A summer afternoon on Pensacola Bay can change quickly. One moment you’re anchored off Quietwater Beach with friends; the next, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission vessel pulls alongside and an officer is asking for your ID. Within an hour, you’re in handcuffs wondering whether a boating under the influence charge is a minor citation you’ll pay off in a few weeks or something that follows you for years.
It’s the latter. A BUI in Pensacola is a criminal charge prosecuted under Florida Statute 327.35, processed through the same court system as other misdemeanors and felonies, and capable of producing consequences that extend well beyond the water. At Crawford Law, we’ve handled over 10,000 cases, and Chris Crawford has been a member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers since 2010. What follows is an honest walkthrough of how these cases actually proceed in Escambia County.
How a BUI Stop Happens on Pensacola Waters
Three agencies hold concurrent jurisdiction over the waterways around Pensacola, including Pensacola Bay and Santa Rosa Sound: the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and local police departments. All three actively patrol during summer weekends and holidays, which means enforcement presence is heavier in July than at almost any other point in the year.
As of July 1, 2025, the rules governing those stops changed in an important way. The Boater Freedom Act (SB 1388), signed by Governor DeSantis in May 2025, prohibits officers from conducting random vessel stops based solely on a desire to check safety equipment. They now need probable cause of a violation before pulling a boat over. If an officer stopped your vessel as a random safety check after that date, the legality of the stop itself is a question worth examining. And even when a stop is lawful, a registration or equipment issue does not automatically authorize a BUI investigation. The officer must independently develop reasonable suspicion of impairment before shifting into that inquiry.
What Officers Look for at the Scene
Officers conducting a BUI investigation are trained to document physical indicators of impairment: slurred speech, bloodshot or watery eyes, a flushed face, unsteady footing, and open containers. The problem is that several hours on the Gulf in July can produce every one of those signs in a completely sober person. Heat, sun exposure, wind, dehydration, and the constant motion of a rocking deck all affect how a person looks and moves. That context matters, and it’s a point any serious defense review should address.
If an officer suspects impairment, they’ll typically ask you to perform field sobriety exercises (FSEs). The exercises used in BUI investigations differ from standard DUI tests. On-water FSEs generally include the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, finger-to-nose, palm pat, and finger count. Most aren’t approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for driving cases, and their reliability on a vessel subject to wave motion is limited. You aren’t required to perform field sobriety exercises, and refusing them doesn’t trigger a civil penalty the way refusing a post-arrest breath test does.
The Arrest, the Breath Test, & What Comes Next
Under Florida’s implied consent law, codified in Florida Statute 327.352, a lawful breath test request must come after a formal arrest. A request made before arrest, during the on-scene investigation, carries different legal weight and can be challenged as a basis to suppress the result or the refusal. If you refuse a post-arrest breath test, Florida Statute 327.35215 imposes a $500 civil fine. You can contest it by requesting a hearing before an Escambia County court judge within 30 days of your arrest. That hearing matters for a practical reason: it puts the arresting officer under oath at an early stage, before the full criminal case has developed, and gives our attorneys an opportunity to question them on the record about the stop, the investigation, and the basis for arrest.
After the arrest, you may be held until your blood-alcohol concentration drops to 0.05 or below, eight hours have passed, or an officer determines your normal faculties have been restored. From there, the case moves into the First Judicial Circuit of Florida, headquartered at the M.C. Blanchard Judicial Building at 190 Governmental Center in Pensacola, where arraignment and subsequent proceedings take place.
What a Conviction Actually Costs You
A first-offense BUI under Florida Statute 327.35 is a misdemeanor. The consequences can include:
- A fine between $500 and $1,000
- Up to six months in jail
- Up to 12 months of probation
- 50 hours of community service
- Mandatory completion of a substance abuse course
- 10-day impoundment of the vessel
If your BAC was 0.15 or higher, or a minor was aboard, the fine range rises to $1,000 to $2,000 and jail exposure extends to nine months.
Second & Third Offenses
A second BUI carries higher fines and a mandatory 10-day jail minimum. A third BUI within 10 years becomes a third-degree felony, with up to five years in prison, a fine up to $5,000, a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail, and 90-day vessel impoundment. For enhancement purposes, prior DUI convictions count as prior BUI offenses.
The DUI Crossover Consequence
A BUI conviction won’t suspend your driver’s license. Many people stop there and conclude it’s a manageable outcome. But a BUI conviction counts as a prior offense if you’re later charged with driving under the influence, triggering the same sentencing enhancements a prior DUI would. That consequence doesn’t appear on any road, but it follows you just the same.
Lucy’s Law
Enacted in 2025, Lucy’s Law significantly increased the stakes for boating accidents with serious outcomes. Leaving the scene of a BUI crash that results in death is now a first-degree felony, and leaving the scene of a crash that causes serious bodily injury is a second-degree felony. If your stop involved any kind of collision or accident, the charge exposure increases substantially, and getting legal counsel involved immediately is critical.
How We Approach a BUI Defense
The first question in any BUI case post-July 2025 is whether the initial vessel stop was lawful. If officers pulled your boat for a random safety inspection without probable cause after the Boater Freedom Act took effect, a motion to suppress may be available. That motion can eliminate the observations, exercises, and breath test results that form the foundation of the prosecution’s case.
When the stop holds up, attention shifts to the impairment evidence. In summer Gulf conditions, an officer’s field observations carry less weight than they might in a controlled environment. Documented heat, sun exposure, and sea state on the day of your arrest are all relevant to whether those observations actually support an impairment finding, particularly when BAC is below 0.08. Breath test results aren’t automatically conclusive either. Defense review covers whether the device was properly maintained and calibrated, whether the mandatory observation period was correctly completed, and whether the request came after arrest rather than before. Each of those procedural steps has a right way and a wrong way, and errors don’t always get caught without someone specifically looking for them.
A BUI charge is a criminal matter with consequences that reach beyond the boating season, including how any future driving under the influence charge would be sentenced. If you were charged with a BUI in Pensacola this summer, Crawford Law offers free consultations and can walk you through your specific situation and options. You can reach us at (850) 220-2098.