This is a question I’ve had to address often when meeting with potential clients throughout my career handling DUIs all over metro Atlanta but particularly in the City of Atlanta, Smyrna, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Douglasville, and the Cobb, DeKalb, and Gwinnett County State Courts. What I tell clients is that first and foremost is that if this is your first lifetime arrest for DUI, there were not additional more serious charges, and you know you want to plead guilty, you do not have to hire an attorney. Almost every prosecutor I have worked with will give the minimum required sentence under Georgia law on a first lifetime driving under the influence conviction. That minimum required sentence is:

• 12 months probation

• 24 hours in custody credit for time served after initial arrest (most Judges, but not all will not require any additional jail time on a first lifetime DUI plea)

• 40 hours of community service

• Minimum $300, maximum $1,000 fine plus fees and surcharges

• Completion of 1 DUI Risk Reduction Course

• An Alcohol and Drug Evaluation with a license counselor and any recommended treatment

• Some prosecutors also require a MADD Victim Impact Panel

In addition to the sentence for DUI conviction, the Georgia Department of Driver Services will also suspend your drivers license for a period of 120 days, but if it is your first DUI conviction in the past five years, you will be eligible for a limited driving permit during those 120 days that allows you to drive for work, school, court and probation appointments, medical appointments, and one religious service per week.

I will also consult with you about your current drivers license status, any pending suspensions of your Georgia or out of state drivers license, and the procedures you need to take to protect your drivers license including a sample form you can fill out if you want to appeal your pending drivers license suspension. If you want to plead guilty, I will go over all of that with you as part of our free consultation.

If you do not want to plead guilty to DUI and close your case at your first court appearance or you have a DUI conviction in your past, then I would recommend the assistance of counsel through hiring an attorney to handle your Atlanta DUI charge.  An attorney will begin by asking you questions regarding the circumstances surrounding your arrest. What police department stopped you, was it APD or Georgia State Patrol; Smyrna, Marietta, Kennesaw or Cobb; or Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Doraville, Decatur, or DeKalb Police? Did they take your drivers license? What does that mean? What is the Georgia Implied Consent notice, and why is it important? Did you do any field sobriety evaluations? Do you remember them? Did you give a blood, breath, or urine test after you were placed under arrest? All of these questions help to build your case to fight your DUI.

A big question I get asked in almost every case that ends with a potential client getting arrested is, “Why didn’t they read me my rights?” While that is a topic for another blog that will be posted soon, the short answer is they don’t have to read you your rights after you are arrested. They only have to inform you of them if they want to question you, and use the responses to those questions against you as evidence.

The main pieces of evidence in a DUI case are going to be you or any of your witnesses testimony, the officer’s testimony (along with their incident report), available dashcam and bodycam videos, and the results of any chemical tests. These pieces of evidence, especially the videos and chemical tests is where having a lawyer on your side is going to benefit you greatly in fighting your DUI charge. A well-trained and experienced lawyer can look through the dashcam and bodycam videos to make sure the officer is performing their duties based on their training and experience, observe any instances where the officer isn’t doing something they were supposed to do, is doing something they weren’t supposed to do, or is failing to abide by their training in any way. I’ve been trained on DUI detection and deterrence as well as field sobriety evaluation administration and investigation just as the police officers in Georgia are trained. Also, an experienced Atlanta DUI attorney can look at the results of the blood, breath, or urine test and see if there are any issues with the way the test was performed, collected, or tested. The breath testing machines are capable of malfunctioning. There are issues with the chain of custody in collecting blood samples. Understanding these pieces of evidence could end up in a blood, breath, or urine test result being unable to be used as evidence against you.

Finally, an attorney understands applicable case law, statutes, and other precedent that could impact your case. Did the officer have a valid legal reason to pull you over? Were you coerced into taking a breath test? Did the officer not tell you you had the right to an independent test? Did you properly exercise your right to remain silent. Is the warrant for draw of your blood valid? Why was I arrested for DUI when I wasn’t driving? These are all questions an attorney can help you understand and challenge through their representation.

If you have questions about a metro Atlanta DUI arrest, whether it’s in Buckhead, midtown, east Atlanta, the southside, or a metro area like Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, or Smyrna, call or text me today at 678-753-6431. If you prefer to e-mail me, you can do so at ryan@ryanwalshlegal.com.