duistatelaws.com Key takeaways
- DETER is the State Attorney’s track for first-time, non-aggravated misdemeanor DUIs and first refusals; CDL holders are excluded.
- The office assigns one of four levels by the test result or charge, and each level has its own pre-plea sanctions.
- Once the sanctions are done, the offer is a plea to reckless driving with alcohol or drugs as a substantial contributing factor.
- Sarasota’s DUI Court, running since June 2008, is for people charged with DUI who have at least one prior alcohol- or drug-related arrest.
- DUI Court costs a $100 administrative fee and $200 a month, on top of fines and supervision costs.
- Florida’s license clock: 10 days from the notice.
from the date you were served with the notice to demand a hearing from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The request goes to the department, not to the court, and no judge in Sarasota County will make it for you. Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)3.
Sarasota County is one of three counties in Florida’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit, with Manatee and DeSoto. Its courts sit in two places: the Silvertooth Judicial Center at 2002 Ringling Boulevard in downtown Sarasota, and the South County Courthouse in Venice. Misdemeanor and criminal traffic cases — including a first DUI — go to county court, and the circuit lists three county judges for North Sarasota County and two for South County, each sitting part time in county criminal and county civil.
In Sarasota, as across the Twelfth Circuit, the State Attorney publishes a structured track for first offenders, and the circuit runs a long-standing DUI Court for repeat ones. This page covers both. The statewide penalties are on the Florida DUI law page.
The same diagram as a table
| Step | Criminal case — decided by a court | License case — decided by a state agency |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrest and booking, hour 0 | Notice of suspension served, day 0 |
| 2 | Charge filed by the prosecutor | Deadline to demand a hearing: 7 to 30 days in the eight states on this site that use an agency hearing |
| 3 | First court setting, on a date the court picks | Hearing held if the request was filed — whether the suspension waits for the ruling is set by each state's statute |
| 4 | One or more pretrial settings | Suspension takes effect automatically with no hearing |
| 5 | Trial, plea or dismissal | — |
| Clock | Weeks to months. No filing deadline runs against the driver. | Counted in days from the notice, and fixed by statute. |
The Sarasota County courthouses
The Silvertooth Judicial Center was built in 1998 as the Sarasota County Judicial Center and renamed in 2006; it is eleven stories with sixteen courtrooms. The six-story Sarasota County Justice Center stands across the street at 2071 Ringling Boulevard, and the State Attorney’s Sarasota office is in that building, Suite 400, on (941) 861-4400. For parking, the circuit points to the Judicial parking lot at 2050 Ringling Boulevard, which takes cards at its kiosks, and the free public garage at Ringling Boulevard and School Avenue (entrance on School Avenue).
The South County Courthouse at 4004 South Tamiami Trail in Venice opened in 2022 with four courtrooms and free parking around the building; the State Attorney’s Venice office is nearby at 4000 South Tamiami Trail, Suite 135, on (941) 861-3200. Both courthouses share the court’s main line, (941) 861-7800, and are open weekdays from 8:30am to 5pm.
Silvertooth Judicial Center
- Hears
- Sarasota County’s main courthouse in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, in downtown Sarasota
- Building
- Silvertooth Judicial Center
- Address
- 2002 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, FL 34237
- Detail
- Eleven stories, 16 courtrooms; the Sarasota County Justice Center is across the street at 2071 Ringling Blvd.
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
- Phone
- (941) 861-7800
South County Courthouse
- Hears
- Sarasota County’s southern courthouse in Venice, where South County judges sit
- Building
- South County Courthouse
- Address
- 4004 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice, FL 34293
- Detail
- Opened in 2022 with four courtrooms; free parking around the building
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
- Phone
- (941) 861-7800
The circuit’s Pretrial Services Intake Unit operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It compiles a report on each arrested person — community ties, criminal background checks and a risk assessment — for the judge at first appearance, to aid the bond decision, and it reviews initial eligibility for the Drug, DUI and Health Care courts at the same time.
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First appearance and supervised release
First appearance. The judge at first appearance decides on bond with the Pretrial Services report in hand. Pretrial Services also helps defendants apply for a determination of indigent status, the step that leads to a public defender.
Supervised Pretrial Release. A defendant may be released to Supervised Pretrial Release, in which the circuit’s Supervision Unit monitors court-ordered conditions, tracks court dates and reports non-compliance to the court and both sides. For defendants released on their own recognizance, the program tries to telephone them before their court date as a reminder. The circuit’s figures for 2022: 91% of defendants released to supervision stayed arrest-free while their cases were pending, 96% made every scheduled court appearance, and 72% were still on release at the end of their pretrial status without a pending request to remove or revoke it.
The license. Florida gives 10 days from the notice to request review of the administrative suspension from the department.
| What happened | First time | With a prior | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failed the test | 6 months | 1 year | Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)1.b. |
| Refused the test | 1 year | 18 months | Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)1.a. |
DETER: the first-offense track
The State Attorney describes DETER — Driver Enhanced Treatment Education Rehabilitation — as an initiative aimed at first-time, non-aggravated DUI offenders, with ignition interlocks, alcohol monitoring, work offender sanctions and victim impact education. Its published criteria are:
- a misdemeanor DUI and/or a first refusal only, and no CDL;
- no aggravating factors, including a minor in the vehicle, a BAC above .20, a crash or other criminal charges;
- no prior DUI, alcohol-related reckless driving, earlier DUI diversion, vehicular homicide, leaving the scene, or driving while suspended causing serious injury or death;
- nothing pending: no Florida license suspension, no other pretrial intervention, probation or criminal case.
The office says it evaluates every case individually, considers the entire criminal history, and decides eligibility at its sole discretion.
How it runs. At arraignment the defendant signs an agreement to take part, waives speedy trial, agrees to complete the pre-plea sanctions, and has the case set for disposition about sixty days later. In that time every participant must stay crime-free and within any bond or supervised release conditions, complete DUI school and begin any recommended treatment, complete the MADD online victim impact program, and not possess or consume alcohol, illegal drugs or non-prescribed drugs — plus the level-specific sanctions in the table below. With proof of completion, the defendant may accept the offer: a plea to reckless driving with alcohol or drugs as a substantial contributing factor (and the first refusal, if charged), with a withhold of adjudication, twelve months’ probation, a $500 fine, standard court costs plus costs of prosecution and investigation, a ten-day vehicle immobilization, 50 public service work hours, the MADD live victim impact panel, DUI school and any treatment, and continued monitoring or testing by level.
DUI Court: a DUI charge with a prior alcohol or drug arrest
The Twelfth Circuit started the Sarasota County DUI Court in June 2008, with grant funds awarded through the Florida Department of Transportation’s highway traffic safety office, and says it has served more than four hundred clients. It is for people currently charged with DUI who have one or more prior arrests for alcohol- or drug-related offenses, are alcohol- or drug-dependent and want to change, live in the Twelfth Circuit, are 18 or older, have no serious violent criminal history and no evidence of drug dealing, and can attend every court appearance, treatment session and meeting.
On acceptance of the plea to the pending DUI, the participant is placed on supervised probation for at least a year and must still meet the mandatory requirements of sections 316.193 and 322.28. The program runs in four phases of roughly 45, 90, 115 and 115 days, each with at least three random alcohol or drug screens a week and regular support meetings; DUI school and the victim impact panel come in phase II. Phase I includes the mandatory jail time, which must be completed, with at least 14 consecutive days clean and sober, before moving to phase II; moving on from phase II takes 30 days and from phase III 90. Participants pay a $100 administrative fee and $200 a month, as well as the mandatory fines and supervision costs; the court says a judge may let qualifying participants work off fines and costs through community service under section 938.30.
DETER levels and sanctions
As the State Attorney lists them.
| DETER level (State Attorney) | Before the plea, in addition to DUI school and the MADD online panel | After the reckless driving plea |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 — BAC at or below .15 | 2 work offender days; interlock or alcohol monitor | 3 months of monitoring |
| Level 2 — BAC between .15 and .20 | 4 work offender days; interlock or alcohol monitor | 6 months of monitoring |
| Level 3 — drug-related DUI | 4 work offender days; weekly urinalysis | Weekly urinalysis for 6 months |
| Level 4 — DUI with a first refusal | 7 work offender days; interlock or alcohol monitor | 6 months of monitoring |
Interlock means an ignition interlock alcohol monitoring device, or a continuous alcohol monitor (PAM or SCRAM) for someone who does not own a vehicle.
Other Florida pages on this site: St. Petersburg, Naples, Lakeland and Orange County.
Common questions about Sarasota DUI cases
What is the DETER program in Sarasota?
A State Attorney track for eligible first-time, non-aggravated misdemeanor DUIs and first refusals: sanctions completed before the plea, then an offer of reckless driving with alcohol or drugs as a substantial contributing factor.
Who is not eligible for DETER?
CDL holders, and cases with a minor in the vehicle, a BAC above .20, a crash, other charges, a prior DUI or diversion, or a pending suspension or case, among other exclusions the office lists.
Do I need an interlock in DETER?
At Levels 1, 2 and 4, yes, or a continuous alcohol monitor if you do not own a vehicle; Level 3, for drug DUIs, uses urinalysis instead.
Who can join the Sarasota DUI Court?
People currently charged with DUI who have one or more prior alcohol- or drug-related arrests, are dependent and willing to complete treatment, and live in the Twelfth Circuit.
How much does Sarasota DUI Court cost?
The court lists a $100 administrative fee and $200 in monthly program fees, plus the mandatory fines and supervision costs.
Where is a Sarasota County DUI case heard?
The circuit lists county criminal judges for North and South Sarasota County; its courthouses are the Silvertooth Judicial Center, 2002 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, and the South County Courthouse, 4004 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice. The DUI Court page does not publish a location.
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More for Florida
- Florida DUI law — the full penalty matrix, the statutes, and the rules on priors and interlock
- Miami — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Fort Lauderdale and Broward County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- St. Petersburg and Pinellas County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Lakeland and Polk County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Orange County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Panama City and Bay County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Naples and Collier County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- St. Augustine and St. Johns County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Key West and Monroe County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Tampa and Hillsborough County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Refusing a breathalyzer — what implied consent costs here against what it buys
- How long it stays on your record — three records, three clocks
- SR-22 insurance after a Florida suspension — what the filing certifies and how long it runs
- Ignition interlock providers and costs in Florida — what the device costs and who installs it
Sources
- Twelfth Judicial Circuit, Silvertooth Judicial Center — read October 12, 2026
- Twelfth Judicial Circuit, Sarasota County Justice Center — read October 12, 2026
- Twelfth Judicial Circuit, South County Courthouse — read October 12, 2026
- Twelfth Judicial Circuit, Criminal Division — read October 12, 2026
- Twelfth Judicial Circuit, Pretrial Services (Sarasota County) — read October 12, 2026
- Twelfth Judicial Circuit, DUI Court — read October 12, 2026
- Twelfth Judicial Circuit, DUI Court Adopt-A-Road — read October 12, 2026
- Office of the State Attorney, 12th Circuit, DETER — read October 12, 2026
- Office of the State Attorney, 12th Circuit, treatment courts — read October 12, 2026
- Office of the State Attorney, 12th Circuit, contact — read October 12, 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 316.193(1)(b)–(c) and the rest of the Florida statutes cited on this page — read in force 2026
Court addresses, hours and phone numbers were read from each court’s or office’s own published page on October 12, 2026. Those change without notice; confirm before you rely on them. No judge is named anywhere on this page, because a roster is exactly the kind of detail that goes stale silently.