Fox 35 News recently interviewed Orlando DUI lawyer and television legal analyst Jose Rivas about the DUI arrest of former NFL quarterback Tony Romo. Rivas walked through the body camera footage from Romo’s traffic stop and explained a rule that applies to every driver, not just celebrities: the Fifth Amendment protects you from ever having to answer a police officer’s questions about drinking or driving, even before a formal arrest.
Do you have to answer police questions during a DUI stop in Florida? Rivas said the answer is no. Drivers only have to hand over a license, registration, and proof of insurance. While you do not have the Sixth Amendment right to have an attorney present during questioning at this point – you do have the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and not say anything that may incriminate you. One sentence spoken right there on the roadside is enough: ‘I want to talk to a lawyer before I answer anything else.’
What an Orlando DUI Lawyer Learned From the Tony Romo Arrest
Rivas reviewed the body camera video from Romo’s arrest on Interstate 43 in Wisconsin, where a first OWI is treated as a civil violation rather than a crime. Rivas said Florida takes a tougher line: a first DUI conviction here can carry up to six months in jail under Florida Statute 316.193.
In the footage, Romo asked to call his lawyer several times before performing any field sobriety tests. That request came before the right to counsel had even attached, based on Rivas’s read of the stop. “You do not have the right to call your attorney when you’re being questioned or detained on the side of the road prior to arrest,” Rivas said.
According to Rivas’s account, that right attaches once a suspect is both in formal custody and being questioned, not at the moment of an ordinary traffic stop. He said Romo would have been better served waiting until that point, then stating plainly that he wanted to speak with counsel before answering anything further.
Rivas also raised a question that any Orlando DUI lawyer would flag first: whether police had enough grounds to arrest Romo before the field tests even began, an issue that hinges on probable cause. “We’ll have to see whether that arrest is valid. I do believe there probably is going to be a good basis for a motion to suppress,” Rivas said.
Why Field Sobriety Tests and Breath Test Refusals Matter
Rivas said field sobriety tests are not simple pass-fail exams — they’re designed to give officers clues about impairment, nothing more. “It’s not illegal to drink and drive necessarily. You just can’t drink to the point where you are impaired,” Rivas said.
He pointed out that Romo has documented back and knee problems, the kind of injuries that can throw off balance-based tests like the one-leg stand. Rivas said fatigue, old injuries, and other medical issues can make a completely sober driver look impaired on camera.
Refusing the field sobriety tests carries the same license suspension as refusing the breath test, Rivas said, so doing the exercises first gains nothing if a driver plans to refuse the breath test anyway.
A first DUI conviction in Florida can bring a fine between $500 and $1,000, up to six months in jail, and a year of probation, according to Florida’s DUI suspension laws. A breath test refusal adds its own administrative license suspension, separate from anything a court later imposes. Wisconsin, by contrast, handles a first OWI through its own first-offense OWI penalty rules, which rarely include jail time.
How an Orlando DUI Lawyer Can Help After Your Arrest
Every DUI case turns on small details — the exact wording of the stop, the officer’s instructions, the timing of each test. An Orlando DUI lawyer can pull the body camera footage, check the officer’s training records, and audit the breath test logs for the kind of mistakes that weaken a prosecutor’s case.
Rivas noted that the eye test police use, known as horizontal gaze nystagmus, has strict administration rules, and only a certified drug recognition expert can present that result to a jury. Rivas said bad timing or improper instructions can undercut the results, a standard laid out in NHTSA’s field sobriety test guidelines.
A criminal defense lawyer in Orlando can challenge probable cause, question how each test was administered, and negotiate directly with the state attorney’s office toward a favorable outcome. Bringing in an Orlando DUI lawyer early can protect your license, your job, and your record before small mistakes in the case get buried.
Call 407-644-2466 to speak with an Orlando criminal defense attorney at the Rivas Law Firm, P.A. You can also schedule a free consultation online to discuss the details of your DUI arrest with our criminal defense team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an Orlando DUI lawyer if I refused a breath test?
Yes. An Orlando DUI lawyer can still fight for a hardship license even after a refusal, since Florida can suspend your license administratively without a conviction ever taking place.
Can I call my lawyer during a DUI traffic stop in Florida?
Not right away. Rivas said the right to call a lawyer doesn’t attach until police start asking questions after the stop, not while you’re still standing on the roadside.
What happens if field sobriety tests are done incorrectly?
Rivas said improper instructions or an undertrained officer can make test results unreliable in court. A criminal attorney can use those errors to push for a reduced charge or a motion to suppress the evidence entirely.
Orlando Criminal Defense Attorney Jose Rivas is a veteran bilingual TV Legal Analyst who has appeared on Univision, Fox News, Telemundo, and many other news outlets. He is highly rated on professional platforms, maintaining a 4.9/5.0 rating on Avvo based on dozens of client reviews.