I receive calls every day asking for consultations regarding Atlanta DUI charges every day. I thought it would be helpful to provide some basic information for people who are facing DUI charges in the Atlanta Municipal Court. This information is primarily focused on cases that occurred in the City of Atlanta but some of this information can be used for DUI cases throughout the State of Georgia. If you would like to discuss the specifics of your case in a confidential manner, I am always available for a free consultation. You can call or text me at 678-753-6431 or submit a contact request by clicking on the “Contact” button on this page.

The Georgia DUI Statute

The code section for DUI in the State of Georgia is O.C.G.A. §40-6-391. A copy of the statute can be found HERE.

Gather Your Documents

After being arrested for DUI in Atlanta, bonding out of jail, and retrieving your car if it was towed, it is important to gather and take inventory of the paperwork you received after being arrested. That paperwork will usually include your:

1)      Citations

2)      A DS-1205 Form Notifying You Your Georgia Drivers License or Georgia Driving Privileges are Going to be Suspended

3)      Bond Order and any Conditions of Bond

4)      Property Form

5)      Tow Receipt

I Would put all of these items together into a folder as well as make the best digital copy of the documents that you can and save them just in case you lose the originals. If you hire an Atlanta DUI attorney, they will want those documents.

Make A Diary of the Days Prior to Your Arrest

It is important to remember the events of the days leading up to your arrest for DUI. How did you sleep? Did you eat that day? Are you taking any prescription medication? Do you have any medical issues? What were you doing before you were arrested? Who did you spend time with that day? Were you pulled over by police? What happened during your encounter with the police? Having the best possible recollection of the events leading up to you being arrested will give you the best opportunity to defend your case. Sometimes very small details can have a significant impact on resolving your case in a favorable way. It often takes time for your case to resolve, and your recollection of that day may not be as strong 3, 6, 12, or 24 months after your arrest.

It is important to know that the clock begins ticking the day you are arrested for DUI. Under Georgia law, if your license was taken by the officer who arrested you for DUI, you have 30 days from the date of arrest to make a decision on how you would like to protect you drivers license and take the required steps within that time period.

You Have 30 Days from the Date of Your Arrest to Either Appeal A Drivers License Suspension or Apply for a Georgia Ignition Interlock Device Limited Permit if the Officer Takes Your Drivers License

Being placed under arrest for DUI triggers the Georgia Implied Consent Statute, O.C.G.A. 40-5-67.1. The Georgia Implied Consent Statute requires the arresting officer to read you the Georgia Implied Consent Notice as soon as possible after you have been arrested for DUI. That notice tells you that Georgia law requires you to submit to a chemical test of your blood, breath, or urine of the officer’s choosing, and if you submit to that test and you provide a sample over the legal limit for your age and license class, or refuse to submit to the chemical test, your license may be suspended. The officer can choose to require you to submit to multiple tests such as blood and breath, if they so choose. You also have a right to request an independent test at your own expense and with a provider of your own choosing after you submit to the officer’s requested tests.

If you provide a sample over the legal limit or refuse to submit to the officer’s requested tests, the officer is supposed to take your drivers license and issue you a DS-1205 form, notifying you of the reason the officer is moving to suspend your license under Georgia law, notifying you when that suspension will take place, issuing a temporary permit, and notifying you of your right to either appeal the officer’s petition to suspend your license or acquire an ignition interlock device limited permit.

The decision on whether to appeal your license suspension or request acquire an ignition interlock device limited permit is a complex one. It may be in your best interest to seek the advice of an Atlanta DUI lawyer to help you make that decision. Anyone is able to appeal the petition to suspend their license under the Georgia implied consent law, but there are certain conditions to get a Georgia ignition interlock device limited permit. You MUST have a Georgia drivers license and you cannot have any DUI implied consent suspensions or DUI convictions within the past 5 years. If you choose to appeal your suspension, your appeal request must be postmarked within 30 days from your date of arrest. The Georgia Department of Driver Services provides a DS-1206 form to help you make a proper request. If you choose to install an ignition interlock device on your vehicle and get an ignition interlock device limited permit you must have the device installed and the permit must be issued by DDS within the 30 day time period. Failure to act within the 30 day time period will result in a one year suspension of your drivers license.

Preparing for Your First Court Date in the Atlanta Municipal Court

The City of Atlanta Municipal Court is located at 150 Garnett Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 on the corner or Pryor Street and Garnett Street. There is no free parking around the courthouse but there is paid parking in parking lots as well as metered street parking around the courthouse. I recommend arriving 15 minutes early for any scheduled court appearance to give you time to make your way through security at get to your courtroom. Currently, Atlanta DUI cases are being held in courtroom 5D with Judge Terrinee L. Gundy.

The City of Atlanta Municipal Court has an online case docketing system HERE which you can use to check your case status as well as potential court dates. It is possible that the court date provided to you on your citation or bond order is not the correct court date. The City of Atlanta Municipal Court online case docketing system is usually the most up to date resource regarding court dates. It is always best to call the court or appear in person if you are concerned about your court date. It is important to know that if you were arrested by the Georgia State Patrol, the online docketing system as well as your court date notices may shows additional DUI charges that do not involve your case. The Georgia State Patrol issues their citations under the entire DUI code section and the Atlanta Municipal Court system adds every different type of DUI charge to your case. This does not mean you are actually being charged with all these different DUI offenses. If your case was for DUI alcohol, just because it shows DUI drugs or DUI inhalants does not mean you are now being charged with these crimes.

Appearing in Court at the City of Atlanta Municipal Court

Most first court dates for DUI charges in the City of Atlanta Municipal Court will occur at 11am a few weeks after your arrest. At that first appearance you will be invited into the courtroom by a courtroom deputy who will tell you to check in with one of the Judge’s case managers. You will then be asked to take a seat in the gallery. Once the Judge arrives, you will be called to the podium by the Judge and asked if you plan to hire an attorney regarding your charges. You will be issued a new court date which will give you time to hire an attorney, be appointed the City of Atlanta Municipal Court Public Defender, or decide if you are going to represent yourself. Once your case is heard and you are given a new court date, you will be free to leave.

Examining the Evidence and Fighting Your Atlanta DUI Charge

Six to eight weeks after your first court date your Atlanta DUI lawyer, or yourself if you have made a motion for discovery, should acquire all the evidence in your case. That evidence is usually the traffic citations, the officer’s incident report, and most importantly any body camera or dash camera video that is available. Most Atlanta Police Department officers and Georgia State Patrol troopers have body camera video. They might also have dash camera video. If you were arrested by a Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Emory University, or Georgia Capitol Police officer they may or may not have video available of the incident. Video allows us to have an accurate representation of your encounter with the police officer giving us audio and video evidence of any issues and potential defenses in your Atlanta DUI case.

Once the evidence is obtained you are looking for things the officer did not do but should have done, things they did do but should not have done, and any protections afforded to you under the U.S. Constitution, the Georgia Constitution, and all applicable case law and statutes. These defenses can help you get charges dismissed, reduced, or used in trial to help your defense.

Resolving Your Atlanta DUI Charge

There are five primary ways your City of Atlanta DUI case can be resolved. First, there is a small chance your charges may be completely dismissed by the City of Atlanta Solicitor’s Office. Dismissal is likely only going to happen if you provide a breath or blood sample well below the legal limit or the officer violated your constitutional rights in a way that all evidence related to the encounter must be suppressed. Second, you can enter a plea to the charge of DUI. I don’t enter a lot of pleas to DUI in the City of Atlanta Municipal Court. It is almost always in your best interest to move the case from Municipal Court to the Fulton or DeKalb County State Court if you intend to enter a plea to the charge. Circumstances where it may be beneficial to you to plead guilty to DUI in municipal court are if there are prior offenses and you are looking at a 2nd conviction in a 10 year period. Third, you are entitled to a bench trial on the charges if you so choose. A bench trial is a trial with the Judge determining your guilt or innocence. If you elect for a bench trial, the Solicitor’s Office may choose to send your case to State Court for a jury trial.

The last two potential resolutions are the resolutions that I most commonly advise my clients to choose when handling their DUI case in the Atlanta Municipal Court. The first is a plea to a reduced charge, often Reckless Driving. If the Solicitor’s office is willing to reduce your DUI charge to a lesser charge, such as Reckless Driving, that is an option you should greatly consider as a positive outcome of your case. A plea to a reduced charge will keep a DUI conviction off your record. Your DUI arrest may still be on your criminal history but any company running a background check will see the charge was resolve with a non DUI disposition. This will also prevent your license from being suspended as a result of a DUI conviction. The other common outcome I advise for my clients if we cannot resolve their case to a reduced charge would be to send their case from the City of Atlanta Municipal Court to the Fulton or DeKalb County State Court depending on where in the City of Atlanta you were stopped. Sending your case to State Court gives you a second opportunity at trying to negotiate a non-DUI outcome of your case. It also gives you the ability to have a jury trial on your DUI charges if you want to make the prosecutor prove your charges beyond a reasonable doubt. At trial, you can cross examine the State’s witnesses, present all the evidence in your defense, and argue to the jury your innocence. While trial is not a common outcome of these cases, sometimes it is the only outcome, and it is your right under Georgia law.

How Long is it Going to Take to Resolve an Atlanta DUI Charge?

DUI charges in the city of Atlanta usually take around six months from the date of incident if you can resolve the case in a manner you desire in the Atlanta Municipal Court. If you have to send the case to State Court, it could take as long as 2-4 years for a final resolution of your case. Sending your case to State Court starts the entire process over in your case. Some times time is the greatest benefit in resolving your case favorably.

If you have any questions regarding a city of Atlanta DUI charge and would like to speak to an Atlanta DUI attorney regarding those charges, please feel free to call or test me at 678-753-6431 for a free consultation. If you prefer to communicate over e-mail you can click the contact button on my website and request a free consultation over e-mail. I hope this information was helpful for you.