DUI and criminal defense lawyer in Boca Raton

Boca Raton is where the office is. A Boca Raton case still runs through county-wide institutions: the Palm Beach County Sheriff's jail, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit's courts and the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office. This page gathers the local details, each from the agency that publishes it. For the charges the office defends, see the criminal defense practice areas. DUI cases are covered on the main DUI defense page. Mr. Mead's background is on the firm overview.

How does a Boca Raton case move, step by step?

1. The stop or arrest. Most city arrests are made by the Boca Raton Police Department; arrests in the unincorporated Boca Raton area are made by PBSO District 7, and campus arrests by FAU police.
2. Booking and first appearance. A person who is held goes to the county jail on Gun Club Road in West Palm Beach and sees a judge there within 24 hours.
3. The license. After a DUI arrest, the 10-day license decision is made with FLHSMV's bureau office in Lauderdale Lakes, not in Boca Raton.
4. Arraignment in Delray Beach. Misdemeanor, criminal traffic and DUI cases from these agencies go to the South County Courthouse under AO 4.603.
5. Programs or defense. The first-time DUI program, diversion, motions and discovery, or trial; a jury trial moves the case to West Palm Beach.

Who makes DUI and traffic arrests in Boca Raton?

The Boca Raton Police Department works from 100 NW Boca Raton Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33432. The city lists lobby hours of Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and a main phone of 561-338-1234, which is also the number the city lists for records and accident records; non-emergency calls go to 561-368-6201. The city says its police personnel grew from 145 in 1986 to 331 today, and that officers are deployed across 15 patrol zones. According to the city's Special Services page, the Traffic Enforcement Unit is staffed by 2 sergeants, 6 motorcycle officers and 2 DUI enforcement officers, and two parts of it do much of the traffic work:

• The Motorcycle Unit "was established for traffic enforcement and crash investigations." Under the department's Community Involved Traffic Enforcement program, its primary enforcement emphasis is on neighborhood traffic complaints.
• The Traffic Homicide Unit investigates all fatal crashes and many serious injury crashes. Its members are trained in accident reconstruction and crash scene mapping. Crash cases can bring felony DUI charges, covered on our felony DUI page.

Which Boca Raton rules lead to tickets or charges?

• Drinking in public: City Code section 4-4 makes it unlawful to consume an alcoholic beverage of more than 1 percent alcohol by volume on any public street, sidewalk, right-of-way, park or beach, outside the building on the premises of a bar, or on a parking lot or sidewalk on business, industrial, public or institutional property where the public has a right to travel, except as section 4-5 allows.
• Bar hours: under City Code section 4-2, vendors may not sell or serve alcoholic beverages between 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
• School zone cameras: the city's School Zone Safety Program began with the 2025 to 2026 school year. Cameras issue citations during arrival and dismissal times when the school zone lights are flashing, for drivers more than 10 mph over the limit. The city says each fine is $100, treated as a civil infraction, with no points or insurance increases. These are not criminal charges; our traffic tickets page covers ordinary citations.

Where does a Boca Raton case go after an arrest?

Under the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit's Administrative Order 4.603, Boca Raton lies in the county court's Southern Region, whose cases are heard at the South County Courthouse. The same order lists the Boca Raton Police, Florida Atlantic University and PBSO District 7 (the unincorporated Boca Raton area) among the agencies whose citations requiring a mandatory hearing before a judge are scheduled there. The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit also has courthouses in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Belle Glade, and the courthouse printed on a notice to appear or court notice is the one to follow. What happens in the first day, from booking to first appearance, is explained in the first 48 hours after an arrest in Palm Beach or Broward County. Posting bond is covered on our page about how bond works in Florida. The next court date is explained on our page about whether you have to go to arraignment. Diversion programs are described on our page about pretrial diversion in Palm Beach and Broward.

What should I know about a Boca Raton DUI arrest?

A DUI arrest starts two cases at once: the criminal charge in county court and an administrative license suspension. The license side has a 10-day deadline that runs from the notice of suspension, and the Bureau of Administrative Reviews office that FLHSMV lists for Palm Beach County is in Lauderdale Lakes, not in Boca Raton. These pages answer the questions that come up first:

• What happens after a DUI arrest in Florida, step by step
• How to keep your license within 10 days of a Florida DUI arrest
• What happens if you refused the breath test, including the criminal charge for a first refusal since October 1, 2025
• Florida DUI penalties for a first, second and third conviction
• What to do in the first week after a DUI arrest, day by day

Palm Beach County's State Attorney also runs a first-time DUI offender program with strict timing rules. The program's exact wording, and the Florida statute that limits plea agreements when a test shows 0.15 or more, are quoted on our page about the Palm Beach County first-time DUI program. Whether any program fits a case depends on its facts.

What changes the answer?

• Who made the arrest. Boca Raton Police, FAU police and PBSO District 7 cases all go to the South County Courthouse under AO 4.603; a Florida Highway Patrol case goes there only for units marked SB.
• Inside or outside the city. City Code sections 4-2 and 4-4 are city ordinances, so where the conduct happened matters.
• A crash. Fatal crashes and many serious injury crashes are investigated by the Traffic Homicide Unit, and the charge can become a felony heard in circuit court.
• A school zone camera ticket. It is a civil $100 fine with no points, not a criminal case.
• Domestic violence. The department lists a Domestic Violence Victim Advocate line, 561-338-1317, and these cases cannot be bonded out before a judge (s. 903.011(6)); see our domestic violence defense page.

A worked example

For example, suppose a hypothetical driver is stopped on a weeknight near downtown Boca Raton by one of the department's DUI enforcement officers and arrested after a breath result of 0.10. The driver bonds out on the schedule, and the notice of suspension, dated that night, starts the 10-day license clock with FLHSMV's office in Lauderdale Lakes. The citation sets an arraignment at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach. If the driver has no record and wants to be considered for the State Attorney's first-time program, nothing that would disqualify the case is filed before arraignment. Had the same stop been made by a PBSO deputy in the unincorporated Boca Raton area, the courthouse would be the same, because AO 4.603 assigns District 7 to the Southern Region. This is a hypothetical walk-through, not a prediction.

Common mistakes people make

• Going to a Boca Raton office for the license hearing; the bureau office is in Lauderdale Lakes.
• Driving to West Palm Beach for an arraignment the notice sets in Delray Beach.
• Treating a school zone camera ticket like a criminal charge, or a criminal traffic citation like a camera ticket.
• Drinking from an open container on a Boca Raton beach, park or sidewalk, which City Code section 4-4 prohibits.

What to do this week

1. Read the citation for the arresting agency and the court date.
2. For a DUI, mark day 10 from the notice of suspension.
3. Request the police report or crash report from the department's records line, 561-338-1234, when it is available.
4. Gather every document from the arrest and release.
5. Call a lawyer before the first court date.

More questions after a Boca Raton arrest

The license and the car

• Questioning the officer before FLHSMV is covered in the Lauderdale Lakes review hearing.
• A Boca Raton commuter who needs to drive can read when a hardship license is possible.
• The breath device some drivers must install is covered in Florida's interlock periods.
• Proof of higher coverage is explained in FR-44 after a DUI.
• A car towed from a Boca Raton stop is covered in getting a vehicle back after a DUI.
• Course options for Palm Beach residents are in where to take DUI school.

The evidence

• Breath results from a DUI enforcement officer's arrest are measured against the state breath test standards.
• A hospital draw after a crash on a Boca Raton road is covered in blood evidence in DUI cases.
• A Traffic Homicide Unit investigation can lead to the charge in DUI manslaughter.
• Injury and damage cases are covered in a DUI with a crash.
• FAU students and other drivers under 21 should read the rules for drivers under 21.
• Medication or cannabis cases are covered in drug-related DUI.

Costs, outcomes and records

• The bill beyond the fine is laid out in DUI costs in Florida.
• Visitors to Boca Raton should read the out-of-state driver page.
• A reckless driving resolution is weighed in reducing a DUI charge.
• Whether the record can be closed later is covered in DUI sealing rules.
• What "adjudication withheld" means is in our withhold page.
• Dismissals and nolle prosequi are explained in when charges are dropped.
• Trial time limits are in the speedy trial clock.

Other criminal charges

• Maximum sentences by degree are in our penalties chart.
• Felony sentences in circuit court follow the scoresheet.
• Self-defense cases turn on stand-your-ground immunity.
• Gun carry questions are answered in permitless carry rules.
• A firearm and a prior felony are covered in the felon-in-possession statute.

More charges and next steps

• When a property charge becomes a felony is set out in petit and grand theft.
• Detentions at a store and the court date that follows are covered in a shoplifting arrest.
• A car or garage entry is graded in burglary degrees.
• Possession and drug court are explained in drug possession in Florida.
• Large quantities are covered in trafficking weights and minimums.
• An argument that turned physical is covered in assault versus battery.
• A teenager picked up in Boca Raton goes through the steps in a juvenile arrest in Palm Beach County.
• Marijuana, vape cartridges and medical cards are covered in marijuana possession in Florida.
• Registration consequences are explained in sex offender registration.
• Solicitation operations are covered in solicitation penalties.
• Someone held on a probation warrant is the subject of bond on a violation.
• The days before a first court date in Delray Beach are planned in the first-week checklist.
• An old record can sometimes be cleared; start with who is eligible to seal or expunge.

Traffic tickets

• A speeding ticket on Glades Road or Federal Highway gives you 30 days to choose; see paying, traffic school or a hearing in Palm Beach County.
• Boca Raton commuters near the limit should read how many points trigger a suspension.

Criminal traffic charges

• A Boca Raton stop that reveals a suspended license is covered in driving while suspended in Florida.
• Boca Raton police write both careless and reckless driving; see how the two differ.
• Whether a Boca Raton citation needs a court date is explained in criminal or civil tickets.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Boca Raton Police Department?

At 100 NW Boca Raton Blvd., with lobby hours Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The city says it is evaluating options for a new headquarters and that no final location, design or funding plan has been approved.

Which court hears a Boca Raton DUI?

The South County Courthouse in Delray Beach, for Boca Raton Police, FAU and PBSO District 7 cases, under AO 4.603.

Does Boca Raton have school zone speed cameras?

Yes, since the 2025 to 2026 school year, only during arrival and dismissal times when the lights are flashing, for drivers more than 10 mph over; the fine is $100 with no points.

When do bars stop serving in Boca Raton?

City Code section 4-2 bars sales or service of alcoholic beverages between 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.

Where would I be held after a Boca Raton arrest?

At the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Main Detention Center on Gun Club Road in West Palm Beach, described on our page about the Palm Beach County jail and first appearance.

Where is the office, and who handles the case?

Mr. Mead's practice is criminal defense, exclusively, and he works one-on-one with each client rather than handing the case to a rotating team. The office is at 370 W. Camino Gardens Blvd., Suite 333, Boca Raton, FL 33432. Spanish and Portuguese are spoken, and you can call 24 hours. Besides Boca Raton, the office serves clients in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and the rest of South Florida. Our page for Delray Beach, the next city north, covers the police and local rules there. Just south of the county line, our Deerfield Beach page covers a Broward city with a regional courthouse. The county courts are covered on our Palm Beach County DUI and criminal defense page.

Every case is different, and no result can be promised. If you or someone in your family was arrested in Boca Raton, a confidential phone call to (561) 362-6677 is a sound first step.

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