Osprey, Nokomis and Casey Key DUI Lawyer

Osprey, Laurel, Nokomis and Casey Key are unincorporated parts of Sarasota County, so DUI arrests here are made mostly by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Highway Patrol, and every case is prosecuted by the State Attorney's Office for the Twelfth Circuit. What changes from one community to the next is the courthouse. Blackburn Point Road divides the county's two court districts, so a misdemeanor DUI from Nokomis, Laurel or most of Casey Key is heard in Venice, while one from the heart of Osprey is heard in downtown Sarasota. The DUI law, the 10-day license deadline and the DETER program for first offenses are the same on both sides of that line. Nawara Law handles these cases on a flat fee that includes the license hearing, with free consultations by phone or video.

Venice or Sarasota: the Blackburn Point Road line

Under Twelfth Circuit Administrative Order 2026-12.2, traffic and misdemeanor cases arising south of Blackburn Point Road are docketed at the South County Courthouse, 4004 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice. Misdemeanors from north of that road, and felony DUIs from anywhere in the county, are heard in downtown Sarasota at the Judge Lynn N. Silvertooth Judicial Center, 2002 Ringling Blvd., or the Sarasota County Justice Center across the street. A person who stays in jail on a south-county misdemeanor is moved to the downtown courthouse.

Blackburn Point Road runs west from U.S. 41 to the swing bridge onto Casey Key, near the south end of Osprey. In practice that means:

Osprey: most of Osprey, including the area around Historic Spanish Point, is north of the line, so a misdemeanor DUI is a downtown Sarasota case.
Laurel and Nokomis: both are south of the line, so a misdemeanor DUI goes to the South County Courthouse in Venice.
Casey Key: the key straddles the line. The Blackburn Point bridge lands partway down the key, and most of the island, from there south to the Venice Inlet, is in the South County district.

If the stop was close to the line, the citation shows where it happened and the Clerk's online docket shows which courthouse the case was filed in. The Venice DUI lawyer page covers the South County Courthouse, and the Sarasota criminal court guide covers both buildings. Either way, the case is prosecuted by the State Attorney's Office where Daniel D. Nawara spent three years before opening his firm in 2018.

Who makes DUI arrests here

None of these communities has its own police department. The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office patrols unincorporated Osprey, Laurel, Nokomis and Casey Key, and the Florida Highway Patrol, Troop F, works U.S. 41, Interstate 75 and the S.R. 681 connector. Venice police work inside the City of Venice. The agency matters because it holds the video, the breath test records and the reports, which is where most DUI defenses start.

After an arrest, people are usually taken to the Sarasota County jail at 2020 Main St. in downtown Sarasota for booking and the breath test, even when the stop was in Nokomis or on Casey Key. Under section 316.193(9), you are held until you are no longer impaired, your alcohol level is below 0.05, or eight hours have passed. See getting someone out of the Sarasota County Jail.

U.S. 41, I-75 and the Casey Key bridges

U.S. 41, the Tamiami Trail, is the main road through Osprey, Laurel and Nokomis. Interstate 75 runs to the east, with interchanges at Laurel Road (exit 195) and at the S.R. 681 connector to U.S. 41 (exit 200). Casey Key has two connections to the mainland: the one-lane Blackburn Point swing bridge in Osprey and the Albee Road bridge in Nokomis, which leads to Nokomis Beach near the south end of the key.

Every stop needs a lawful reason, and the roadside exercises, the observation period and the breath test each have rules of their own. Challenging the stop is covered on illegal stops and motions to suppress, and the roadside exercises on field sobriety tests in Florida.

Florida's DUI law covers more than cars. Golf carts, scooters and e-bikes count (golf cart, scooter and e-bike DUI). On Blackburn Bay, Little Sarasota Bay and the waters around the Venice Inlet, operating a boat while impaired is a separate offense under section 327.35, enforced by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Sheriff's Office; see boating under the influence.

Medication, seasonal residents and veterans

Florida's DUI statute covers impairment from controlled substances and certain chemical substances, not only alcohol, so a lawfully prescribed medication can be the basis of a charge when the State claims your normal faculties were impaired. Those cases turn on the lab results, the officer's observations and the timing, and they are defended differently from breath test cases; see prescription drug DUI.

If you spend part of the year in another state, the Florida case does not end when you leave, but for a misdemeanor a lawyer can usually handle most court dates with a written plea and a waiver of appearance; see out-of-state drivers arrested for DUI. Veterans and service members have options of their own, including Sarasota County's Veterans Treatment Court; see military and veterans DUI.

The 10-day deadline and first offenses

If your breath result was 0.08 or higher, or you refused, your license was taken at arrest and the citation is a 10-day permit. Section 322.2615 gives you 10 days to request a formal review hearing with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or to pursue a hardship option if you are eligible. That deadline runs the same whether the court case is in Venice or Sarasota, and the flat fee includes the hearing.

For a first, non-aggravated DUI, the State Attorney's DETER program can lead to a plea to reckless driving with adjudication withheld after you complete DUI school, any recommended treatment, a MADD program and the other first-phase requirements. It applies in both courthouses, entry is decided at arraignment, and the State Attorney can decline a case. Section 316.656 bars a plea to a lesser offense when the breath or blood result was 0.15 or higher.

Penalties on conviction

A first DUI conviction carries up to six months in jail, a $500 to $1,000 fine, 50 hours of community service, DUI school, a 10-day vehicle immobilization and a license revocation of 180 days to one year, with higher fines, a nine-month jail maximum and a six-month ignition interlock when the result was 0.15 or higher or a minor was in the car. Since October 1, 2025, a first breath or urine test refusal is also a separate second-degree misdemeanor under Trenton's Law. Second and later offenses are on the Florida DUI penalties page.

Questions people ask

I was arrested on U.S. 41 in Nokomis. Which courthouse?

Nokomis is south of Blackburn Point Road, so a misdemeanor DUI is heard at the South County Courthouse in Venice. A felony DUI goes to downtown Sarasota.

I was stopped near Historic Spanish Point in Osprey. Is that a Venice case?

No. That part of Osprey is north of Blackburn Point Road, so a misdemeanor DUI is heard in downtown Sarasota.

I was stopped on Casey Key. Venice or Sarasota?

Most of Casey Key is south of Blackburn Point Road, so a misdemeanor there usually goes to Venice. A stop on the north end of the key, above the Blackburn Point bridge, can be a downtown Sarasota case, and the Clerk's docket settles it.

Why was I taken to Sarasota if I was stopped in Nokomis?

Sarasota County's jail is downtown at 2020 Main St., and arrests from anywhere in the county are booked there. The court case can still be in Venice.

Who patrols Osprey and Nokomis?

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, with the Florida Highway Patrol on U.S. 41 and I-75. None of these communities has a city police department.

I spend summers up north. Do I have to come back for court?

Usually not for a misdemeanor. A written plea and a waiver of appearance let your lawyer handle most dates, and you will be told in advance about any date that requires you.

Call or text (941) 920-5514, nights and weekends too, or request a free consultation by phone or video with former prosecutor Daniel D. Nawara. For the neighboring areas, see Venice DUI lawyer and Siesta Key DUI lawyer.

Reviewed by Daniel D. Nawara, former prosecutor with three years at the State Attorney's Office in Sarasota, Florida Bar No. 123626. Updated October 2026. General information, not legal advice.