Whether you are a student experiencing college drinking culture for the first time or a professional on your way home from a dinner where you had one glass of wine too many, it is all too easy to find yourself facing one or more police officers and an arrest for Driving Under the Influence. When that happens, you had best remember what you read in this article about DUI arrests, rights, and defenses, including:
- The legal definition of Driving Under the Influence and the penalties for a DUI conviction in Georgia.
- What happens if you refuse to give a blood or breathalyzer test during a DUI arrest.
- What will happen to your license after a DUI arrest and/or conviction?
How Is Driving Under the Influence Defined In Georgia Criminal Law?
Simply put, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Georgia is defined as being in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of one of four categories of substances:
- Alcohol,
- Drugs (prescription or illicit),
- Intentionally ingested toxic vapors (for example, from huffing glues or paints),
- Any combination of the above.
Usually, the police must also show some sort of dangerous or unsafe behavior or impairment to successfully charge you with driving under the influence, such as by using field sobriety tests. But if a breath or blood test comes up with a level of 0.08% or higher Blood Alcohol Levels, such evidence is not needed.
This can make refusing such tests tempting, but doing so in Georgia comes with some pretty heavy consequences you should understand before doing so.
Do I Have To Give A Breath Or Blood Sample During A DUI Arrest In Georgia?
In Georgia, when you are arrested for Driving Under the Influence, the police officers are supposed to read you Georgia’s implied consent law. This law explains that by driving in Georgia, you consent to the state’s testing of your blood, breath, or other bodily substance.
If you refuse to allow them to do so, you are almost certainly going to get a year-long hard driver’s license suspension unless you get an attorney involved. Even then, only in exceptional circumstances might you be able to avoid that suspension.
For example, in one Georgia case, a man was poised to lose their license for a year after refusing a test but had that suspension withdrawn when their attorney was able to prove, with the help of a subpoena to a reluctant witness, that the individual was not driving the car, which did not belong to them, and that no one had seen them in control of it.
As a result, you should almost always agree to the breath or blood test, especially because even if you do fail one, there are many ways to preserve your license. For example, you may be able to show that the officer did not perform field sobriety testing correctly or that the blood or breath test was improperly conducted.
There are any number of ways that those tests might give false positives and a trained professional can look at and evaluate the case and determine whether the officer followed protocol when conducting that breath, blood, or field sobriety test.
Thus a refusal to conduct one can often lead to an even worse penalty than you would face should you take and fail it. Especially in terms of your driving privileges.
Attorney Jacob Weldon is a compassionate Georgia criminal defense attorney who always aims to temper justice with mercy and grace. Guided by faith to ensure a fair, just, and merciful criminal justice system, attorney Jacob Weldon is determined to help his fellow Georgians understand their rights.
If you have been arrested in Georgia, contact the Sexton Weldon Law Firm as soon as possible to get a defense lawyer who can make a difference on your side.
Call For A Free Consultation - (470) 693-8777
Will I Lose My Driver’s License Immediately After A DUI Arrest In Georgia?
When you are arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence in Georgia, a law enforcement officer is supposed to give you a notice of intent to suspend your license. This paperwork is called Form 1205. After an arrest, they will often take your license as well, unless you do not have it or cannot find it.
At this point, you can (with the help of a DUI defense attorney) request a hearing with the Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH) to contest that license suspension, which will be sent to the Department of Driver Services. Given the tight deadline of just 30 days, doing so via certified mail is a great way to prove they received it. It also has to be sent with a $150 check made payable to DDS.
Doing so, however, will allow you to continue driving as long as you have the 1205 form on you and haven’t had the hearing yet.
During that hearing, ideally, your attorney can get the officer to withdraw the request and the court to rescind the license suspension. If such a victory seems unlikely, depending on your situation, needs, and the details of the case, the hearing can also be a chance to get an ignition interlock device that will let you keep driving.
Such a device allows you to continue commuting to work and do other essential functions that we all need to be able to do to provide for our families.
It is especially important to get an attorney involved at this early stage because they can often make the most difference when your case has not progressed too far. For example, if an attorney knows what they are doing, they can obtain video from the officer, review that video before the ALS hearing, and use that to determine your options and strategy moving forward for both the license suspension hearing and the criminal charge against you.
What Are The Penalties For A DUI Conviction In Georgia?
The penalties for DUI in Georgia include up to a year in jail and several different levels of fines depending on your prior convictions and the circumstances of your case.
Your DUI charge will be a misdemeanor unless you have had three prior convictions or aggravating circumstances. This comes with a maximum sentence of up to a year in jail and a $1000 fine.
If it is an alcohol offense, the first conviction comes with a 120-day suspension, while a first-time drug-related DUI comes with a 180-day suspension.
The penalties only go up with prior convictions or any circumstances that might make the DUI more dangerous, such as if you harmed someone, had children in the car, or had particularly high Blood Alcohol Levels.
These immediate legal penalties, however, are just one reason you might want to avoid a conviction, and should always hire an attorney when facing DUI charges in Georgia.
Do I Need A Criminal Defense Attorney If I Plan On Pleading Guilty To My DUI Charges?
Accepting that you have done something wrong is important, but it does not mean you deserve the worst outcome. Most prosecutors are not going to offer a great deal if you represent yourself. Additionally, you need to consider that an attorney may be able to get the case thrown out altogether, obtain a lesser charge, or arrange an alternative sentencing program that focuses more on healing and rehabilitation than punishment.
Such outcomes are never guaranteed but are far more likely when you have an experienced DUI defense lawyer on your side who understands the laws, stakes, and options.
For more information on Facing DUI Charges In Georgia, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (470) 693-8777 today.
Attorney Jacob Weldon is a compassionate Georgia criminal defense attorney who always aims to temper justice with mercy and grace. Guided by faith to ensure a fair, just, and merciful criminal justice system, attorney Jacob Weldon is determined to help his fellow Georgians understand their rights.
If you have been arrested in Georgia, contact the Sexton Weldon Law Firm as soon as possible to get a defense lawyer who can make a difference on your side.
Call For A Free Consultation - (470) 693-8777
