Atlanta DUI Attorney

Being charged with a DUI in Atlanta can be a big shock to anyone, especially if this is your first offense. The first thing you need to consider is hiring an experienced Atlanta DUI attorney to help through the legal process. What you may not be aware of is that your license will be suspended for one year without ever going to court or being convicted of the DUI. You need to file an appeal within 10 day of the offense to challenge the suspension, failure to do this will result in and automatic suspension of your license for one year.

1. Georgia DUI Laws:

• Georgia sees any operation of any motor vehicle, including watercrafts, while under any influence of alcohol or drugs as a criminal offense. The legal limit for BAC (blood alcohol concentration,) is .08, but you can be charged and convicted even if your BAC is at .05 if the prosecution can establish beyond a reasonable doubt that you were impaired at the time of the incident.
• .04 is the BAC limit when operating a commercial vehicle, and while this is the statutory limit, you can still be convicted of DUI at a lower limit if they have a solid case against you.
• If you are under the age of 21, you can be convicted of a DUI even if your BAC is .02. You need to retain the services of a proven Atlanta DUI attorney to help fight the charges, especially if you are under the BAC limit.

DUI Penalties in Atlanta Georgia can be very overwhelming even for a first offense. The following is a brief outline of what you could be facing and the reason you need to retain a good Atlanta DUI attorney.

Atlanta DUI Attorney

2. First offense for a DUI in Georgia:

• Up to $1,000 in fines
• 10 day to a year in jail
• 40 hours of community service
• A year of probation
• Suspended license for one year

3. Second offense for DUI in Georgia:

• Up to $1,000 fine
• 10 days to a year in jail
• Mandatory DUI classes
• 40 hours of court ordered community service
• Mandatory Evaluation for Alcohol or drug treatment
• Up to a year of probation
• Suspension of license for 3 years
• Court ordered ignition interlock device

4. Third offense for DUI in Georgia:

• Up to $5,000 fine
• 120 day to one year of jail
• Court order 30 days of community service
• Evaluation for drug and alcohol treatment
• One year probation
• Revocation of license for 5 years
• Court ordered ignition interlock device

5. Fourth offense for DUI in Georgia:

• Up to $5,000 fine
• One to five years in prison

In Atlanta, the media and public pressure have caused fewer leniencies in cases where a person pleads guilty. Hiring a good Atlanta DUI Attorney is so important to help you fight against DUI charges.

6. There are many ways to fight a DUI charge:

• Improper Stop for DUI defense:
• If a tip came in from an anonymous caller
• Officer fails to follow the law
• If you were stopped for failure to maintain lane
• You were the wrong car stopped
• Stopped solely on officers hunch
• Initial stop was not for DUI

7. Improper arrest for DUI:

• Field sobriety test administered wrong
• Field sobriety test was coerced by officer
• Physical or medical conditions
• Video evidence contradicts the arrest report

8. Improper blood test defense:

• Request for blood test done improperly
• Statutory requirements were violated
• Lab errors or mistakes

9. Improper breath test defense:

• Machine not certified
• Machine administrator not certified
• Breath test rules violated
• Test results inaccurate
• Machine calibration off
• Machine malfunctioned during test

10. Procedural mistakes defense:

• Failed to give Miranda rights
• Implied consent warning no given
• No state witness appearance
• Arresting officer report inconsistent
• Expert witness refutes state charges.

Retaining an experienced Atlanta DUI Attorney who has a favorable results in DUI defense cases can alleviate a lot of the stress resulting from being arrested for DUI.