DUI Lawyer in Athens , Georgia

DUI Defense Strategies

DUI Athens is an experienced DUI lawyer in Athens who can help you with a DUI defense strategy:

• Question the results and the way the police officers interpreted the field sobriety tests – Field sobriety tests are far from accurate. Experienced DUI attorneys might show that you failed them because of a medical condition or even on purpose. They could also claim that you did well on the test, but the police officers that assessed your performance made mistakes.
• Show that the police officers did not give you notice about the implied consent rule – Under GA Code § 40-5-67.1, when requesting that you take a chemical test, police officers have the obligation to notify you that, if you refuse, you risk one year of license suspension. If your DUI lawyer can prove that the police officers skipped the notice, they will most likely obtain dropped charges.
• Challenge the results of the breath test – When their clients fail the breath test, many DUI lawyers argue that the breathalyzer the police used was improperly calibrated, they did not operate it as they should have, or it gave inaccurate results due to mouth alcohol or to the fact that you had used mouthwash or oral spray, chewed gum or taken various medicines.
• Challenge the results of the urine test – Urine test results depend on when the ingestion of drugs or alcohol took place, and how much liquid someone consumes. This means their results are easy to challenge, especially if your attorney requests independent testing.
• Invoking procedural errors for blood tests – The persons taking the blood samples have to be authorized professionals, must use specific equipment, and follow specific procedures. An experienced Athens DUI lawyer will surely find something to pick on in order to prove that they broke some rules or procedures.
• Proving that the police officers did not follow procedures – Police officers have certain procedures they need to follow when pulling drivers in traffic, conducting further investigations, and even preparing the corresponding reports for the case. A DUI attorney knows these procedures by heart and will easily identify and emphasize any inconsistencies.

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Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to reduce or eliminate your charges.

DUI Penalties

According to GA Code Section 40-6-391 and to the website of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, drivers found driving with a blood alcohol concentration higher than 0.08 or while intoxicated with drugs, medicines, or other substances that could interfere with their ability to operate the vehicle safely risk charges ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony. The charges and corresponding penalties depend on the driver’s age and on the existence of previous convictions, but also on an experienced DUI lawyer’s experience and skills, as the latter may be able to obtain milder penalties.

• First offenses risk a $300 to $1,000 fine, up to one year of license suspension, up to one year of jail time, minimum forty community service, $210 fee for license reinstatement. They are the easiest to defend for many DUI attorneys.
• Second offenses risk a $600 to $1,000 fine, up to 3 years of license suspension, up to 1 year of jail time, minimum 30 days community service, $210 fee for license reinstatement, obligation to undergo clinical evaluation and complete substance abuse therapy.
• Third offenses risk $1,000 – $5,000 fine, up to 5 years of license suspension, minimum 15 days jail time, minimum 30 days community service, photo, name, and address published in the local media, declared habitual violator, license plate seizure and forwarding to the DMV, obligation to undergo clinical evaluation and complete substance abuse therapy

In addition to these penalties, drivers who do not benefit from the assistance of an experienced DUI lawyer and operate a commercial vehicle risk losing their commercial driving license. Underage drivers who do not have a DUI attorney to defend their rights will most likely have to postpone getting their graduate license with another year.

Upon recovering their driving privileges, all those convicted of second and subsequent impaired driving offenses will have to install an ignition interlock device on their vehicle for a period of 6 months at their own expense.

Depending on the case details, DUI lawyers are often able to convince the court to allow their clients to maintain limited driving privileges for work- and family-related purposes with the condition to install an ignition interlock device, or to avoid installing the ignition interlock device by invoking financial hardships.

However, the results a DUI attorney may obtain for their client often depend on what their client does or says at the road stop. Here are some of the questions Clarke County drivers ask their DUI attorneys regarding stops in traffic for DUI-related checks.

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Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to reduce or eliminate your charges.