely line up neatly, and a Pasco County, FL DUI attorney works both at the same time.

• The first ten days. The window to contest the license suspension review closes quickly, and preparing for the suspension hearing starts immediately.
• Arraignment. Entry of a plea, usually within a few weeks of arrest.
• Discovery. Reports, video, and instrument records are produced. Discovery in a DUI case often runs longer than clients expect.
• Depositions and motions. The arresting officer and breath technician are questioned, and suppression motions follow if the record supports them.
• Resolution. Negotiation toward dismissal or a reduction to reckless driving, a plea, or trial.

What Should You Bring to Your DUI Defense Consultation?

Anything you were handed during the arrest helps, along with anything that has arrived in the mail since.

• The citation and the notice of suspension, which are frequently the same document.
• Paperwork setting your first court date, and any bond conditions.
• Test results, if any were provided to you.
• A note of what you ate, drank, or took that day, with times as best you recall them.

Nothing you say in that meeting leaves it. Our DUI defense attorney would rather hear an uncomfortable fact early than discover it during a deposition.

Pasco County Courthouses and Local Criminal Justice Resources

• Sixth Judicial Circuit. Serves Pasco and Pinellas counties, with courthouse facilities in New Port Richey, Dade City, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg.
• West Pasco Judicial Center. 7530 Little Road, New Port Richey. The primary facility for western Pasco County, handling criminal and traffic matters. Free parking is available in the courthouse lot.
• Sumner Judicial Center. The Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center at 38053 Live Oak Avenue, Dade City, houses both the county and circuit courts for eastern Pasco County.
• Weekend and holiday coverage. An advisory judge sits at both Pasco courthouses on weekends and holidays from 8:30 a.m. until roughly noon, which matters because DUI arrests cluster on Friday and Saturday nights.
• State Attorney, Sixth Circuit. The office that prosecutes Pasco County DUI cases, with locations in New Port Richey and Dade City.

Reach Out to StechLaw Criminal Defense to Schedule a Consultation

Instrument maintenance records and squad video are easiest to obtain early, so there is a practical reason not to wait. Contact us for a free consultation with a Pasco County DUI attorney. We read the reports, explain what the State has to prove, and set out the realistic paths from where you are. Messages are returned promptly.