DUI Less Safe: How to Beat a DUI in Georgia

 

By: Super Lawyer Cory Yager, Atlanta DUI lawyer and an ex-police officer for almost a decade talks about DUI less safe

The average citizen facing a DUI traffic ticket has no idea about how the best DUI lawyers near me go about winning DUI cases. How to get out of a DUI is one of the most valuable litigation skills that any criminal defense attorney can possess, for 3 primary reasons:

1. People facing traffic citations for DUI misdemeanor charges are often law-abiding citizens with an impeccable prior history and a compelling need to hire the best attorneys nearby for their DUI defense. Their job, their family and (in large part) their future hangs in the balance.
2. Unlike almost all serious felony charges, like burglary, armed robbery, murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery, these serious felony crimes are usually defended by the public defender and have no money to retain private legal advocates.
3. Over 80% of all DUI clients seeking an Atlanta DUI attorney from our litigation team have their first offense DUI, which bodes well for them. Usually, our affordable DUI attorneys near me will be able to find a non-DUI solution for those offenders in the Atlanta traffic court or one of the other metro Atlanta area municipal courts or state courts. Another silver lining is that these 1st offense DUI case resolutions (by negotiating a plea to a lesser charge) do not require a trial in 9 out of 10 instances, which is what most accused citizens want.

 

In considering any lawyer for DUI near me to represent you, before you get to the question of DUI lawyer cost, you need to know more about her or his training, accolades, achievements, awards, and legal industry recognitions. While there are hundreds of local DUI attorneys, only a small handful have the credentials of the top lawyers in the area.

How Much Does a DUI Lawyer Cost for the Best DUI Attorney?

After being arrested for DUI in GA, some people are so depressed that they dwell on their misjudgment, bad luck, or mistake the night before. They need to concentrate on beating the criminal charges.

After Googling questions like, “what does DUI stand for,” or “what does DWI stand for,” many clients get online to see if their name and citation number are online. For many, the embarrassment of their current predicament could only be surpassed by learning that it was being publicly viewed. Rarely, unless a celebrity or sports figure has been arrested does this happen in Georgia.

Fear of the unknown can be a powerful enemy. However, our three award-winning partners WELCOME you comparing the backgrounds and the credentials of Georgia criminal attorneys, by comparing them side-by-side, based on overall career achievements and law industry awards and accolades.

 

For example, all three legal professionals at our DUI law firm are DUI law book co-authors, which is unique in Georgia and possibly in all of America. Plus, between the 3 of them, they have 35 Super Lawyers’ recognitions.

The Extensive Training of the Best Lawyers in GA for Your DUI Defense

In the Peach State, an officer can arrest a person without having observed him or her in a moving vehicle. Georgia DUI laws only requires that the targeted driver have actual physical control of a motor vehicle. It can be parked with the ignition off or the vehicle can be wrecked and no longer functional.

 

What is DUI Less Safe? In Georgia, a DUI less safe is accused under OCGA 40 6 391(a)(1). This means that the DUI in Georgia is being accused with no post-arrest test results, usually due to the arrested driver refusing to be tested. If that is the case for you, the #1 concern you have is saving your ability to DRIVE in Georgia.

As defined by the GA Code, DUI less safe means that the person is too impaired to drive. That can be from drunk driving from drinking alcohol, or DUI-drugs, by being incapable of driving safely from any type of drug (illegal, prescribed or over the counter). Under the Official Code of Georgia (O.C.G.A.) DUI drugs can be accused in various ways in GA DUI less safe cases.

 

Under most driving under the influence statutes (across America) it is illegal to drive a vehicle while “under the influence” of alcohol or other any other intoxicating substance or drug. The crime (where no test results are collected after your arrest) is called a “DUI less safe charge,” as found in OCGA 40-6-391. For alcohol, the DUI less safe Georgia code subsection section is (a)(1).

 

A second type of driving under the influence case is added to your criminal charges when you submit to the post-arrest implied consent test or breath, blood or urine. This is called a DUI per se Georgia case, or “driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration” in the Georgia DUI statute, under O.C.G.A. 40-6-391 (a)(5).

Obtaining a blood alcohol concentration via blood draw, or breathalyzer test creates evidence of a second kind of DUI offense, which some call “over the limit.” But chemical testing (blood, breath, urine) must be collected by law enforcement at a time within three hours of driving ending.

However, state DUI-DWI laws in each state specify the degree of physical or mental impairment required for a person to be too impaired to drive. For a DUI charge, descriptions of impairment “in any degree,” “to the slightest degree,” “in some degree” and “to an appreciable extent” have each been held to be enough to render a person “under the influence.”

Georgia DUI law uses the phrase “less safe to drive” in describing the crime committed by an impaired motorist charged with a drunk driving offense in Georgia. In GA, this phrase can apply to DUI-alcohol or DUI-drugs.

 

So, DUI less safe Georgia is the general DUI crime, when no forensic breath test result or blood quantitation is part of the prosecution’s evidence. Police officers sometimes call these cases “DUI less safe refusal” cases.

When discussing “less safe DUI,” the addition of the word “Georgia” is not necessary, since other states have different wording such as those set forth above, or “incapable of driving safely,” which requires a higher level of proof by a Prosecutor.

 

Georgia DUI Penalties: What Is the DUI Less Safe Georgia Penalties?

License Suspension: One-year license suspension, but immediate limited permit available for most Georgia licensees, and reinstatement possible after 120 days.

 

Community Service: 5 days of community service (40 hours), on a first offense DUI, and 30 days of community service is mandated (240 hours) for a DUI 2nd offense.

 

Jail: 24 hours in jail are required for any DUI conviction in which the driver had a BAC level of 0.08 grams percent alcohol in his or her system.

 

Probation: 12 months mandatory, minus any jail time served.

 

DUI school: Risk Reduction course (DUI classes) lasting for 20 hours.

 

Why you need to immediately hire a drunk driving lawyer near me. The Georgia Department of Driver Services (GA DDS) is also involved in most DUI cases, since GA implied consent laws operate to suspend or revoke a person from driving (depending on his or her driving record), if a DUI refusal has occurred.

 

Even when you have taken the post-arrest test, and were “over the legal limit,” a DDS GA appeal is needed within the thirty (30) days after the arrest for DUI. Because many refusal cases require that an ignition interlock device be installed and the GA DDS permit issued before the 30 days elapses, DO NOT WAIT to call us.

 

 Do I Need a DUI Lawyer? Searching for The Best DUI Attorney in GA

Some people foolishly try to self-assess their chances of winning the DUI in GA. The operable word here is “FOOLISHLY.” Just reading TRUE DUI case histories with:

 

(1) BAC levels triple the alcohol legal limit, or

(2) with a DUI refusal and failing all three NHTSA field sobriety tests, or

(3) another drunk driving case report of a DUI checkpoint with a Intoxilyzer breath test double the legal alcohol limit, from two of our previous criminal trials will dissuade you from thinking that you have no chance to beat a DUI in court.

 

The best DUI lawyers in Atlanta, Georgia will offer you a FREE attorney consultation, explain how their criminal defense attorneys review your full history (e.g., finding out what medical conditions you may have that are relevant), ask about all DUI case facts, explain our attorneys’ fees, and tell you how we will implement a game plan for winning.

 

Call ex-cop Cory Yager or AVVO superstar Larry Kohn, for a FREE lawyer consultation.

Our three Georgia Super Lawyers aggressively represent clients accused of committing crimes through filing and arguing suppression motions.

 

Limit your search to a lawyer for DUI who has achieved legitimate legal industry excellence attorney ratings, and who possesses a track record of proven drunk driving defense results on knowing how to beat a DUI. If our law firm has the RIGHT criminal defense attorney for you, ask our law office about our DUI attorney payment plans.

 

Call a Georgia DUI lawyer with our law firm NOW, 24-7, for an initial criminal case review and to obtain FREE legal advice: 404-567-5515 or email our criminal justice lawyers at intake@criminaldefensematters.com.

 

Highly Searched Links to Related Topics:

GA DDS-Protecting against Driver’s License Suspension under Implied Consent

Constitutionality of DUI Checkpoints in Georgia

BAC Chart for Alcohol Level by Weight and Number of Drinks

Field Sobriety Test Myths and Misconceptions

What Does DUI Mean?

How to Beat a DUI in Court

Wording of the Entire Georgia DUI Less Safe Code Section