The Information To Share With Your DUI Attorney

In this article, you will discover:

• The information to share with your DUI attorney
• How your driver’s license will be affected by a DUI charge

Your attorney must know some basic facts for any DUI in Fayetteville or otherwise. First and foremost, they need to know when the DUI occurred, the circumstances of the stop, if there was an accident, and if you were pulled over for a traffic stop or stopped somewhere and the police just approached you like you could approach any person and ask for directions. I’ll often start out asking clients, “What were the first words the police officer said to you, and what was your response. Let’s go through that conversation carefully to the point where they asked you to step out of the vehicle”. And then, once asked to step out of the vehicle, we’ll move on to the standardized field sobriety evaluations. For example, did they test your eyes for Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, did they make you take a 9-step walk and turn, did they have you stand on one leg and count for 30 seconds? All of this is pertinent information for your attorney.

Regardless of the police report, I am primarily concerned about my client’s opinion of whether they passed or failed. I want my client to tell me what happened, so we’ll go through those tests together. We can go over the tests, including the portable breath test, and whether or not there was an arrest. I have also encountered police officers who have made an arrest on merely the suspicion of a DUI, which is not a crime. And if they arrest you for suspicion of DUI, read the breath test rights and get a blood or a breath test, that blood test and a breath test is inadmissible because the court allows them to take the test only under consent, which is not implied until an arrest is made. It is called Georgian Implied Consent law.

There are nuances in a DUI arrest that can be the difference between a guilty verdict and a dismissal or a reduction. So, we need to know the facts and detail. We want to know if they read you the rights and how they read them. It is also essential to know if you actually consented to the test or if you were intimidated, coerced, forced, or threatened because not only do they have to have implied consent to get a state-administered test of your blood, breath, or urine, they have to have actual consent.

The final thing we’ll look at when someone calls us about a DUI is what paperwork did the police officer give you, what paperwork did you leave the jail with, and we want to look at that paperwork carefully front to back to make sure we’re not missing any charges or deadlines. The temporary driver’s license, for example, is good for 45 days, but it also says, “Notice of intent to suspend your license in 46 days”. And if you turn it over, it says, “You have 30 days to request a hearing with the driver’s license court, and you have to send a check for $150 with the letter as a filing fee.” We have to look at everything carefully in a DUI arrest. Cases are won and lost in the details. So as a lawyer, we are detail-oriented, and so we need to carefully consider the details of your case.

What Will Happen To Your Driver’s License If You Received A DUI Near Atlanta

If you’re arrested for a DUI, two things are supposed to happen. One, if you refuse state administered breath, blood or urine test after arrest or you register over 0.08 grams of alcohol or show the presence of drugs on a breath, blood or urine test, the police are supposed to take your license and attach it to what’s called a Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) Form 1205, which is a 45-day temporary driving permit. Still, it’s also a notice of intent to suspend your license on the 46th day from arrest. Suppose you flip that temporary driving permit over. In that case, it says, “You have 30 days to request a hearing to prevent an administrative license suspension before you’re convicted of a DUI and you have to submit a $150 filing fee with the letter.”

Now, many times police will not issue a 1205 form. Instead, they’ll attach a white sticker with blue writing which says, “180-day temporary driving permit,” and they’ll put that on your DUI ticket. If they do that, they’re not supposed to also issue the DDS form 1205 that we just discussed. But sometimes, police officers will do both, sometimes they’ll do neither, sometimes they’ll take your license, and they won’t submit a Department of Drivers Services Form 1205 or put a blue sticker on your ticket. Additionally, they’re not supposed to take your license if you go to jail and post bail because when you get a speeding ticket, they take your license, but that’s because they did not take you to jail, and you’ve surrendered your license in lieu of bail and going to jail. So, in essence, they’re holding your license as bail to make sure that you show up at the traffic court. But if they take you to jail and you have to post a bond to get out of jail, then they’re not supposed to take your license unless they send it to the DDS with the DDS Form 1205. If you have an out-of-state license, they’re not supposed to take it because Georgia can’t suspend an out-of-state license; it can only suspend your privilege to drive in Georgia if you have an out of state driver’s license.

That’s what physically will happen to your driver’s license on a DUI arrest. If you request a hearing, you will retain your driving privileges until you actually have that driver’s license hearing. Then, at that driver’s license hearing, if you get the administrative suspension rescinded or dismissed, you can drive until you’re convicted of a DUI. If you’re acquitted of a DUI, you don’t lose your license at all, but if you’re convicted of a DUI, you could lose your license for 120 days for a first DUI, up to 18 months for a second DUI, and up to 5 years for a third DUI conviction in five years. You’re entitled to a limited permit for the first 120 days on a first DUI conviction. On a second, you can get a limited license after a four month license suspension if you have a breath device installed on your car called an Interlock Ignition Device. On a third DUI in five years, you can get your license back after two years if you have an interlock device installed on your car for six months, but you’ll be limited to work, school, and doctor in the state of Georgia, so you’ll have a limited permit for the remainder of that five years.

Suppose you go to the driver’s license hearing and you lose. In that case, if you refuse, you lose your license for a year for refusing about two or three days after the administrative driver’s license hearing occurs. If you took the test and you have an administrative license suspension hearing, and you lose, you’ll lose your license on a first for 30 days, you’re entitled to a work permit during that 30 days, and then you have to pay a $210 reinstatement fee to get your license back and go to DUI school and show proof of completion to the DDS. You get credit for the period of administrative license suspension towards any DUI conviction suspension. So if you go to a driver’s license court, have a hearing and lose, then if you took the test, you’ll lose your license for 30 days administratively. You can reinstate your license after you go to DUI school, submit proof, and pay the reinstatement fee. And if you get convicted of a DUI, you have to submit your license to the court at the time of conviction or guilty plea, get suspended immediately upon sentencing again, and you can get a limited permit for the remaining 90 days of the 120-day conviction suspension. You don’t have to go to DUI school, you don’t have to pay the license reinstatement fee again, but you can reinstate after 90 days. So that’s what happens with your driver’s license in a DUI arrest.

For more information on DUI Charges in Georgia, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you seek by calling (770) 961-5511 today.