Top 10 DUI Attorney for the State of Georgia

If a person is convicted of a DUI for the first time in a five-year period - regardless of the substance - they have the possibility of getting a limited driving permit. This limited driving permit allows for driving under limited conditions, to include:

• Work, giving you the opportunity to maintain your livelihood
• School, allowing you to continue your education more effectively
• Medical appointments, such as checkups, prescription pickups, and therapy

If you've been charged with a DUI and want to pursue a limited driving permit, it's important you speak with a DUI defense lawyer immediately. There are certain time deadlines that if missed could prevent you from getting a limited driving permit and could result in you having a complete license suspension for a minimum of 12 months. 

The rules for a limited driving permit change for a second or subsequent conviction in a five-year period.

Blood Tests Can Be Challenged

Blood tests are used to test for alcohol, illegal drugs, and consumption of prescription medications. Even if your blood test comes back over the legal limit for alcohol or shows the presence of illegal drugs or prescription medications, these blood tests are not automatically admissible against you in a trial. There are challenges that can be made relating to the request to submit to a blood test, the actual submission to a blood test, and whether subsequent tests were requested.

Why Does the State Use Blood Tests?

When discussing DUIs or any criminal law, it is important to keep in mind that, according to the US Constitution, the state has to prove you are guilty of the crime you've been accused of. One of the most common ways for the state to try and prove a DUI charge is by using a blood test. The government will try to use these tests to show that your blood alcohol content was greater than the legal limit of .08% or that your blood showed the presence of an illegal drug or the presence of a legally prescribed drug at a higher than therapeutic level.

No, roadside field sobriety tests (also called SFSTs or FSEs) are voluntary. This means that an officer cannot require a person to perform these evaluations or tests. Additionally the law states that if an individual does not submit to a standardized field sobriety evaluation, that refusal to submit is not admissible in evidence against them at a trial.

Less safe means that a person is impaired by alcohol, drugs or prescription medications to the extent that they are less safe to drive than if they were not impaired. It can also be restated as incapable of driving safely. This is a very vague term and leaves a lot of area for interpretation as to whether a person is less safe or DUI. The amount of alcohol, drugs or legally taken prescription medications that makes an individual less safe may be different for that of another individual. Officers and prosecutors try to use everything they can to say somebody is less safe to include their driving and performance on field sobriety evaluations. They try to point to as much evidence as they can to say that somebody is impaired or less safe. Our criminal defense lawyer can advocate on your behalf to show why those clues may not be as persuasive as the state would want a judge or jury to believe. 

Yes, a police officer can charge somebody with a DUI even if they do not see them driving. The prosecutor needs to be able to prove that a person was in physical control of a motor vehicle while they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which does not require the officer to see the person actually drive the car. An accident is an example of a case where a police officer could arrive after the driving was over and still be able to charge a person with a DUI. 

If you get arrested for DUI the first thing to do is to contact lawyers to find an experienced DUI lawyer that you feel is competent and that you are confident can handle the intricacies that come with providing your DUI defense. Time is sometimes of the essence because if the officer served the person with a DDS-1205 or administrative license suspension form, that individual has only 30 days to decide what path they will take as to that specific license issue. Our DUI lawyer can help you get through the legal process as quickly as possible. 

If you are convicted for a first-time DUI offense, your license or privilege to drive in Georgia (if you are an out-of-state license holder) will be suspended for a certain period of time. That period depends on a person's age and whether there was an administrative license suspension. They may be eligible for a limited driving permit, but that will depend on the circumstances of their case.

A conviction for a DUI requires a minimum period of license suspension. During that period of suspension, people are oftentimes able to obtain a limited driving permit that allows them to drive to work, school, medical appointments, and other specified activities. The only way to completely avoid a suspended license is to avoid the DUI conviction, with either a reduction or dismissal of the DUI charge. 

A first DUI conviction for a person over 0.08 grams of blood alcohol concentration requires a person to serve 24 hours in jail with other statutory minimum sentence requirements. Some courts are willing to waive the remainder of that time, especially in a DUI less safe case. As the number of DUI convictions for a person increases, generally, that comes with an increase in expected jail time. However, the expected jail time for a first or subsequent DUI oftentimes varies significantly depending on the county in which the person is convicted. 

A DUI conviction stays on your record, which is the reason why it is so important to get a lawyer that is experienced in DUI law to have the best opportunity to avoid a DUI conviction. DUI lawyers look for all possible legal and factual defenses to avoid a DUI conviction.