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William Head:

How to Handle Your DUI Arrest

Even though you've been arrested for DUI, you don't have to let it ruin your life. You may not realize it yet, but if you are thinking about simply going to court and pleading guilty to your DUI charge you may be cheating yourself.

You see, a qualified attorney can review the case for defects, suppress evidence, compel discovery of such things as calibration and maintenance records for the breath machine, have blood samples independently analyzed, obtain expert witnesses ­ all of which may help you to win your case at trial.

To find out what you need to know about your DUI arrest I've developed a website to give you a wealth of useful information . . . information which will show you how you may be able to save your license and your freedom . . . and possibly avoid fines, fees, and sharply increased car insurance costs of as much as $6,800.

For the most part, my easy-to-navigate site has information on it which you can't get anywhere else unless you are willing to do a great deal of legal research.

When you're on my site, you'll also learn how you can get a free, no-obligation consultation where I'll review your case and show you how I may be able to save your license and your freedom.

Gerogia DUI Drunk Driving Defense Information

Search for Georgia DUI Attorneys by County.

Marietta DUI Lawyers

• Phillip Holloway:

  Georgia DUI Laws & Penalties

  Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI) is a crime in Georgia. This crime has received a great deal of publicity and is frequently debated in our society. In response to pressure from special interest groups, Georgia lawmakers passed very tough new DUI laws that include mandatory jail time. The new DUI laws are tough on drinking drivers. If you are being charged with DUI, you need a lawyer. Your liberty, reputation, and privilege to drive is on the line. Remember, sound legal advice can make a difference in your case

  There are two ways the state can convict someone of DUI. The first way is to show that a driver had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 within three hours of driving or being in control of a vehicle.

  The second way for the state to convict a driver is to show that a driver is "less safe" to operate a vehicle. Under the "less safe" provision, all the state must prove is that alcohol and/or other intoxicants caused the driver to be less safe than he or she would have otherwise been. A blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 grams or less raises an inference that the driver was not intoxicated. Even so, the state can still try to convict you by showing that you were a less safe driver.  A reading of 0.05 grams to 0.079 will raise no inference of the driver's intoxication, but the judge/jury may consider such fact when deciding innocence or guilt.

  A good lawyer can often rebut these statutory inferences, and can attack the accuracy of the breath or blood test(s).  A successful attach can result in the charges being reduced or dropped altogether. 

  PENALTIES FOR DUI

  First Conviction Up to $1,000.00 fine 10 Days to 1 Year in Jail DUI School 40 Hours of Community Service 1 Year Probation 1 Year License Suspension	Second Conviction Up to $1,000.00 Fine 90 Days to 1 Year in Jail DUI School 30 Days of Community Service Mandatory Alcohol Evaluation and/or Treatment Up to 1 Year Probation 3 Year Loss of License Ignition Interlock Device
  Third Conviction Fine up To $5,000.00 120 Days to a Year in Jail 30 Days Community Service Alcohol Evaluation and/or Treatment Up to 1 Year Probation 5 Year License Revocation Ignition Interlock Device	Fourth Violation (Habitual Violator) Fine of $5,000.00 One to Five Years in State Prison

   

  In addition to these devere penalties, you could also be affected by a DUI conviction in other ways. They include having difficulty renting an automobile, paying high insurance rates, and compromising current or future job prospects. If you plead guilty to DUI, the Judge has no choice but to sentence you to jail under the new laws ¹

   

  Although the state has multiple ways to convict you, an effective DUI lawyer has his own arsenal for defending the accused. If you are charged with DUI it is possible that the state's evidence can be kept out of your trial, or its credibility disputed before the judge or jury. An arresting officer's own incident reports from prior and subsequent arrests can often be used to cast doubt upon his story. It is a lawyer's job to ensure that your side of the story is told in court in the most persuasive manner.

  ¹ Jail time is required if you score a .08 or more on your blood, breath, or urine test.

• Melvin Nash: One popular argument against police officer testing is based on the idea that individuals are different and that the results of many such tests may be skewed depending on the circumstances. The specific condition of a suspect is generally dissimilar to other individuals. For this reason, numerous factors may alter results for sobriety tests that have been calibrated to apply to the "average" person. Many assert that the millions of Americans who drink have varying body chemistries and physical makeup which cause them to exhibit a wide variation in how alcohol affects their behavior. Those suspected of driving while intoxicated often claim that a physical condition caused an inaccurate analysis result. Such conditions may include diabetes, indigestion, body temperature variation, hyperventilation, prescription drugs or liver complications. A common potential inaccuracy may result from calculating the blood alcohol level by using presumptions of body makeup. The theory behind this argument is that arriving at a conclusion based on a presumption rather than the actual factors of an individual's condition will produce inaccurate results. This has been a common argument with the "accepted" partition rate for values applied to the formula used to reveal a suspect's blood alcohol concentration (BAC). When officers test an individual's BAC, they obtain a sample of an individual's "alveolar" air to obtain the breath alcohol concentration. Alveolar air or "deep lung" air is exhaled air that typically exits the body near the end of an exhale. After this variable is obtained, it is multiplied by the "partition ratio;" a factor used to determine the alcohol concentration in the blood. Many experts presume that an individual's partition ratio is 2100. However, this number varies by individual. Due to the possibility that inaccuracies may result from such a presumption, experts often question the reliability of such tests. In addition, courts have arrived at different results based on differing rationales. In 1995, the California Supreme Court ruled that an expert's testimony regarding an individual's partition ratio was inadmissible due, in part, to the fact that the defendant had exhibited clear signs of intoxication. In 1990, an appellate court in Georgia arrived at the same conclusion for similar reasons. In 1987, a Nebraska Supreme Court also arrived at the same conclusion. However, it allowed for stronger reliance on such testing and ruled that where the partition rate test is used, any inaccuracy due to a margin of error must be adjusted in the defendant's favor. This ruling, however, was subsequently partially overruled, when a different Nebraska court ruled that the state fails to meet its burden of proof when the "state is able to prove alcohol content only within a specified range, the lower point of which falls below the statutory value." It should be noted that such rulings are often fact specific, and are thus not necessarily applicable in all similar circumstances. Furthermore, case law and applicable statutes are subject to change. For this reason, the above cases are provided simply to illustrate what some courts have held in the past.
• Scott Semrau: Driver's License suspension is mandatory for all drug and dui convictions. Driving with No Insurance and Driving With a Suspended License are also common offenses that result in Drivers License Suspension. Drivers Under 21 years of age also are at risk for license suspension.
• Diana Young:

  Information Your DUI Attorney Needs:

  • Details of the last 24 hours leading up to your arrest.
  • The name of the alcoholic beverage and how much you consumed before being arrested.
  • Amount of time it took you to consume this alcohol.
  • Your gender.
  • Your weight at the time you were arrested.
  • Did you have chewing tobacco or dip in your mouth when the police stopped you?
  • If your gums were bleeding during the breath test.
  • Whether you were in contact with any volatile chemicals in the time leading up to your arrest.
  • The reason the police officer gave for stopping you.
  • What questions the officer asked you and your responses.
  • Any roadside tests the officer asked you to perform.
  • How well you performed on any roadside test.
  • Whether the officer made a videotape of your arrest.
  • After you were placed under arrest, did the officer read the Georgia Implied Consent Notice to you off of a card?
  • Whether you took the official test requested by the officer.
  • What were the test results?
  • Any witnesses that can corroborate your version of any and all events leading up to your arrest.
  • Any witnesses to your actual arrest.
  • If you are currently on probation or parole.
• Stearns-Montgomery & Associates: Types of Trial:  Bench trial:  The Defendant can chose to have the judge determine whether they are guilty or not guilty. Jury trial:  Every Defendant has the right to have the case tried by a jury of their peers.  In felony cases they are entitled to twelve jurors and in misdemeanors they are entitled to six jurors.  Depending on the anticipated length of the case, alternates may be chosen.
• Bert Cohen: This is a particularly complex area of the law where it is especially important to be represented by experienced counsel because of the severe punishments involved. Upon conviction of a driving under the influence charge, punishments include mandatory minimum jail sentences and license suspensions, even on a first offense in Georgia. A successful defense resulting in acquittal, dismissal, or substantial reduction of charges, can frequently turn on whether the arresting officer followed technical procedures. This includes the way the driver's car was stopped, the manner in which the officer conducted field sobriety evaluations, the way the officer instructed the driver concerning breath, blood, or urine collection and testing, and the procedure followed in administering the test.
• Plichta & Associates: DRUNK DRIVING is a crime and the accused is entitled to a fair trial. However, as long as citizen-juries find any drunk driving defendants innocent at trial, special interest groups will pressure legislators and the courts to do their dangerous bidding and "make it easier" to convict the accused. Their quest is to punish every person accused of drunk driving, whether guilty or not.
• Guy Sharpe: DUI is a crime of degrees. In Georgia, it is not illegal to have a drink with your meal and drive. It is illegal to drink too much and then drive. It is also illegal to drink while driving.
• Schwerd & Schwerd: Cases for DUI (Driving Under the Influence) and DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) vary depending on the charges, and mainly the B.A.C. (Blood Alcohol Level). A DUI or a DWI conviction can destroy your future to a large extent. If you are charged with either a DUI or a DWI, it is strongly recommended you have an attorney to defend you in court.